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Violent Messiahs #1
Violent Messiahs, Vol. 1: The Book of Job
Rankor Island is a carnival of social ills. A Tilt-A-Whirl of manic violence and police corruption. Into this wasteland comes two men, saviors for a nihilistic age; the serial killer, Family Man and hyper-violent vigilante, Citizen Pain.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
224 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2002
About the author
Joshua Dysart
387 books97 followersI write comic books, graphic novels and novels. I'm a three time Eisner nominee, two time Glyph award winner, New York Times bestseller, a recipient of The Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year award, and have been in competition twice at Angoulême.
I've worked on Hellboy, Swamp Thing, & Conan the Barbarian; I co-wrote a graphic novel with Neil Young; I helped restart Valiant Entertainment; and I've done on-the-ground research in Uganda (2007), Iraq (2014), & South Sudan (2016), writting graphic novels about war and famine in those regions.
Goodnight Paradise came out in 2018 with long time co-creator Alberto Ponticelli and is a murder mystery set in the houseless population of Venice Beach, Ca.
My first novel (novella - it's only 100 pages) has dropped. It combines my love of slasher horror, Agatha Christie fair-play mysteries, construction sites, and bugs. It's called BROOD X. Buy it wherever trash genre books are sold!
I've worked on Hellboy, Swamp Thing, & Conan the Barbarian; I co-wrote a graphic novel with Neil Young; I helped restart Valiant Entertainment; and I've done on-the-ground research in Uganda (2007), Iraq (2014), & South Sudan (2016), writting graphic novels about war and famine in those regions.
Goodnight Paradise came out in 2018 with long time co-creator Alberto Ponticelli and is a murder mystery set in the houseless population of Venice Beach, Ca.
My first novel (novella - it's only 100 pages) has dropped. It combines my love of slasher horror, Agatha Christie fair-play mysteries, construction sites, and bugs. It's called BROOD X. Buy it wherever trash genre books are sold!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 29, 2020
Other than some glimmers of excellence, Violent Messiahs will go down in comic history as one of its more mediocre manifestations. Why? Despite promise, a panoply of strands crossing conspiracy, urban crime and betrayal never coalesce into anything exciting let-alone cohesive. From the secret societies of the FreeMasons, Rosicrucians, and the Illuminati to far more readily accessible subjects like crime and abuse many threads have sewed but not much of an enjoyable quilt has been ultimately darned.
In either case, I wonder how Matt Wagner feels about the unapologetic Grendel rip-off.
In either case, I wonder how Matt Wagner feels about the unapologetic Grendel rip-off.
September 15, 2019
I seem to remember this series being widely hyped when it first was published. Seeing as how I now had my hands on a copy of the Graphic Novel collection, I thought it was time to see if all the hype was warranted.
It wasn't.
The story was average at best. It started out okay, but then wandered.
The art was supposed to be "hyper realistic" and "gritty", but instead it was just rehashed McFarlane/90's influenced "artwork". There were some panels that were embarrassing… I'm thinking in particular about one in which there was a car, and the perspective/inking was amateurish at best. I'm guessing this had more to do with the inker than the artist, but nevertheless, it reeked of a lack of skills. However, there were some good panels.
If you are going to write an original story with original characters, at least take the time and effort to not rip off Matt Wagner's "Grendel" mask when doing so. And while it's not exactly the same mask, it clearly was the inspiration for it and showed a lack of originality.
Overall the series lacked consistency.
It wasn't.
The story was average at best. It started out okay, but then wandered.
The art was supposed to be "hyper realistic" and "gritty", but instead it was just rehashed McFarlane/90's influenced "artwork". There were some panels that were embarrassing… I'm thinking in particular about one in which there was a car, and the perspective/inking was amateurish at best. I'm guessing this had more to do with the inker than the artist, but nevertheless, it reeked of a lack of skills. However, there were some good panels.
If you are going to write an original story with original characters, at least take the time and effort to not rip off Matt Wagner's "Grendel" mask when doing so. And while it's not exactly the same mask, it clearly was the inspiration for it and showed a lack of originality.
Overall the series lacked consistency.
May 17, 2008
"think bane meets hitman"
after seeing the main character on some comic book wallpaper, i just had to see what his story was all about. unfortunately, it didn't pan out as well i had hoped, although i still think something great (or at least cool) could come from this great character if his story we told by a more veteran author (i am thinking frank miller).
overlooking the questionable story, the art scores highly with me (especially some of the issue covers).
not too bad, but nothing great
after seeing the main character on some comic book wallpaper, i just had to see what his story was all about. unfortunately, it didn't pan out as well i had hoped, although i still think something great (or at least cool) could come from this great character if his story we told by a more veteran author (i am thinking frank miller).
overlooking the questionable story, the art scores highly with me (especially some of the issue covers).
not too bad, but nothing great
April 20, 2019
I remember when this first came out and the hype behind it and now only getting round to reading i can say it was a bit average. Not going to go into the story as its a bit run of the mill and the characters are average. The art work is cool and very 90's which i still have a fondness for but this didn't grab my interest as much as i thought it would, glad i got it out the library.
April 10, 2009
A student loaned this to me and I never would have read it otherwise. It was an uninteresting plot that was trying very hard to be edgy and cool with subpar art.
February 11, 2018
Gritty, violent and very well written. Looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
June 4, 2026
Excellence shined intermittently between stretches of meandering mediocrity. This was written for a very targeted audience, and it should have been me; it weaves an ambitious story that explores the ethics of vigilantism and crime, while linking religious cults and conspiracy. Tying together elite secret societies, direct references to biblical stories and action/horror elements, I was the perfect reader for this book… it just doesn’t tie any of these elements together in a meaningful way. Violent Messiahs is a perfect example of “doing too much.”
The main character - a bitchy cop with a dark secret - is squandered potential and side characters are irrelevant. The shine is all on vigilante brothers Citizen Pain (Job) and The Family Man (Jeremiah). These guys steal the show. Citizen Pain is great conceptually; he’s essentially a Freemason Frankenstein creature gone wild, a tormented soul who’s been programmed for destruction but wants to find peace. Jeremiah is straight insane and really only serves to highlight how children are lost in the justice system. Lots of fun.
Action is solid, story meanders, no meaningful payoff. Dialogue is awful besides Citizen Pain’s. Art is really cool though, the tone is oppressive and unsettling.
It was a very creative stab that I can praise the boldness of writing, but its execution is lackluster and doesn’t merit the investment. Would have loved more Citizen Pain though.
The main character - a bitchy cop with a dark secret - is squandered potential and side characters are irrelevant. The shine is all on vigilante brothers Citizen Pain (Job) and The Family Man (Jeremiah). These guys steal the show. Citizen Pain is great conceptually; he’s essentially a Freemason Frankenstein creature gone wild, a tormented soul who’s been programmed for destruction but wants to find peace. Jeremiah is straight insane and really only serves to highlight how children are lost in the justice system. Lots of fun.
Action is solid, story meanders, no meaningful payoff. Dialogue is awful besides Citizen Pain’s. Art is really cool though, the tone is oppressive and unsettling.
It was a very creative stab that I can praise the boldness of writing, but its execution is lackluster and doesn’t merit the investment. Would have loved more Citizen Pain though.
July 9, 2012
Just one of the best short stories I've ever read. The production value on the book is of amazing and it lends a Resident Evil movie feel to the book minus the zombies. The character development was fast and I could have seen the story become a much longer read.
August 20, 2009
The graphics were really cool. The story was too short. Madonna has the copyright. What a bad investor. I guess she never could make the right moves after 'Sam' Sean Penn use to beat her.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews