The story was written by Ed Brisson, with artwork by Damian Couceiro and Jesus Hervas, and collects issues 7 - 10 of the ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ comics.
DLS Synopsis:
Even though Dennis had long since retired from his post as Stanton’s Marshal, the news of his junkie son’s murder still made the front page of the Arizona papers. Jordan had been a no-good-waster. Nevertheless the loss of his son still cut deep. Knowing he had been beaten like some sort of dog, and left to die in a dumpster, weighed heavy on Dennis’ soul. Now he wanted justice. He needed revenge.
Luckily Dennis knew just the person for the job. Toric was a man who knew how to get what he wanted out of others. He had the connections. He knew how the gangs worked. He’d been around long enough to get accustomed to their way of life. Knew what they all needed. What they desired. Guns and power. That’s all it ever came down to with these thugs. He’d use those very things to get close to the ones who killed the Marshal’s son. And then vengeance would be there’s.
Two years later, half of the Sons of Anarchy are behind bars in Stockton State Prison. Sentenced to fourteen months each, the Sons plan to keep their head down and just do their time. But life’s never that simple.
Samcro has a debt that needs settling. Russian gangster Viktor Putlova is far from happy with the Californian biker gang. He wants the two million they tried to rip him off for repaid.
Even with the Sons locked up in a state prison, Putlova can still get to them. And there are more ways to reach the incarcerated bikers than through inmates and dirty prison guards. There’s also those left on the outside.
Including Jax’s family…
DLS Review:
Volume Two of the SOA graphic novel series is a strange beast. The first chapter is pretty much a standalone story, with almost no involvement or mention of Samcro in it at all. Instead what we have is a story of gritty revenge, orchestrated by the close right-hand-man of an ex-Marshal.
Once the first chapter’s done with, it’s time for the main story to kick in. Here we’re taken back to the time between Seasons 3 and 4 of the TV series, when Jax, Clay, Bobby, Tig, Juice and Happy are all locked up in Stockton State Prison doing fourteen month stretches apiece.
Of course, whilst Samcro’s finest are locked away behind bars, on the outside trouble’s brewing. Russian gangster Viktor Putlova is pissed rotten about being ripped off to the tune of $2m by the biker gang. So the Russian starts applying pressure, to let Samcro know he can reach them no matter where they are.
The end result is one hostile-as-hell pressure cooker environment, where the Samcro boys can (and will) be jumped at any point. Expect shankings and brutal prison violence on pretty much every other page. And on the outside, Putlova’s letting Jax’s family know that they too can be reached. Oh yes, club business is getting personal.
There’s plenty of textbook SOA moments in the ensuing maelstrom of violence and rivalry. As we’ve seen a hundred times before, when the SOA boys have their backs to the wall, they’ll come out fighting like demons possessed. But there’s that cold, calculated, ‘business’ edge to it all that makes the SOA who they are.
The story fits in perfectly with the whole SOA mythos. It gives us another small insight into the time they spent in prison, and draws more connections with the Mexicans (which we see reflected in the TV series) and the debt the SOA end up owing them.
The story is tight and pretty damn fast-paced with plenty of tension and adrenaline-pumping action keeping things roaring ahead. The accompanying artwork is excellent; once again capturing the features and mannerisms of the key characters perfectly.
Another superb SOA graphic novel that compliments the TV series perfectly.
The graphic novel runs for a total of 128 pages (which includes a five page cover gallery).
© DLS Reviews
Other ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ instalments:
- ‘Sons Of Anarchy: Volume One’ (2014)
- ‘Sons Of Anarchy: Volume Two’ (2015)
