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Why Renato Jones: The One% Is A Sticky-From-Champagne Birdy-Flip Of A Comic Book

Published Tue, 03 May 2016 15:40:21 -0500

By Abdulkareem Baba Aminu

For me, the best stories have always been origin stories. The buzz for Renato Jones: The One% seemed to have given away quite a lot, and in my head I thought I had the main character's beginnings all figured out. Boy, was I wrong! That was because I initially assumed it would be inexplicable for a super-rich guy to don a weird (but cool) get-up to fight obscenely rich people.

Actually, make that obscenely rich and douche-y people. But thanks to nifty, intermittent flashbacks, everything made sense. That is, if you don't think there is anything wrong with a gigantic, evil grandma firing a shotgun at a kid (she doesn't get him) while her snooty cats circle round like hyenas.

While the supporting characters help a lot for the drug-induced, gorgeously-drawn, R-rated gore-fest that this comic book is, it is protagonist Renato Jones' alter-ego, nicknamed 'The Freelancer' by his targets, who is responsible for the anarchic tone. The story begins not too long after he has gotten access to a massive inheritance – after an eventful childhood – and decides to go on a vengeance spree. Only it's not the everyday, vanilla-flavored vengeance we all know and love. Jones isn't targeting a handful of evil one percent-ers, no. He's going at an army of them, like a demented Prada model in a Kabuki mask. Speaking of which, a smattering of faux, tongue-in-cheek designer perfume ads prove to be smirk-inducing.

Creator Kaare Andrews' storytelling is the real star of this twisted show. And I mean 'storytelling' in reference to both the writing and art. In order for readers to root for a protagonist who kills, it needs to be clear why he does what he does. And he makes that crystal-clear, penning such loathsome scumbags that I cheered whenever they got a dose of The Freelancer's brand of just, bullet-borne desserts.

The writing is so snarky, so at home in a book like this, but it is not just the baddies who get to toss acerbic barbs. The Freelancer, even when empathizing with the poor downtrodden, says gems like "The sounds of torture are international". But what got me – really got me – is when a bad rich guy being taken down talks back cockily. Our hero, or anti-hero, thinks: "If the handgun hidden in his bricks of money didn't seal his fate…it was his vocabulary."

Visually, Renato Jones: The One% is effective, and utilizes a number of framing devices which suit the frenetic pace of the writing. However, on the splash page where the protagonist is announced, there are perhaps too many captions doing a lot of telling, and not enough showing. But that is quickly forgiven, thanks to the beautifully-drawn pages that follow.

It's not just gun-assisted retribution that packs the pages. Towards the end of the issue, there's a heartwarming sequence which reminds the reader that sometimes revenge is carried out because someone's been wronged, and a third party can right it. The moment eliminates any doubt that The Freelancer isn't a hero.

I can comfortably say Renato Jones: The One% has ticked most of the boxes it needs to in all of its thirty-five pages. Tech that makes its wearer superhumanly strong? Check. Gold Lamborghinis? Check. Orgies and stupendously rich, entitled douche-bags? Check. A protagonist who's quietly dangerous and effortlessly cool at the same time? Check. This is the exact thing you'd get if you could somehow convert a flipped, sticky-from-champagne middle finger into a comicbook.

Renato Jones: The One% is out tomorrow.

Abdulkareem Baba Aminu is a newspaper editor, award-winning journalist and comic book creator based in Nigeria. He has reviewed comics, novels, movies and music for a variety of platforms and is currently the Editor of the Saturday edition of the Daily Trust, one of the most influential newspapers in his country. You can follow him on Twitter: @KareemReal

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