Until he's hatched his scheme, Shelton has to
rely on Honesty and Larkin, his friend's former butler, that has slowly
established himself as an integral part of the series. There is nothing much to
the character so far, except for his being a good humored British gentleman,
more advanced in age than Shelton, and quite happy to help. Honesty's role is
again supportive, with Shelton's lover disappearing for dozens of pages only to
show up for a night of love making before Shelton's confrontation with Hooker
certainly won't endear the series to female readers. Yet, even though the character
plays no part in the final strike against the villain that was two volumes in
the making, she remain the only character Shelton is compelled to be completely
honest with, and who gets to ask him the relevant questions concerning the
morality of her actions.
An interesting plot point regarding her own age
gets picked up in a discussion and dropped immediately. Volker, Shelton's
friend working for Lloyd's insurance indicates that they have been together for
at least 15 years, which would make misses Goodness likewise on the cusp of the
middle age. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Denayer's depiction of
her, with the artist depicting Wayne's old flame as hardly a day over 30. This
is consistent with Luis Chuelpas' character designed that sported similar
problems regarding individuality. The character resurfaces for a brief role
that goes a long way to elevating bluntness of his previous portrayal, but once
again serves to confuse the readers.
The character's now highly muscular body
completely breaks away from his previous relaxed disposition, which serves to
once again pull the reader out of the story. Yet, most of the story's problems
seem to do fall on Cailleteau's part, as his complicated plot requires the
characters to twist and contort their morality as fitting the scene and the
point the writer wants to make. With Honesty's help, Shelton tracks down one of
Hooker's accomplices, but the brutality he displays in the confrontation far
exceeds his objective. The elderly weapons maker is at best a third party
contact, making the protagonist's behavior thuggish and dissonant. The question
of morality that rears its head in the final act likewise appears superficial,
considering that Wayne himself dispatches Hooker's bodyguards without a single
thought.
In Cailleteau's script, its completely normal
that the protagonist slices through the hired help simply for being in the
wrong place at the wrong time, yet he opposes Chuelpas taking Miss Yoon's life
when she could be of assistance for tracking her boss. More immediately, the
long monologue Shelton engages in while he himself confronts Hooker's right
hand almost manages to stop the story cold. Having the hero and villain discuss
the number of shots fired in regards to the ammunition remaining in the chamber
is a common enough trope, but to have the protagonist launch in a diatribe
regarding the specific make of his weapon is so surreal that it almost borders
on parody.
Unexpectedly, half through the second volume, the
writer raises the stakes and re-contextualizes some of the previously
seen events regarding Hooker's pirate operation. The complicated scheme
involves two different Jakartan computer firms, and revolvers around the data
Volker was hiding from the insurance company. Shelton picks up on the
opportunity and uses the situation to not only locate Hooker's whereabouts, but
to formulate the concrete plan which will help him deal with the war criminal
by turning his associates against him.
Unfortunately, for the complicated plot to work,
Cailleteau has to continually keep slowing down the story, introducing complex
corporate manoeuvring at the last possible moment. The results may be more
realistic than the typical "Die Hard" action scenario, but the road
the creators took to get there leaves much to be desired. Effecting a false
double cross using a crooked secretary might seem innovative, but it betrays
the set up of the previous volume, relegating it as merely the back story
behind Hooker and Shelton's army days. Likewise, Wayne's motivations automatically
assumes that he was profoundly shaken by the conclusion of "the
Survivor", which serves to justify his every action in the follow-up.
Despite the creators' insistence, it's hard to
accept "Vengeance" as a separate story detailing Hooker's current
operation. The broad characterization and the heavy focus on the plot
ultimately still end up with the final act feeling rushed and he too easy, with
epilogue that further seems tacked on and unnecessary. Shelton's complete
confidence no matter the complications make it hard to really empathize with
the character's emotional state. It's never in doubt that he'll have his
revenge on Hooker, who remains a one-dimensional villain, making for a story
that seems all too familiar and redundant.
When Cailleteau started, he set out to write what
seemed to be a definite "Wayne Shelton" story, pitting the
character's Vietnam war past with his status as a present
day independent operative, but somewhere in "Vengeance" the
characterization made way for plot mechanics, and the story never recovered.
It's strange to find out that the conclusion actually works against the merits
of the first part of the story, but Cailleteau and Denayere have definitely
managed to present Dargaud with an effort that on the whole seems subpar
compared to Van Hamme's introductory albums.
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