Wayne Shelton 6 - The Hostage

"The Hostage" is the second Thierry Cailleteau Wayne Shelton story, designed as a self-contained album drawn by the regular series artist Christian Denayer. Gradually, Dargaud has allowed for slimmer volumes in the series, and at 48 pages, the creators are allowed roughly one fifth of the space alloted to the series' debut. Still, both Denayer and Cailleteau use the available pages to make most of the story, which is decidedly lighter than the preceding two-parter.

"Hostage" opens with Shelton and another of his veteran soldier friends flying an airplane over a fictional approximation of Uganda. Just like in "Vengeance", the story starts with a conversation framing the flashback, this time depicting the two men's reintroduction. We are shown how Wayne helped get the bad tempered Jef out of a bar brawl started over petty name calling. The pilot is presented as likable slob motivated by greed, which contrasts nicely with Wayne's stoic demeanor and makes for a dynamic not unlike that of Blueberry and Jimmy McClure.

The reason Wayne has gone to Africa has to deal with Honesty, who is depicted as living together with him. A TV broadcast from a country in the middle of the military coup brings a familiar face as the titular hostage - that of miss Goodness' first love, whom she hasn't seen in years. The news reporter has been captured by the departing ruler, who has since gone into hiding. Naturally, Honesty asks Wayne to travel to the political hot spot and rescue Legret, a proposition he fights on the grounds of irrationality. Unfortunately, the argument is rendered moot considering that the reader already knows that Shelton winds up accepting the mission.

Shelton is to travel alone, with the creators once again deciding to keep Honesty out of danger. The plot device used to achieve this is particularly leaden, as Wayne's girlfriend is confined to the chair due to her leg being broken. Yet, in order to finally finish with the flashback setting up the plot, Denayer and Cailleteau present perhaps the most tone deaf-scene in the whole album.

Seeing Wayne confront a particularly loathsome mercenary for a piece of information would have been a standard genre sequence, if not for the fact that his acquaintance has been turned into a permanent invalid due to his wartime experiences. Where Cailleteau chooses to go with the former torturer is both surprising and over the top, as the former war criminal asks Wayne to help him with a contraption designed to end his misery.

With the flashback ended, the creators use Jef's contempt for the man to justify Shelton's acceptance of euthanasia, but the preceding four pages still feel forced and out of touch with the rest of the album.Thankfully, once the local militia starts shooting at the plane Wayne's friend is piloting, the plot picks up and never lets up until the ending.

Due to their forced landing, the characters are reminded of the complicated situation following the coup. The French aviation has agreed to prevent unauthorized flight and, Wayne and Jef find a way to get on their side in order to gain access to close in on general Kalomba. In order to get the former dictator's location, Shelton has to confront the superstitious man's witch doctor, himself a former soldier of fortune.

Following an amusing episode with the charlatan, Wayne and Jef leave for Kalomba's sanctuary, where the final act begins. Most interestingly, the creators keep the pair's African adventure a decidedly restrained affair, with most of the problems overcome using their guile and cunning. With the hostage finally spotted, the album picks up and continues with the consistently lighter tone, despite the situation. For instance, when the creators first put the focus on Legret, he is presented writing a prison diary with an intentional disconnect between Denayer's detailed drawings and Cailleteau's captions.

The irony is followed upon when Honesty's friend finally meets Wayne, as Shelton's trademark antipathy for once proves justified at the outset. "The Hostage" posits a shades of grey world of mercenaries, with the audience being invited to side with Wayne solely because he has the most altruistic motive. General Kalomba's plan is particularly cynical, and it's hard to argue with the poetic justice that the creators ultimately mete out in the closing pages. Wayne's partnership with Jef is likewise not bound to last beyond Wayne's friend trying to get his monetary compensation, and his eventual fate suits the character.

Thus, both the pilot's dignity and the series are spared his continued role of a comic relief, which would quickly wear out its welcome. Thus, Wayne is reunited with Honesty, a much more rounded character, to whom he relates the most appropriate version of events.  Thus the bitter sweet epilogue ends the album on the high note, while the creators went on to finish their collaboration in the following two-parter.

Wayne Shelton 5 - Vengeance

The first of Thierry Cailleteau's "Wayne Shelton" stories closes with "Vengeance", showing the reader precisely the difference the script makes in a Christian Denayer pencilled story. The writer starts with the exposition, bringing the reader up to speed with the events of the preceding album. Using the new character, another of Shelton's longtime military friends, as the recipient of the overlong plot explanation goes a long way to setting up the tone of the story. Contrasting the previous album's Vietnamese survivors with an insurance agent reflects directly to the plot, showing that the protagonist no longer wants to stop his nemesis, but dismantle his criminal empire in tow.

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.

Wayne Shelton 4 - the Survivor

"The Survivor" is the fourth album in Dargaud's "Wayne Shelton" series, and the first volume fully scripted by Thierry Cailleteau. Once again pencilled by Christian Denayer, the story is designed as a two-parter, extrapolating on Wayne's tour of duty in Vietnam. By picking up the obvious story point, the new scribe is working more or less in the same vein as a lot of the early "Punisher" stories, with a piece of unfinished business coming back to haunt the veteran in the present day.

Shelton's Asian girlfriend is nowhere to be seen, with the creator reestablishing Honesty Goodness as Shelton's partner. Sandra's unceremonious exit from the series is relegated to a couple of panels, and even those are used to further define the leads. The story opens with a high society fundraising attempt serving to introduce the pair to new readers, as well as provide the inciting incident for the story as a whole. Thus, the ceremony is predictably disturbed by an outside force, in this instance a modern hippie wanting desperately to get in touch with Shelton.

The hostility Wayne shows the character is once again as surprising as its sudden, but the protagonist decides to listen to the plea for help. Denayer's character design communicates a broad portrayal of a wild haired male, whose youthful recklessness is supposed to be symbolized by his T-shirt. Despite the characters continually alluding to the Cannabis symbol on Chulepas' shirt, it's clear that the script calls for a more youthful, and immediately more despicable type, than what Denayer shows us. When the closest pop cultural archetype your shifty loser hues to is of an elderly hippie scientist, clearly there is a case to be made against such cardboard characterization.

More importantly, Chulepas reminds Wayne of a particular episode in his military career, which prompts a two pronged flashback. Despite showing a much more traditionally heroic Shelton, the creators use these pages to set up the villain of the two-parter as a completely irredeemable wild dog. Hooker is presented as cunning and ruthless, involving Wayne and his squad in the drug-running CIA operation, and forging an enmity that lasts for decades. In the mean time, the slobbish war criminal has made a life for himself as a pirate in Indonesia, which is the designated exotic locale of the story.

Most interestingly, Chulpas hints that Wayne's own son is calling for his help against Hooker, and if anything, the album revolves around the relationship between the two. For a start, Shelton is unaware of having sired any illegitimate children while in Vietnam, with revenge being his primary goal for flying to Jakarta. Honesty's role is a much more fleeting one, as she plays the role of the girlfriend with whom the protagonist reconciles. Even then, she exits the story before Wayne meets the man claiming to be his son, and is absent during the tragic events that finish out the volume. 

Presumably, Cailleteau is repositioning her to help Shelton in the next album, but at the moment, the crux of "the Survivor" revolves around the Tran, asking Wayne's help in getting out of the prison and having revenge on Hooker. Having a prison break as a major plot point in two of the three stories so far seems repetitive, but Denayer circumvents the problem by portraying a fairly interesting helicopter rescue. As always, each of the vehicles is depicted in high detail, with clear layouts providing an interesting sequence executed from the high view.

Yet, the prerequisite action sequences  in "Wayne Shelton" gain most of their impact through character work, with the second half of Shelton's Vietnam flashback serving to set up the connection between him and Tran. As he learned of his origins, the Vietnamese youth has praised Shelton for his altruism, but the rest of his background seems arbitrary and under-worked. It's just assumed that he would seek to destroy Hooker, but there is little to the character besides. Tran is used to underline the distinction between the two Vietnam veterans, who have both continued on as mercenaries. Cailleteau picks up on Van Hamme's lead, but contrasts the morally ambiguous Shelton with far more compromised characters.

Hooker, as depicted by the creative team is a predator in human form, who continues to spread terror, thus making it easy to sympathize with the lengths Tran and Shelton go on to finish his threat once and all. The album closes with a betrayal and a personal loss that paint the protagonist in the corner, forcing him to fight back from the perspective of the underdog. Hooker's female accomplice is likewise depicted as a bloodthirsty sadist, positioning the villains as the complete opposites of Shelton and Honesty. 

Despite the quick pace and a continual string of action sequences, "the Survivor" serves mainly to set up the rivalry, and raise the stakes in such a way that the reader legitimately wants to see the hero triumph, and rid the world of a psychopath that has done so much evil to both himself and the world. With the threat explained and Shelton reminded that the present day Hooker is every bit as ruthless as he was decades ago, the creators have more than justified the great lengths Shelton would go to get his revenge in "Vengeance", the adequately titled follow-up.

Wayne Shelton 3 - the Contract

The third entry in the "Wayne Shelton" series of Franco-Belgian comic albums is a complete story, co-written by Jean Van Hamme, and once again pencilled by Christian Denayer. The departing writer ties up most of the loose ends in a script provided by the new regular writer, Thierry ("Aquablue") Cailleteau. The result is a fairly lighthearted entry in the series, that provides a genre rarity - an actual attempt at closure following the deaths of the secondary characters, while providing a genuine threat for the protagonist.

In many ways, "the Contract" is a holdover from the previous two-parter, albeit with a distinctively more modern bent. The new characters rely heavily on the use of computers, which nicely contrasts with Shelton's more traditional skill set. The Vietnam war veteran following a code of honor helps flesh out the world the story takes place in, and slowly introduces the idea that he has a price on his head. Wayne's changes the locale with each of these visits, that the creators also use to provide for well choreographed action scenes, never forgetting that the series is first and foremost an international spy drama. The protagonist is clued in to the nature of the threats on his life by an unorthodox police detective, the technologically savvy Sandra Luan.

There is some visual confusion when it comes to her character, as Denayer's introduction to the female detective looks very similar to Wayne's on/off girlfriend Honesty. The script establishes her as Oriental, but the character design the artist has chosen to employ differs from Honesty primarily by the nature of her hairstyle. Otherwise, Sandra plays a strange role in the volume, falling for Shelton's roguish charm in a set of circumstances that could only happen in an actioneer. Thankfully, the creators present her as being both smart and resourceful, but interestingly, they choose to sideline her for the latter part of the story. By effectively removing her from the most interesting part of the story, the creators opt to return the focus on the intimate motives of the villain.

By bringing back Horace Quayle, Shelton's employer from the previous story whom the protagonist have very definitely punished for aborting the mission and endangering his team's lives, the creative team must have been aware that they were employing the most common of adventure story cliches. Returning the villain from a certain death always strains the suspension of disbelief, but to do it so soon after his demise could mean only two things. It could be understood that Van Hamme was simply tying up a loose end as he was departing for the story he co-created, but it was more likely a simple case of the creative team not willing to depart from the good villain so soon after his introduction.

As depicted in "the Contract", Qualye's already failing health is being artificially continued in an expensive Romanian locale, meaning that he is quite literally living only to take revenge on Shelton and the remaining members of his original team. As a story, the album thrives on its villain, even including a very interesting story locale for the final showdown. Trapping Wayne in a building that is about to be demolished is something that is unlikely to be easily replicated in a movie, and the creators combine it nicely with the technological aspect of the story.

Unfortunately, Wayne's plan and the execution of the final sequence does feel a bit rushed, with the story ultimately hurting from the protracted first half. More problematically, though, the logistics of the plan once again operate around a very goofy premise that squares off against the relative realism of the plot. Having a more grounded version of James Bond is a pleasant surprise and one of the biggest strengths of the series, but to routinely feature reveals straight out of "Charlie's Angels" does tend to catch the reader unprepared.

The one page epilogue contrasts the strength of the previously established cast against Sandra Luan, and it's hard not to think of her as an unnecessary addition. This is probably why the character hasn't reappeared in Cailleteau's stories following the "the Contract". With the inclusion of Van Hamme's name in the credits, the story ultimately makes it hard to judge the new writer's contribution, but it's nevertheless fun and satisfying.