Boondock Saints: In Nomine Patris 1 & 2
Written by Troy Duffy & JB Love
Art by Guus Floor
Cover by Chris Brunner
12-Gauge/Innfusion
Price: $3.99 each
Release Date: May 26 & July 14, 2010

The second in the new line of Boondock Saints comics, In Nomine Patris, is the beginning of the secret history of Il Duce. This to me is a great way to kick off a serious stint in the comic line for the saints. It introduces all the characters and a lot about the history of their “business” without prior knowledge needed. This series does a great job in treating it like every issue can be someone’s first issue.

Basically in both issues we learn how Il Duce becomes a vigilante and why he kept it up throughout his entire life. We also learn how he got his vest and we learn it all through Connor and Murphy’s eyes. The story is great and very interesting. I really enjoyed reading it. There are a few storytelling issues here and there, but it is more of a layout issue than a script issue. It is very hard to tell where we are in the story because of the jumps between past, present, and future. Something that would help is different times of day for each setting so there would be a more distinct coloring for each one. But that is just a minor issue which is great for Troy Duffy‘s second and third comic.

The new artist is definitely a step in the right direction for the book. The covers by Chris Brunner were both stunning, especially on the harder cover stock. The interiors were a lot better and more easily distinguishable and Guus Floor while still using a simpler style easily separates each character. Now there is a change in layout and they pick up Matt Browning as a colorist in the second issue, but it still works fairly well. It seems to me that both with art and scripting/layout that the book is trying to find itself and develop a style. I am very hopeful that it will find its style and think that it will turn out to be a great series.

While I am extremely excited for the next series Head of the Snake, I am also very hesitant at the $3.99 cover price for a 22-page story and the very weird release schedule. There was a huge gap between issue 1 and 2 and it seems like they are really sticking with the series of mini-series thing as well with gaps between each series. I will be interested in seeing how this progresses and I would definitely suggest this series to everyone especially fans of the movies.