At long last, fans of John Wick may finally see the Baba Yaga make his first kill with a fucking pencil. Late last year, Dynamite announced it acquired the license to publish a new John Wick comic book series. Now, Dynamite’s explosive (sorry) writing team for the series has been revealed: writer Greg Pak, of Marvel’s Totally Awesome Hulk and DC’s Action Comics, will join forces with artist Giovanni Valletta to tell Wick’s bloody origin story in comic book form.
Dynamite’s John Wick, which will be canon to both John Wick (2014) and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) starring Keanu Reeves, will hit shelves on September 6. The series will explore the very beginning of John Wick’s career as an assassin for the Continental. Dynamite editor Anthony Marques explained that the John Wick comic book team “received the blessings from all of the creators involved with the film,” including screenwriter Derek Kolstad and Keanu Reeves. “This book is the real deal and people are not going to be disappointed,” he added in a statement.
Pak said he was on board “as soon as I got the call and heard ‘John Wick,’” adding that he was intrigued by the idea of mapping out the events of Wick’s early career. “That was astounding to me — we’re not just telling another fun adventure with the character; we’re actually going to be able to add to this character’s and world’s tremendous mythology by telling an origin story!”
Dynamite also released two covers for the first issue. The first is made by series artist Giovanni Valletta, who absolutely nailed Reeves’s intensity and likeness.
Valletta's cover of 'John Wick' #1
The second is a variant cover, illustrated by comic legends Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz (Marvel’s New Mutants).
Variant cover of 'John Wick' #1
John Wick #1 will be released on September 6.
