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WORK TITLE: The Last Contract
WORK NOTES: illus by Lisandro Estherren
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.edbrisson.com/
CITY: Kelowna
STATE: BC
COUNTRY: Canada
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: a daughter.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
Self-published comic book series “Murder Book” was subsequently MURDER BOOK released by Dark Horse, 2015. Author of the crime/time-travel thriller series “Comeback,” Shadowline/Image Comics, 2012; Writer and co-creator of four other series “Sheltered,” The Field,” The Mantle,” and the “Violent,” all published by Image. Author of comic series “Cable,” Iron Fist,” and “Old Man Logan,” Marvel Comics. Also has written for BOOM, DC, and IDW comics.
SIDELIGHTS
Ed Brisson is a comic book writer who has written for many of the major comic book companies, including Marvel Comics and DC Comics. He is also author of the graphic novel The Last Contract, illustrated by Lisandro Estherren and the first book in a series. The novel revolves around an elderly retired hit man, known only as “The Man,” who is forced out of retirement by a blackmailer.
Commenting on how this story is different from other stories about hit men, Brisson told Comic Vine contributor Tony ‘G-Man’ Guerrero that the novel’s protagonist is “more or less a typical retiree” dealing with the physical problems that coming with age, including the onset of dementia. Briton went on to tell Guerrero: “He has to rely on his wits, but he’s also starting to show signs of Alzheimer’s, so his wits are not always there to serve him,” adding the the old-school hitman “only has a passing idea of what the internet is. He’s a man out of time.” Jennifer Cheng, writing for the CBR website, noted that The Man’s deteriorating mental capacities are introduced early on, writing: “The first scene, in which The Man rambles off in the middle of a sentence, sets up the impression of his impending senility so convincingly that the inevitable home invasion that follows has plenty of tension in it.” The home invasion is by a group of bikers who think they are after an easy prey only to learn the deadly consequences of the miscalculation. After dispatching the bikers, The Man knows he has to find out what is going on.
It turns out that The Man is being blackmailed and the unknown blackmailer has released a list of The Man’s hits. The Man realizes that anyone associated with the people he killed are now facing dangers as well. As a result, he sets out to protect those who need protected while simultaneously trying to track down the blackmailer. As the story progresses, readers are given glimpses of The Man’s past life. It is revealed why he retired twenty years earlier and that he has been running from something the entire time. “This is a great introduction to the story of The Man, and looks to be a high-crime roller-coaster of a ride with a quite brilliant take on the main character,” wrote a Big Comic Page website contributor. ComicSpectrum Comic Reviews website contributor Bob Bretall, commented: “Brisson put enough unique elements into the story to keep me interested and guessing, including setting the tale in Canada” adding that The Last Contract is “a solid debut issue and got me hooked” for the series.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, June 12, 2017, review of The Last Contract, p. 50.
ONLINE
Big Comic Page, https://bigcomicpage.com/ (January 5, 2016 ), review of The Last Contract.
CBR, https://www.cbr.com/ (March 19, 2018), Jennifer Cheng, review of The Last Contract.
Comic Bastards, https://comicbastards.com/ (May 31, 2017), Daniel Vlasaty, review of The Last Contract.
ComicSpectrum Comic Reviews, https://comicspectrum.wordpress.com/ (January 15, 2016), Bob Bretall, review of The Last Contract.
Comic Vine, https://comicvine.gamespot.com/ (December 31, 2015), Tony “G-Man” Guerrero, “Ed Brisson Takes on Hitmen in The Last Contract, author interview.
Ed Brisson Website, http://www.edbrisson.com (April 9, 2018).
Ed Brisson is the writer of THE FIELD (Image Comics), COMEBACK (Image Comics), SHELTERED (Image Comics), SECRET AVENGERS (Marvel), ROBOCOP (BOOM!) and X-FILES/TMNT: CONSPIRACY (IDW). He lives in Vancouver, BC.
Ed Brisson Takes on Hitmen in THE LAST CONTRACT
by Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero on Dec 31, 2015 14:05 PM
What makes a retired Hitman get back into the game? Plus an exclusive preview for issue 1.
BOOM! Studios has a new miniseries dealing with the life of a hitman. Ed Brisson is teaming up with Lisandro Estherren to look at the life of a retired hitman that is forced back into the life he left behind.
We spoke with Ed to find out more about the series and what we can expect from it.
Cover by Lisandro Estherren
Cover by Lisandro Estherren
COMIC VINE: What's THE LAST CONTRACT about?
ED BRISSON: THE LAST CONTRACT is about a way retired hitman, who's pushing 80 and has been out of the life for a couple decades now. The Man (who's never named) moves to a small community on an island in order to just live out his final days quietly. It's just him and his old Bassett Hound, Harv.
Of course, things never go the way we plan them and The Man is pulled back into the life after his old handler is killed and a full account of his past transgressions come to light.
CV: How is it different from other 'hitmen' stories?
BRISSON: I think one of the things that sets it apart is The Man is more or less your typical retiree. He's 80 and dealing with everything that comes along with that. He's not terribly fast or strong, not like he used to be. He has to rely on his wits, but he's also starting to show signs of Alzheimer's, so his wits are not always there to serve him. Also, he's been in a self-imposed exile for more than 20 years and the world has continued on. He only has a passing idea of what the internet is. He's a man out of time.
CV: What more can you tell us about "The Man"?
BRISSON: Beyond what I've already mentioned, I'll add that he's a total grump and often drunk.
CV: How much of his past story is told within the series?
BRISSON: We slowly get snippets of his past and will eventually learn why he left the life and what it is that he's running from. The same thing he's hiding from is, of course, the thing that ultimately drives him throughout the series—although you're going to have to read to find out just what that is.
CV: Will it be revealed what made him become a hitman in the first place?
BRISSON: No, not here. The story touches on why he left, but why he started in the first place isn't something that we really touch on.
Incentive cover by Vanesa R. Del Rey
Incentive cover by Vanesa R. Del Rey
CV: Can a hitman ever truly retire?
BRISSON: Apparently not!
CV: How crazy does the action get in this series?
BRISSON: It gets pretty crazy and bloody at times, especially as more people from The Man's past begin to reappear. But, the thing about The Man is that he's NOT a Liam Neeson-style ex-hitman. He's not dropping people with kung fu. He's not chasing people down alleyways. He's got to get in close to do anything and it can get pretty brutal.
CV: What's your favorite thing about this project?
BRISSON: Part of it is the setting. I'll be honest, the germ of the idea, this man retiring and moving to a small island community and living with his dog, is my own fantasy. It's 100% how I picture my wife and I living 40 years from now. So, for me, one of my favourite things was setting a story in my fantasy future life.
Overall though, I really like telling a story with this unlikely protagonist who's beset by all sorts of limitations—his age, failing memory—and making him a hardcore bad-ass who I think readers are really going to love.
CV: Do you think being a comic book writer could be a good cover for a hitman?
BRISSON; I don't know, man. There's this theory floating around online that Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote was actually the murderer in every episode and her writing about the cases was her cover. So, maybe? I guess I could write off any coincidences as research, but I think that I'd make a terrible hitman. Terrible.
Be sure to check out THE LAST CONTRACT #1 from BOOM! Studios, on sale January 6, 2016. Check out this exclusive preview.
Ed Brisson is a comic book writer who first started to garner attention with his self-published crime series MURDER BOOK. He broke into the public spotlight in 2012 with the crime/time-travel thriller series COMEBACK (Shadowline/Image Comics). In the short time since then, he's written and co-created four other series published by Image: SHELTERED, THE FIELD, THE MANTLE and THE VIOLENT.
His self-published series MURDER BOOK was collected and released by Dark Horse in early 2015.
Ed has also written for BOOM (SONS OF ANARCHY, CLUSTER, THE LAST CONTRACT), Marvel (SECRET AVENGERS, SECRET WARS BATTLEWORLD), DC (BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL), IDW (TMNT/X-FILES CONSPIRACY) and many others.
He's currently writing CABLE, IRON FIST and OLD MAN LOGAN for Marvel.
He's been nominated for the Joe Shuster Award for Best Canadian Writer several times.
He lives in Kelowna with his wife and daughter.
The Last Contract
Publishers Weekly. 264.24 (June 12, 2017): p50.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Last Contract
Ed Brisson and Lisandro Estherren. Boom Studios, $14.99 trade paper (112p) ISBN 9781-60886-962-6
A nameless retired hit man is suddenly ambushed and learns that someone is on a mission to kill him, blackmailing old friends and rivals into taking him down. With the son of one of his victims riding shotgun, he takes off across the country to find answers. This is familiar hard-boiled-noir territory, with tough old guys and gals trading bullets across blasted American wastelands to endless "budda budda" sound effects. Writer Brisson knows this world well, having scripted such series as The Violent, Murder Book, and Marvel's Old Man Logan. Artist Estherren excels at inking men with long, lined faces in seedy diners and cheap motel rooms, and the saturated color gives the art the right dime-novel feel. This slim graphic novel is textbook Brisson, breezy and bloody and built from familiar pulp-fiction parts. There are no big surprises here, just updated tweaks on an old formula. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Last Contract." Publishers Weekly, 12 June 2017, p. 50. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495720690/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=64c323c3. Accessed 19 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495720690
The Last Contract #1
01.11.2016
by Jennifer Cheng
in Comic Reviews
Comment
The Last Contract #1
STORY BY
Ed Brisson
ART BY
Lisandro Estherren
COLORS BY
Niko Guardia
LETTERS BY
Ed Brisson
COVER BY
Lisandro Estherren and Vanesa R. Del Rey
PUBLISHER
BOOM! Studios
2016-01-06
Browse Similar Reviews
In Ed Brisson and Lisandro Estherren’s “The Last Contract” #1, a hitman is reluctantly pushed out of retirement by an unknown enemy from his past. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is, as the debut issue follows a list of common tropes found in similar works like “Retired Badass” and “One Last Job.”
The action is usually gripping, even if the arc has few surprises. The first scene, in which The Man rambles off in the middle of a sentence, sets up the impression of his impending senility so convincingly that the inevitable home invasion that follows has plenty of tension in it.
The dialogue and action are less believable in the middle third of the comic, when The Man locates Burrell. Burrell’s hapless yammering on the phone is unrealistic, and so is a stabbing in a street full of other people. The pages with Burrell and The Man are thick with text, and the interrogation feels like it’s rushing through the exposition. The pace of the story slows to accommodate this information dump, albeit temporarily.
The characters aren’t boring, but they are cookie-cutter. The hero and the villains walk and talk so stereotypically that the supporting cast is the most memorable part of “The Last Contract” #1. The basset hound, Harvey, is an amusing addition to a hitman’s entourage. However, the final scene and cliffhanger bring in another character who will probably end up being the dopey, young foil to The Man’s shrewdness in his dotage.
Estherren’s action scenes are fluid and his pacing is strong. His stylized linework exaggerates The Man’s wrinkles and withered physique, so that he almost looks dead already in his pallor and the deflated-balloon texture of his skin. The effect is startlingly ugly but also reinforces the age and supposed decrepitude of the main character.
The characters are not attractive (and aren’t meant to be) in “The Last Contract” #1, so Estherren shows his skills for beauty and balance in the backgrounds. The spacing and curves of the bar stools on the first page make them look like long-stemmed flowers growing out of the checkered tile floor. The delicate shapes of stones on a path in the yard are beautiful. Estherren’s shading has impressive variation of technique, with watercolor-like marks mixing with brushy smudges and rows of thick, marker-like stubble.
Niko Guardia blankets the whole issue in shades of milky blue and purple, with accents of bright pink. It looks best in the scene with the city’s skyline, but — during most of “The Last Contract” #1 — the lack of variation and creativity in hue choices don’t do justice to Estherren’s background details. On the other hand, the colors also don’t fight the story’s tone and atmosphere.
“The Last Contract” #1 is fast-paced and enjoyable, but the story hews too closely to convention to make the story stand out among others of its type.
Review – The Last Contract #1 (of 4) (BOOM! Studios)
Posted on January 5, 2016 in BOOM! Reviews
Click to enlarge.Click to enlarge.
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Ed Brisson
Artist: Lisandro Estherren
Release Date: 6th January, 2016
I’ve been watching out for The Last Contract ever since our very own Ceej spoke to the creators about it. You can read that interview HERE. A lot of the buzz about this story rides on the success of John Wick, something that is both a compliment (it’s a great film), and a bit of an injustice. Certainly there are some similarities, both are about a hitman forced to come out of retirement for one last job; but there is so much more to The Last Contract than a story that rides the coat-tails of the movie it finds itself being referenced to.
Ed Brisson (BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL, SHELTERED) has crafted quite a unique and interesting story here. The Man (as he’s known) is a retired killer, and our introduction to him highlights the difficulty of age and a failing memory – a theme that I think will be a constant through the series. Rather than make that tragic, it’s actually a source of humour in the story. Not in a depreciating manner, but rather with a ‘them’s the breaks,’ type of attitude. It’s this particular element to the writing that gives the story that ‘something’ a bit special. This treatment isn’t reserved for The Man only, although kidnapping a crime boss in your pyjama shirt because you forgot to change is undoubtedly funny. What’s just as funny is said kidnapped boss asking if he can sit at gunpoint rather than kneel as his legs are killing him due to old age! Don’t mistake my enthusiasm for the humour as the be all and end all here though, it’s just symptomatic of the character’s predicament and works really, really well.
The story itself is delightfully odd in that our main protagonist is a retired octogenarian hitman who is pulled back into the works he left years ago because of something he knows or has done. The story opens; it presents The Man as an everyday pensioner, making conversation in the diner and then rushing home to walk his dog. Things quickly take a turn as a biker breaks into his home to kill him, only to find himself at the mercy of the old man. This old dog still knows his tricks, even if things aren’t working as well as they used to. This is even more apparent when he complains the biker talked too fast under pressure – in his day the class of gangster was a lot tougher. Of course, this is after he’s sliced the bikers throat. This event thrusts us straight into the main story as The Man now needs to track down who has put the hit on him and why. This route is not going to be easy as The Man isn’t as strong or agile of mind as he once was – and this is where the interest lies. John Wick just lay waste to everything, and everyone. The Man doesn’t have that luxury, or rather that means.
Along with an incredibly strong script the artwork of Lisandro Estherren (TALL TALES FROM THE BADLANDS) also delivers. The line work is messy and organic and this style really emphasises the feeling of age on several characters’ faces. He also uses a lot of block ink work to emphasise the darkness in the story, and it’s utilised in a clever way to emphasise elements like guns and The Man’s dog. I especially like the panel where he grips the neck of the biker in his house, The Man’s hand in full colour and the bikers face practically blacked out showing a silhouette of a jawline with some unshaven whiskers and such. It’s these l little details that I really enjoy.
Complimenting this great ink work Estherren uses monochromatic colour washes to create mood in the panels, mostly in blues and purples, except in moments of violence where reds and pinks are used. This combination of colour and inks really gives a relevant dynamic to the mood and feel of the issue. It works, and it’s as simple as that.
This is a great introduction to the story of The Man, and looks to be a high-crime roller-coaster of a ride with a quite brilliant take on the main character. While the story itself is quite dark and violent the situation and physical/mental wellbeing of our protagonist gives opportunity for dark and funny humour. This funny dialogue works really well as a counterpoint to the suspicion and violence the story entails. We don’t know why The Man is on someone’s hit list, we don’t even know if The Man will remember why he’s on someone’s kill list, but it’s going to be great fun finding out.
Rating: 4/5.
REVIEW: THE LAST CONTRACT
May 31, 2017
BY DANIEL VLASATY
If you’re at all familiar with my reviews then you know my usual reading leans more toward the crime fiction side of comics. So, when I saw The Last Contract come up on the review list, you know I had to jump on that thing. I remember seeing this book on the shelves when it was originally coming out, but for some reason I never started reading it. And because of this, I guess, I didn’t know anything about the book at all. I went in blind, essentially, only going off the title and the cover. There’s a car parked near a lake or a river, a body visible in the trunk. The city skyline off in the distance. There are two people standing in front of the car, at the water’s edge. One on his knees, one standing behind him. You can’t see it but you just know he’s holding a gun to the guy on the ground. It’s all dark, colored in blacks and blues. This is all I had going into the book. And I had to know more.
What follows is a fast-paced, hard-as-nails noir action story. It follows an unnamed former hitman. He’s been out of the game twenty years and may or may not be suffering from Alzheimer’s. But he’s pulled back in one last time after a list of mob-ordered hits is stolen and threatened to be exposed. There’s an attack on his home and he ends up killing the two would-be assassins, stealing their car, and heading off to make amends for his past (with his dog Harv in tow).
Someone is threatening mob boss Burrell with leaking information about all the people, cops, and associates he had killed to get where he is today unless he kills the old man. So, Burrell’s working it for both sides – he’s going after the families of all the names on the list (thinking it’s got to be a surviving family member of someone he had killed that’s blackmailing him) and also trying to kill the old man. But the old man isn’t going to go down without a fight. He’s had twenty years to think about all the things he did wrong, all the people he killed. And maybe it’s because he’s old now, possibly dying, but he’s going to make up for it, even if that means only protecting one kid – the kid of a cop he killed during his last job for the mob.
I know I’ve seen Ed Brisson’s name on books before, but prior to this, I’m not sure if I’ve ever read anything by him. And The Last Contract was one hell of a starting place. This book was intense. Right from the start it goes full-speed and never stops for even a second along the way. Like any good noir story, the writing here is sharp and hard and dripping with sweat, blood, and bullets. The old man is a great character, and he’s harder and more of an asshole than just about anyone I’ve seen recently in any medium.
The revenge/hitman story is not a new or wholly original thing. But I don’t think that matters. I think there are always going to be stories and storylines that we return to. That’s just the way it is. Everything is like something that came before it. But what matters, what changes stories, what allows them to work or fail, is what you do with them. Brisson took a story that’s been done before and made it its own thing. I think it’s the tension that carries this story and gives it a name of its own. This book is full of tension, packed onto every page. You get it from the old man’s side, from Dillion, from Burrell, and Sharon. Shit, you even get it from Harv (because if the old man doesn’t let him out frequently throughout the day, the old dog will piss on everything).
I’m a fan of Lisandro Estherren’s art. I’ve recently been enjoying it in the pages of Redneck. The art here is sloppy and chaotic. I say that it’s sloppy but I don’t mean that in a bad way. I think it fits the story perfectly, especially in the more action-y scenes of gunfights. If I had to categorize his style, I would call it dirty. Or maybe gritty. And I think it echoes the overall themes present in this book. Each page is packed to the brim. There is very little open/empty space in these pages. They are panel-heavy and the art or dialogue will occasionally cross the panel lines. Combine all of this with Niko Guardia’s colors that give The Last Contract its final noir touches. The book is dark and heavily shadowed. Full of deep blacks and nighttime blues. And even scenes that take place in the daytime are washed out and dirty feeling. It’s a theme that’s carries through every aspect of this book.
This book is perfect for fans of noir and fast-paced, action-y stories. I had never read Ed Brisson before, but after reading The Last Contract I will definitely seek out more of his stuff. This is a story with enough heart and danger and some of the toughest tough guys around. I am really surprised that I never got into this book sooner, considering it checks off just about every single box on my list of perfect crime stories. I love a book full of flawed characters carting around their own baggage.
SCORE: 4/5
The Last Contract
BOOM! Studios
The Last Contract #1 (BOOM!)
Posted on January 15, 2016 by comicspectrum
LastContract1
CREDIT: BOOM! Studios
Rating: 4/5 – He’s Old, Not Out!
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall
The Last Contract is the latest entry in the “retired hit man tries to retire but someone comes after him and ultimately regrets it” genre. I could also call this the “some people never learned it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie” genre. In movies, the role of the hit man is often played by an actor (like Bruce Willis or Keanu Reeves) who can still do all the action and are only “old” to the teens and 20-somethings in the audience.
Writer Ed Brisson give us a genuinely old “old guy” who has been out of the ‘business’ for 20 years and is a grandfather and certified senior citizen. But he’s old, not dead and messing with a guy who reminisces about the old days with things like “used to be, I’d have to cut off a biker’s arm before he’d say boo to me. One bastard, shot him ten times and he still didn’t go down…” Well, you get the idea, this guy is not stranger to violence, and as the mob boss who sent the hit squad after him, you mess with this old guy at your own peril. We learn the reason why he’s a target, but, as is usual for the genre, it’s inaccurate and they really should have left our man alone. Where these stories get interested in in the solving of the real reason behind the motivation to make the decision to mess with our protagonist. And he starts pulling on that thread, showing that he’s still pretty much a bad ass after all those years of retirement. Artist Lisandro Estherren does a very noirish job augmented by Niko Guardia’s moody color pallet both help set a great tone for this thriller.
The Last Contract was a fairly typical entry in the “contract killer is forced out of retirement” but Ed Brisson put enough unique elements into the story to keep me interested and guessing, including setting the tale in Canada. These stories are often set in New York. This was a solid debut issue and got me hooked, so I’m going to go along on the ride to see how the story plays out in this 4 issue mini series.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
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