We got things to do.
An official John Wick comic book mini-series developed by Dynamite Comics was announced in June 2016. It was written by film director and comic book writer Greg Pak while illustration was provided by both Giovanni Valletta and Matt Gaudio, the first issue was released in September 2017. The comic series is a prequel to the original film from 2014, much like the tie in video game John Wick Hex. The series lasted for five issues.
The mini-series acts as a sort of origin to John's life as a hitman as it depicts his early interactions with the assassin community and how he earned his moniker, Baba Yaga.
The mini-series provides examples of:
- Ax-Crazy: Calamity is a violent, unhinged Psychopathic Manchild that goes out of her way to kill everyone in her path, regardless if she’s being paid to or not and only hesitating if it ruins her sense of fun. By the time we see her in the present day, she’s been in the nuthouse for the past ten years and hasn’t changed a bit.
- Arc Words: "I like it quiet" and variations is said quite a lot by John, and people discussing him.
- The Bad Guy Wins: In the end, John kills the Three Bills and Calamity but is required to work for Maria in return.
- Big Bad: While the Three Bills and Calamity are John's primary targets, the Bills work for the gangster Maria, who also is the one responsible for Calamity being released to fight John.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Charon is cornered by a dozen of assassins with no exit in sight, John bursts through the window with nothing but a cushion and takes them all out in a matter of seconds. However, it was revealed that this was all a ploy so that John could find one of the Three Bills and take him out.
- Bullying the Dragon: When John and Maria first talk about Calamity and he walks away, one minion aims at John even as Maria discourages him from doing so. Unsurprisingly, John turns back and shoots the man down just in case.
- Foregone Conclusion: Overlapping with Saved by Canon, we know that John and Charon, as well as any other movie characters, will make it out relatively unscathed since the series is a prequel to the first film. Anyone else though is fair game.
- Greasy Spoon: In the first issue, John visits Pax's diner to eavesdrop on a couple of assassins.
- It's Personal: John's goal is assassinating Pecos, Buffalo and Billy, who massacred an entire village while chasing him several years back. Even after hearing Calamity was the one who started the whole mess, John still wants them all dead for killing several civilians at the time.
- Mugging the Monster: A rude and abrasive hitman is waiting for his steak as he discusses an assassination with a colleague. When he sees someone got a pie before him he starts berating the waitress and then turns his sights on the man and starts aggravating and goading him. As you can guess that man is John Wick, and as you can also guess the next time they meet, it isn't pretty.
- Once More, with Clarity: A later flashback of the village massacre in Mexico introduces Calamity, the woman who started it by firing a bazooka at the civilians. Originally, John had assumed only the Three Bills were responsible as he remembered Pecos shooting bystanders down with glee.
- Origins Episode: As said above, the series depicts John's early interactions with the Assasin underworld, and depicts his first Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- The Quiet One: John, natch. However, he is noticeably quieter and colder than the films as he has yet to meet Helen.
- Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: John shoots Billy in the arm, causing him to fire by accident and shoot Buffalo in the head. Calamity finds it hilarious and kills Billy for the heck of it before John easily sneaks by and knocks her down.
- Sympathy for the Devil: John hesitates to kill Calamity when he hears she was driven mad from being raised as an animal, but once she rejects his mercy he fires back and puts her down.
