Part-James Bond, part-Mission Impossible, part-A-Team, all a tad flat and uninspired, this two-part vigilante thriller has more pulpy references than a Quentin Tarantino movie, but struggles to stand tall as an engaging adventure in itself.
Wayne Shelton – The Mission centres on the titular hero, who is called in to free a imprisoned truck driver after the driver accidentally causes a political punch-up between two countries. The Mission, the first of two episodes of this particular story, sees Wayne gathering a rag-tag bunch of former friends with pasts as shady and dangerous as his, as well as a few new ones along the way, in order to carry out the assignment.
Being the first of two instalments, The Mission suffers from having the whole ‘set-up-the-plot-which-will-happen-in-the-next-book’ sort of thing, but it’s not totally without charm. The set-up itself is fairly intriguing, and offers a handful of twists and turns as Wayne attempts to gather what help he can. The help he finds ranges from trusted colleagues, useless has-beens and those with secret agendas that could put Wayne’s mission in total jeopardy.
The Mission closes with Wayne’s answer to Pussy Galore, Honesty Goodness (?!?!) wrapped around his rugged arms asking if he’ll ever hang up his guns and settle down into a regular, safe life. Wayne merely stares out into the distance, his Sean Connery-esque eyes becoming as twisted as the mountains he gazes on, knowing his mission is still out there, waiting to be rescued. It feels as though episode 2 is being set-up quite nicely, for all its cringe-worthy play out.
The artwork fares far better than the story itself, and is crisp, bright and minutely detailed, making Wayne Shelton – The Mission a joy to look at even though it’s not quite as much fun to read. Wayne Shelton – The Betrayal had better be the explosive follow-up The Mission builds itself to be.