Thief of Thieves #1

Written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

There was never any doubt that I would be buying this comic.  I have been a fan of Robert Kirkman's for years, and have been avidly following Nick Spencer's career since his second mini-series.  Shawn Martinbrough is one of those artists I've always admired, although I don't often see his work these days.

Kirkman and Spencer's story is all about Redmond, a master thief who has been working with a young female apprentice Celia.  When the comic opens, Redmond is pulling off a heist on a cruise ship which only works out because of Celia's involvement.  From there, we are given a flashback to how the two of them first met, and began working together.

After that, we follow Redmond and Celia to their office, or somewhere like that.  We learn that Redmond has been planning a big job in Venice, but is now beginning to rethink whether or not he wants to go through with it.  We meet his backer and the talent he's recruited for the job, and are given an ending that makes what will happen in future issues a little uncertain.

The book is well-written and drawn, but there are a few things that didn't really work for me.  To begin with, the opening scene on the cruise ship is pretty unclear.  It is only through dialogue that we learned that we are on a boat - there are no establishing shots to clarify that until our main characters are flying away in a helicopter.  As well, I have no idea what it is that was actually stolen off the ship, or how exactly the ruse that Redmond and Celia pulled off worked.

The best scene in the comic is the one where Redmond and Celia first meet, as she is trying to break into his car.  The dialogue in this scene is very sharp, and gives me a lot of hope for the rest of this series.  Thief of Thieves would appeal to anyone who enjoys books like Criminal, or heist films.  It's a little rocky in a couple of places, but it's also very good, with a lot of promise.