Written by: Christopher Golden
Art by: Damian Couceiro
Publisher: BOOM!
Sons of Anarchy is one of the most popular shows on television right now, but it is coming to an end with the seventh and final season. However, Sons of Anarchy has multiple questions that haven’t been answered during the show’s successful run. For example, what were some of the background issues between Tig and Kozik? Christopher Golden tries to answer this question and others with Sons of Anarchy Volume 1.
Volume 1 is set sometime after Season 5, Episode 1 (Sovereign) in which Damon Pope burns Tig’s daughter alive. Tig and the rest of SAMCRO are trying to recover from this tragic event when a mysterious girl appears out of nowhere asking for help. Apparently, the girl is Kozik’s estranged daughter Kendra, who is in desperate need of help from SAMCRO. Kendra had been working in adult films, but she made a horrible discovery that sent her on the run from dangerous assassins. Of course, Kendra’s issues come at a time when Jax is trying to save his club from multiple threats, including the former president of SAMCRO. The only option available for Jax is to send his most trusted club members on a dangerous escort mission to the Tacoma chapter of Sons of Anarchy where Kozik originally came from.
Unfortunately, Tig has no idea that a porn baron named Griggs has sent multiple deadly assassins on a trip to kill Kendra and anyone protecting her. These assassins include a former prize boxer with a stupid name and two identical Chinese twins called the Ghost Brothers. All of these assassins are extremely deadly, but Tig, Happy, and Chibs are almost as formidable.
Sons of Anarchy Volume 1 mainly follows Tig’s journey to Tacoma with Kendra, Happy, and Chibs, but the collection also follows Jax, Bobby, and Juice in their pursuit to make peace with Henry Lin before a full-out war erupts in Charming. If these two stories weren’t enough, Volume 1 also spends many moments in flashbacks to Tig and Kozik’s early friendship. You would think that those main stories would be overwhelming or complicated, but Golden arranges them in a logical manner that flows well throughout the 164 pages. Additionally, all of these stories are just as interesting as the Sons of Anarchy TV show, but they can be enjoyed without commercial breaks or annoying cliffhangers.
One other fantastic aspect of the Sons of Anarchy Volume 1 is the art provided by Couceiro. Unlike many other comics based on popular films or TV shows, Sons of Anarchy features art so fantastic that the characters actually look like the show’s actors. In fact, Couceiro was even able to perfectly capture Gemma’s constant bitchy looks. Couceiro’s art is a huge asset to an already entertaining story.
Sons of Anarchy Volume 1 is a great collection for fans of FX’s hit TV show. This collection features six action-packed issues that fit perfectly with the show’s theme. In fact, Christopher Golden does such a stellar job crafting Sons of Anarchy’s story that I often found it more enjoyable than the show.
