The Tom Hanks Mobster Drama You Likely Didn’t Know Was Based On A Graphic Novel

At the time, the Great Depression-era film “Road To Perdition” felt like a departure from Hanks’ usual roles of relatable good guys. Before the film, we’d become used to seeing the actor portray lovable everymen such as Chuck Noland in “Cast Away.” Instead, in “Road To Perdition,” Hanks portrayed feared Irish mob enforcer Michael Sullivan, who travels on a path of revenge with his son after a horrible betrayal by his employers. The grizzled character is a more complex shade of murky gray. He’s also originally a comic book character. The movie, directed by Sam Mendes, is based on the 1998 DC Comics graphic novel by writer Max Allan Collins and artist Richard Piers Maynard (via DC Comics).

If the story of an anti-hero killer and his son walking the path of vengeance sounds a little familiar to manga fans, that’s because “Road To Perdition” was influenced by a samurai classic. In an interview with BBC, Collins revealed that “Road To Perdition” is an homage to “Lone Wolf And Cub” by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. In “Lone Wolf And Cub,” a skilled samurai executioner is betrayed by his shogun master and travels on a path of revenge with his infant son. It is not hard to connect the thread between “Road To Perdition” and the manga. It’s also not too difficult to see just how wide of an influential net “Lone Wolf And Cub” has placed over western media. For instance, even “The Mandalorian” could be seen as a “Star Wars” homage to the iconic Japanese comic (via Den Of Geek).

At the time, the Great Depression-era film “Road To Perdition” felt like a departure from Hanks’ usual roles of relatable good guys. Before the film, we’d become used to seeing the actor portray lovable everymen such as Chuck Noland in “Cast Away.” Instead, in “Road To Perdition,” Hanks portrayed feared Irish mob enforcer Michael Sullivan, who travels on a path of revenge with his son after a horrible betrayal by his employers. The grizzled character is a more complex shade of murky gray. He’s also originally a comic book character. The movie, directed by Sam Mendes, is based on the 1998 DC Comics graphic novel by writer Max Allan Collins and artist Richard Piers Maynard (via DC Comics).

If the story of an anti-hero killer and his son walking the path of vengeance sounds a little familiar to manga fans, that’s because “Road To Perdition” was influenced by a samurai classic. In an interview with BBC, Collins revealed that “Road To Perdition” is an homage to “Lone Wolf And Cub” by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. In “Lone Wolf And Cub,” a skilled samurai executioner is betrayed by his shogun master and travels on a path of revenge with his infant son. It is not hard to connect the thread between “Road To Perdition” and the manga. It’s also not too difficult to see just how wide of an influential net “Lone Wolf And Cub” has placed over western media. For instance, even “The Mandalorian” could be seen as a “Star Wars” homage to the iconic Japanese comic (via Den Of Geek).