As we approach final order cut off this Monday, more positive notices are rolling in. So get those orders in. Diamond Order Code DEC140090.
Honestly, I've been posting everything. I haven't shied away from sharing negative reviews in the past, but so far, if one exists for this book, I haven't seen it. (Which isn't a request for anyone to find one, let me have my moment in the sunshine, please.)
This one, though, this is a major showcase: The Guardian newpaper in the United Kingdom.
Writer-artist Joëlle Jones evokes the idealised world of mid-century US advertising – all wide-eyed housewives miming astonishment at the latest mod-cons – only to take great pleasure in blasting the fantasy apart with enough blood spatter to test even the most scientifically advanced stain remover. She’s no stranger to viscera, having previously contributed the atmospheric art for Oni Press’s Viking grimoire Helheim, but there’s a zippiness and pop to Jones’s work on Lady Killer that makes Dark Horse’s first new series of 2015 particularly appealing. It’s scheduled to run for five issues, but it already feels like Josie will be back for more.
The gorgeous 60s aesthetic, the Silver-Age comics’ style and brightly dimmed colors mixed with sexy, curvy hips, and fatal grins. All of this tossed in with inkblots and ink spatters, terrifyingly high-arching eyebrows, and horrified screams accompanied by sprays of blood, this comic could be wordless and I’d be profoundly engaged in each issue.
With its deftly laid out action sequence and pitch-perfect handling of Josie’s home life, “Lady Killer” comes up a surprisingly quick read. And between its choice of era and tendency toward ultraviolence, there’s a hint of the wish-fulfillment fantasy. This guilty-pleasure angle makes it hard to ignore, and in the end, the greatest strength of “Lady Killer” is that it never pretends to be anything other than it is: a big, campy, and darkly comedic bit of fun.
This was such a huge, fun read – Mad Men meets Grosse Point Blank and Nikita, perhaps.
* Kabooooom gives us all 5 of their Os.
* We also get 5/5 from Tattoo Girl Reads.
What an incredible start to a [5 issue] mini series! It has been a while since I have found every aspect of an issue enjoyable, a feat Lady Killer achieves with ease!
* Destroy the Brain's Comic Execution likes the book but underestimates Josie just a tad. ;)
...darkly hilarious, blood-soaked soap opera...Jones and Rich craft a tightly-knit melodrama rife with the blackest of humor, sharply tuned dialogue, and a appropriately gripping cliffhanger.
Publisher Dark Horse has spared no expense in making this miniseries loaded with talent, aside from colorist Allred, the editorial team consists of assistant editors Jemiah Jefferson and Shantel Larocque plus very likely the best editor the company has: Scott Allie. The miniseries core concept–Josie Schuller, a stay-at-home mom who runs errands to enable her to drop her housewife facade for her true calling: contract killer–is deftly introduced with not one iota of heavy-handed narration.
I hope this miniseries garners the attention and sales it deserves so that this is not the last readers see of Schuller’s unique brand of deep cover suburban bliss.
Current Soundtrack: Belle & Sebastian, "Nobody's Empire;" Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"