She’s got style, she’s got grace, she’s a … Lady Killer 2 #1

This issue marks the long awaited return of Joëlle Jones’ best-selling and 2016 Eisner Award nominated series Lady Killer. I missed the first series so I was going into this issue fresh. Given the title, given the cover, and given what I had heard about the first series I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was. They are NOT kidding when they said “where 1960’s pop meets the dark underbelly of suburbia”.

“A level of violence that can only be described as Mad Men’s Betty Draper meets Dexter.” – Comic Book Resources

“Lady Killer is worth its weight in gold for the art alone, but the enigmatic Josie Schuller is the real appeal.” – Newsarama

Josie Schuller is a typical suburban housewife on the outside. Cocktail parties, luncheons with the ladies, and providing an early 1960’s “perfect” home for her nuclear family seems to keep her busy. That is when she is not whacking a poor old lady in the side of her head with the claw end of a hammer while on the toilet! I definitely missed a bit by not reading the original limited series and I intend to correct that post haste by finding the issues or buying a trade paperback. It looks like Josie is running a contract killing business on the side and business seems to be good.

Joëlle Jones’ art is amazing. At first I thought I was looking at Disney’s 101 Dalmations on paper. It’s a great fit for the timeline and the details are just great. Michelle Madsen’s colouring is bang on and some of the little things like the wallpaper at the Tupperware party and the authentic 1960’s clock on the wall really sets the retro vibe.

I am running, not walking to my local comic shop to find the first series. If I find the trade I’ll wait and get this series in a collected volume as well. Otherwise it is going on the pull list ASAP.

Issue: Lady Killer 2 #1 | Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Joëlle Jones | Artist: Joëlle Jones & Michelle Madsen
Price: $3.50

About Author

Martin Boruta

Martin Boruta has been reading comic books and graphic novels for 50+ years (he reads books without pictures too, just sayin’). A lifelong fan of Captain Canuck, Martin is the curator of The Unofficial Yet Definitive Captain Canuck Comicography website. Since 2016, Martin has been reviewing comic books and highlighting great new Kickstarter projects at First Comics News. Martin’s writting has also been featured in Sequential Magazine. For over two-hundred episodes, Martin enjoyed teaming up with his pals and sharing hosting duties on The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show broadcast on Trent Radio 92.7 CFFF FM in lovely Peterborough, ON Canada, and still available at The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show website. Martin is a founding member of the Canadian Comic Book Alliance. In his various adventures, Martin has demonstrated an innate ability to spell “Erik Larsen” incorrectly.

Martin’s “day job” is owner of Shaw Computer Systems Inc., an Information Technology consultancy firm in Peterborough, ON, specializing in Managed Services for small to mid-sized businesses since 1980.

In the past, Martin served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve as a member of the Cadet Instructors List (Cadre), reaching the Queen’s Commissioned rank of Captain, was awarded a Baronship of Sealand, and was ordained as a Reverend in the Universal Life Church while watching an episode of Monster Garage.

See author's posts