Lady Killer #1
Dark Horse
Words: Joelle Jones & Jamie S. Rich
Pictures: Joelle Jones
It’s like Mary Tyler Moore and La Femme Nikita had a baby, and that baby was Lady Killer #1. Man, I’m just 24 pages into this thing and I want to take this baby home, nurture it, care for it, and watch over it as it grows. (I think I just called a child and “it”… I’m not sure how I feel about that.)
Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich are hitting on all cylinders here. Our Lady Killer, Josie Schuller, is a “typical” 1950’s house wife by day, trained killer by night. (Actually, when we meet Josie, she’s doin’ some day killing, and evening housewifely duties, so I might be off on that analogy, but, regardless, she’s splitting her time between the two.) So already, Jones and Rich are hitting two of my soft spots, nostalgia/period pieces and balls out spy action. There’s your typical old school TV family vibe, with Josie; two precocious twins; a German speaking mother-in-law who clearly thinks her son could have done better in the wife department; and nice, dependable, if maybe a bit dopey Husband.
Visually, this book rocks out loud. While Josie clearly evokes a Mary Tyler Moore aesthetic, (I do love me some vintage MTM), her husband, while resembling Dick Van Dyke, actually reminds me very much of Roger from the Disney animated classic, 101 Dalmatians. I’m good with all of that. I’m good with all the art in this book. Jones is coming out swinging with the art in this first issue. There’s a crisp, clean, at times nearly cartoony nature to the line work that really evokes that ‘50’s flair. But there’s also grittiness to the pages you might not expect here. The panels have random “black noise” and a smudginess that tells you there’s some dirt here kids. All in all, this is a fantastic book to look at.
It also happens to be a fantastic book to read as well. It’s hard not to like a book that kicks off like this one does, “Ding dong, Avon Calling! Can I interest you in some death today?” (I’m paraphrasing here, but check out the preview below for some of that Lady Killer goodness.) But you can tell there’s more here. Yes it’s a cool idea and image, but why does Josie do what she does? How did she get hooked up with her handler Peck? How much is her mother-in-law going to screw things up for her? I already said I’m in for all five issues, but I’m already hoping this gets a second arc and mini-series.
4.5 out of 5 White Yippy Dogs
Before I get to the preview, how about a peak at some vintage MTM? (You’re welcome)
