Media is chock full of characters who do bad things for good reasons. Comics are no exception. For every do-gooder Spider-Man, there is the Punisher; Daredevil and Elektra, even Superman and Batman, the latter to some extent. Artillery Network drops their own female led vengeance driven book in Pimp Killer, which is launching Mar 31-Apr 2 at C2E2 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.
There is not much preamble to be had here; the title pretty much says all that you need to know. LA Jones has taken it upon herself to rid her her town of those that would prey on women, be they lap dancers, prostitutes or even the beaten down girl in the diner with an unexplainable shiner and an abusive boyfriend. When it comes to protecting women there is no stone unturned. Following the death of young woman in Reno, Jones sets her sights on the Luciano “Lucky” Strykes and his sadistic tastes when it comes to treating women.
This book is not for the faint-hearted, as writer /creator Ghezal Omar paints a turgid series of situations. Every vengeance trope is played out via a flawed character in Jones, with a very fluid sense of sexual attraction and interaction. This type of fluidity is not wholly new; Gun Honey from Hard Case Crime features a similar set of circumstances. I like that Omar is unapologetic in this regard. Omar sets Jones up as a loner, but she has a sense of not-quite-family-but-more-than-friends that come into play as she drives further to her target. The dialogue is terse in places, flirty in others, requires a level of acceptance from the reader and is stereotypical in the deadpan “funny funny” comments the Omar has Jones spout; answers to the unspoken questions you may have will have to wait. The pacing and some of the panel setups can be a little confusing; I am not sure that the sex scene with Brett wholly works, same for the gunplay element halfway through the book.
My pace and settings gripe may actually fall in to the remit of artist / colorist Ayhan Hayrula who delivers a mix of art. Starting with the good, there are some very expressive faces on show, especially in the early part of the book. There are some interesting panel designs, some of which work and some that don’t. There are very little background details on a lot of panels, which I see on a lot of small press books. Finally, body poses and shapes change frequently and in some case faces completely disappear! Consistency has to be key, given the nature of the book. The colors, used to hide the background details, work well; there is a sense of darkness in play. Inconstancies also affect letterer Phillp Ginn, but at least Artillery Network gives Ginn a cover credit!
At first glance, I kinda liked this book; after spending some time with it, as the story progresses I found myself less and less interested. There is an ambiguity to the ending which may serve to set up a second book down the line. But for me, overall, there are better examples of this type of book available, which deliver on the promises made. On a final note, the lesbian vampire joke is not funny, no matter how many times it is used!
Writing – 2 Stars
Art – 2.5
Colors – 2.5 Stars
Overall – 2.5 Stars
Written & Created by – Ghezal Omar
Art & Colors by – Ayhan Hayrula
Letters by – Phillip Ginn
Published by; Artillery Network
Pimp Killer will make its debut at C2E2 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL (Mar 31 – Apr. 2),