Graphic Novel Review – Lady Killer Vol 1 by Jamie S. Rich, Joelle Jones, Laura Allred (4.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Thriller
Length: 136 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Books
Release Date: September 15, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1616557577
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Lady Killer series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
“Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother–but she’s also a ruthless, efficient killer! She’s balanced cheerful domestic bliss with coldly performed assassinations, but when Josie finds herself in the crosshairs, her American Dream life is in danger!
A brand-new original black comedy series that combines the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival.”
This is the first volume in the Lady Killer graphic novel series. There were two volumes released in this series. I really enjoyed this a lot; I loved the characters, the story, and the illustration style. There is a lot of dark humor here and I enjoyed it!
Josie is a homemaker and mother of two that moonlights as an assassin. I love that she struggles with many of the normal things every mom struggles with (keeping everyone happy, balancing work with homelife, etc). Of course her work activities are quite brutal, but many of the work/life balance issues we all face are here.
Josie is an incredibly capable woman and I like the look into the 1950’s and how awful equality between women and men was back then. It’s a testament to how far society has come…and how far it still needs to go.
The illustration style was very well done; I loved the coloring especially. It’s easy to follow and fun. Much of the illustration and story are very darkly humorous and tongue-in-cheek. Also make sure to read the intro, I found it highly entertaining as well.
Overall this was a fantastic start to this darkly humorous story about a mom and wife trying to balance her everyday activities with her rather taboo career. I plan on reading volume 2.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
