Thursday, 24 July 2014
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
KILLER OF MEN a Killer Read
Rated Mature for language and violence, KILLER OF MEN is a bloody action tale of revenge and redemption set in present day Las Vegas.
It's written by rising star Chris Calkins, I happened to pick this little gem up at WonderCon this year and I'm so glad I did.
The basic premise goes like this; Abriam, this badass motor scooter, ex marine, ex black water trained mercenary turned hit man is trying to atone for his sins committed overseas in the sandbox aka Iraq.
You see in Abriam's mind, killing mob boss Klaus is not going to is-solve him of his sins but it'll be a very good start. While on the hunt he's struggles with some pretty dark shit.
For starters (spoiler alert) he killed 9 innocent civilians in Iraq. 10 if you count the woman he once loved and ultimately executes after he returns home to learn she bumped uglies with a few fellas while he was off fighting for his country.
He toys with how he could have done such an act and blames it on his training, explaining to the reader that he just blacks out and it's like he becomes another person that takes over. And we're talking a trained badass mother-fucker that could go toe to toe with the Punisher any day. Actually if you're a fan of Frank Castle this book is totally for you. I found Abriam a mashup of the Punisher and Barracuda.
There's some real talent in the writing to. There's this rule when storytelling, try to enter the scene as late as possible and they do it so well in this book. It's a great example of a writer that has discipline and continues to push the story forward.
The artwork is by Manuel Martin and very similar to that of 100 Bullets and again if you're down with that series you need KILLER OF MEN in your collection.
There's so much fun in this book I don't want to spoil too much but I can't write this review without mentioning some of the other supporting characters like Mr. Pennington aka Tweek, a meth addict that wears a gas mask as he's afraid of human contact. A character I hope they dive into as there's so much there. And really this book sets the tone and introduces us to a new character (Abriam) and a world that could have a great run in the comics.
Another great character is Jonathan, a fellow mercenary and go between that sets up Abriam's hits that's using audio therapy books to fix his fucked up ways. Loved that idea. And therapy is a topic that seemed to really layer itself throughout this story.
I knew a former British soldier that left the army and he was pretty messed up. I remember him telling me, once you get out that's it, you're cutoff from the army's services. No therapy, no help, he watched a bunch of friends end their lives after the first round of Iraq 1 from all the shit they did which says to me there was some solid research done for this book.
KILLER OF MEN was created by New Kingdom Entertainment. Their webpage says they're a creative entertainment company out of LA focused on publishing as well as film and television, clothing, online, and multimedia. I haven't seen anything else by New Kingdom Entertainment however if KILLER OF MEN is the first product off the line, I am so looking forward to what these guys put out next.
Great work fellas.
Josh Whittall
Investigating great comics
It's written by rising star Chris Calkins, I happened to pick this little gem up at WonderCon this year and I'm so glad I did.
The basic premise goes like this; Abriam, this badass motor scooter, ex marine, ex black water trained mercenary turned hit man is trying to atone for his sins committed overseas in the sandbox aka Iraq.
You see in Abriam's mind, killing mob boss Klaus is not going to is-solve him of his sins but it'll be a very good start. While on the hunt he's struggles with some pretty dark shit.
For starters (spoiler alert) he killed 9 innocent civilians in Iraq. 10 if you count the woman he once loved and ultimately executes after he returns home to learn she bumped uglies with a few fellas while he was off fighting for his country.
He toys with how he could have done such an act and blames it on his training, explaining to the reader that he just blacks out and it's like he becomes another person that takes over. And we're talking a trained badass mother-fucker that could go toe to toe with the Punisher any day. Actually if you're a fan of Frank Castle this book is totally for you. I found Abriam a mashup of the Punisher and Barracuda.
There's some real talent in the writing to. There's this rule when storytelling, try to enter the scene as late as possible and they do it so well in this book. It's a great example of a writer that has discipline and continues to push the story forward.
The artwork is by Manuel Martin and very similar to that of 100 Bullets and again if you're down with that series you need KILLER OF MEN in your collection.
There's so much fun in this book I don't want to spoil too much but I can't write this review without mentioning some of the other supporting characters like Mr. Pennington aka Tweek, a meth addict that wears a gas mask as he's afraid of human contact. A character I hope they dive into as there's so much there. And really this book sets the tone and introduces us to a new character (Abriam) and a world that could have a great run in the comics.
Another great character is Jonathan, a fellow mercenary and go between that sets up Abriam's hits that's using audio therapy books to fix his fucked up ways. Loved that idea. And therapy is a topic that seemed to really layer itself throughout this story.
I knew a former British soldier that left the army and he was pretty messed up. I remember him telling me, once you get out that's it, you're cutoff from the army's services. No therapy, no help, he watched a bunch of friends end their lives after the first round of Iraq 1 from all the shit they did which says to me there was some solid research done for this book.
KILLER OF MEN was created by New Kingdom Entertainment. Their webpage says they're a creative entertainment company out of LA focused on publishing as well as film and television, clothing, online, and multimedia. I haven't seen anything else by New Kingdom Entertainment however if KILLER OF MEN is the first product off the line, I am so looking forward to what these guys put out next.
Great work fellas.
Josh Whittall
Investigating great comics
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