Get inside the mind of a professional assassin, a man of few scruples, nerves of steel, and a steady trigger finger. A man whose crimes might be catching up with him. A man on the verge of cracking…
For four volumes writer Matz and artist Luc Jacamon have taken us into the world of Frank aka Killer, a hitman lost in a world without a moral compass. The noir series involves everything you’d want from the subject and genre including solid action sequences, loose morals, sex, violence, and political intrigue. This fifth volume brings to a close a series that has presented a fascinating outlook on the world from a completely non-American centric viewpoint. With that, it has challenged, intrigued, and created what’s probably a much more realistic worldview.
And that worldview continues here as Killer wraps up his adventure, but how will he go out? That’s the question I had as I read every page hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Instead of the flash and action, we get an epilogue in many ways. It’s a subdued entry in what generally has been a fast paced series. Much of this entry is from Killer’s perspective as he thinks through what he thinks of the world, settling down, history, and society, and his role in it all. It’s a comic that has our anti-hero taking stock of his life and figuring out what’s next.
This work is dense forcing you to parse each section of dialogue and contemplate what’s being said. But, it’s not as simple as a couple of words. Those matched with Jacamon’s art creates a combination where deeper meaning is as much as what’s being shown as what’s being said. It’s a combination that’s unmatched in comics today and they’ve pulled it off for five volumes.
But even without its synergy with the words, the art is utterly beautiful to look at in a style that’s unrivaled. Lush beaches, beautiful oceans, vibrant jungles, the art and the coloring is jaw dropping and worth the price of admission alone. Like the story itself, the art is sexy and cool creating a world you want to live in now matter how wrong things may be.
I expected a shootout finale with bodies piling up and our protagonist maybe not making it through, and instead, we are given a finale that’s an introspective search as to one’s role in the world. Even with those final pages I found myself still debating the deeper meaning of the series and what it was trying to said and what it has said, and more importantly how I agree or disagree with it. Matz and Jacamon have capped off an impressive run with an ending that delivers and then some. A perfect end cap for one of the most entertaining series in comics.
Story: Matz Art: Luc Jacamon
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
BOOM! Studios/Archaia provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
