For those that have been reading Lady Killer and thought to themselves that it was a pretty fun series but that more could be done with it, this issue will be the remedy to that.  The previous issues have introduced the cold blooded assassin who is passing as a loving housewife, but it was hard to figure out the direction of the series because the main character was shown to be one of contrasts and contrasts which were either easy to get behind or hard to root for.  The turning point for both the reader and the character came when Josie was given the hit on a young boy, and as she painstakingly went through the process of gunning him down, the series seemed to be losing its heart.  As she turned around and decided not to, the series also got new life, but her actions had consequences, and that is where they left off in the last issue, with Josie herself being the focus of a hit.

This issue deals with the after effects of her being driven off the road by her handler in the precursor to an assassination attempt.  As she manages to fight back and get away, the issue really picks up momentum.  As she was previously subject to the whims of her handler, she proves herself to be an effective espionage agent as she manages to track down another handler and his assassin.  From the moral low of the previous issue, Josie manages to come back in full force and even more so.  She is shown here to not only be competent and deadly, but she hasn’t yet been shown to be this feminine while doing so.

This issue marks the best thus far for the series, which can be either a good or bad thing leading into the finale (which should theoretically be the best).  The pacing is fun as the issue reads through seamlessly without a pause at all, and it works well.  The characterization is well handled, especially to have built up her own struggle as a character and how she realizes this in others.  This provides wonderful depth to characters that only showed up for a few panels.  There is really very little wrong with this issue, it only remains to be seen if it can be capitalized on for the next and final part of the story.

Story: Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich  Art: Joëlle Jones
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.3 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.