To control the population explosion that nearly crippled the city, New York has instituted Kill Train, a randomized, extermination program where designated subway trains are picked at random, and all the passengers are slaughtered by the end of the line. In this not-so-distant future, we meet Vanessa, a struggling single mom in the midst of a nervous breakdown, who discovers that she, herself, is on a Kill Train. Now, for once in her life and with everything to prove, Vanessa decides she’s not going down without a fight. Kill Train #1 kicks off an insane concept that feels like it’s the start of a cult classic.
Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, Kill Train #1 is a solid start to what is an out there idea. We’re introduced to everything and by the end, in the thick of the blood splattering craziness. The concept is rather simple, New York City is overpopulated so to handle that, they just murder everyone on random trains. Sure, we could do about a million other things but mass random murder is probably a much quicker and final solution to the problem. We’re introduced to Vanessa who is struggling in life. She comes off as the character where there’s a coin flip as to whether she’d just give up if caught in that situation or a switch would go off and she’d raise hell and fight.
And that’s partly what’s interesting about Kill Train #1. The concept is silly and fun in that B-movie horror movie sort of way but it peppers its story with a lot of intriguing details. We learn that Vanessa is recently divorced but has moved in with a new individual. The fact she hasn’t unpacked as well as other details hint that there’s more going on. There’s interactions that tease there’s a lot going on with Vanessa, all creating a character that has a bit more depth than you’d expect. It helps create a character we can relate to a bit more.
The art by Martina Niosi is good. With color by Simone D’Angelo and lettering by Becca Carey, the comic’s visuals bounce between a style that’s rather mundane slice of life to almost comedic slasher. The details extend a lot to the visuals of the story. There’s things in Vanessa’s apartment, the body language of quite a few people, but really the dichotomy of the “suburban” life mixed with the violence of its underlying concept is what really shines… and is the point of the whole comic.
Kill Train #1 is a solid start and much like Maniac of New York, a slasher also set in NYC, the comic has a biting satire and underlying message to deliver. It feels like B-movie horror schtick but teases it may be so much more by the end.
Story: Olivia Cuartero-Briggs Art: Martina Niosi
Color: Simone D’Angelo Letterer: Becca Carey
Story: 8.15 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
