Chapter 2: “The Thing About Killing That Guy” Before the funeral, before the reunion, before the fall—there was a hit sitcom. America loved The Six of Us. Six young stars. Endless laughs. Perfect chemistry. But behind the scenes, a different story was unfolding. Told between the bright glow of a ‘90s laugh track and the darkness just off-camera, this issue reveals the moment the cast crossed a line they can’t undo. Six of Us #2 takes the series in unexpected directions as it builds motives for the death of a star.
Written by Tom King, Six of Us is a murder mystery but one that examines the tragedy that is stardom. King gives us a riff on Friends and the careers many of the individuals had once the popular show went off the air. It’s the type of story that leaves you guessing what’s real and what’s not and has readers attempting to remember what happened to each cast member.
Six of Us #2 does a solid job of diving into that history and while doing so, giving readers a possible motive as far as who is the murderer. But, King does it in a way that it’s not obvious that’s what’s happening, the comic taking us through the careers and history, almost like an interview with a star reflecting on their career. It’s not until the end it’s clear that’s what’s been going on and even then, there’s so much revealed, it creates multiple motives from multiple suspects.
There’s a tragedy to it all. The story isn’t just another detective whodunnit. Six of Us #2 makes it clear this is also about the rot that is Hollywood and the struggles of the stars who the audiences adore. Friends, while successful during its run, also spun out disaster and struggles for many of its actors, much like the characters of Six of Us. There’s been a tragic death, a terrible spin-off, and uneven movie careers, and what feels like an unknown path to recapturing the stardom or what to even do with it.
Joining King is artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta who continues to give a style that feels like it’s part tragedy and part detective noir mystery. Joining Walta is Jordie Bellaire on color and Clayton Cowles on letters. The style is an interesting one giving a look of a comic that feels like it has fun with the sun of Hollywood but mixed with the more muted feel of a detective story. The look of the characters nails down the personalities and tells some of what we need to know about their careers.
Six of Us #2 is a solid second issue that builds the mystery and focusing on a few of the potential suspects. It lets the reader play detective to figure out who the killer is and why they did it. It also plays off of pop culture with a subtle jab at the ups and downs of fame and fortune.
Story: Tom King Art: Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Color: Jordie Bellaire Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
