Kyle Starks loves serial killers. Loves them! If you’ve been reading Where Monsters Lie: CULL-DE-SAC, which also released an issue this past week, you know his darkly comic slasher mash-up is pretty much the ultimate in serial killer comics. That is until Those Not Afraid #1, which pits serial killer against serial killer in a gory race to the bottom.
Hailing from Dark Horse Comics, and featuring art by Patrick Piazzalunga, the concept is pretty simple… There are two serial killers, both operating in a relatively small area. When one of them hears that they’re both closing in on the local kill record, they enter into a murderous competition to see who can break that record first.
What makes this work is how Starks spends time not just with the two killers, but also with several other characters in their orbit that amp up the tension and danger considerably. Focusing just on the killers would be as dark as Where Monsters Lie; here, we’re getting stakes beyond slasher/action movie and down to something more realistic.
Piazzalunga ably aids in this with a dark, heavily shaded style that lets one killer recede into the shadows, and the other pop dramatically. While not being derivative, his designs pleasantly call to mind the classic serial killer convention arc from Sandman, and the Corinthian in particular (a grinning, blonde killer certainly leans into those comparisons).
But more than older comic books, this seems to be riffing more off our culture’s obsession with true crime podcasts, and the inherent ickiness (technical term) of building a brand around the death of other people. It’s early going in this title, but a crackerjack first issue with some (no pun intended) killer visuals and a sharp (no pun intended) hook (pun intended) means Those Not Afraid is off to a great start.
Those Not Afraid #1 Rating:
Those Not Afraid #1 Official Synopsis:
A new crime series from three-time Eisner nominee Kyle Starks (Peacemaker Tries Hard, Where Monsters Lie) for fans of true crime and murder fiction.
Two serial killers discover they are within reach of the state record for kills and enter a terrible competition to see who gets there first. Featuring amazing and stylish noir art from Patrick Piazzalunga (Monsters Are My Business) and incredible covers from the legendary Glenn Fabry (Preacher, Hellblazer).
• Kyle Starks is the Eisner nominated creator of Sexcastle which was recently optioned to be made into a major motion picture.
• Four issue series.
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