I have not blogged for a little bit on comics because I knew this one was coming. Lady Killer issue #5 brings to a conclusion the story arc that introduced us to Josie; housewife, mother, assassin. A character who is a cross between June Cleever (for those who don’t know, think the complete opposite of Mama Kardasian) and James Bond. As we know from previous issues, Josie has fallen out with her employer after she refused to murder a young boy. Now the group that pays her to kill, has a contract out on Josie and perhaps even her family.
Josie’s two worlds collide at the World’s Fair for the final showdown. To be free, she has to kill those who hire her to kill. If she fails, she dies and her husband and her children as well. Her mother-in-law as well but that does not seem to be such a bad thing. In a climatic, incredibly bloody fight, she finally prevails. No longer tied to any one group, what will Josie do now? She is free, able to lead the quiet life of a housewife…but can she? Let’s hope not. Let’s hope that Josie picks up that knife, that blunt instrument, that gun or whatever else is handy because Josie can use them all with incredible and deadly force.
Joelle Jones has done more than create a comic book with blood and gore and gorgeous women. She has created the quintessential renaissance woman in Josie. A female character who wants it all and will kill to have it all. The home. The husband. The children. The murder spree. The job.
There is also a backstory here to Josie. A hint that she can become unglued at any time. A fear her now dead employer had that she could not be controlled. In a prior issue there is an opened file on Josie that shows her as a child, blood on her hands and dead bodies at her feet. Had she been raised as a killer or did something horrible happen to Josie? So you can see, it simply cannot end here. There has to be more.
Lady Killer is possibly my favorite comic of the year and has made me a Joelle Jones fan for life. Her artwork is crisp and fits the era of the story perfectly. Josie plays the little lady of the house to a tee. You come away feeling that this is something she wants, but her job intrudes. A job she doesn’t want to stop doing. A job she may not be able to stop doing.
Lady Killer is a great comic. Pick it up. Read it. And then read it again.
Comic Books - Literature For the Masses 