Murder never looked so classy. In the debut issue of the second Lady Killer series, Josie, our flawlessly coiffed anti-heroine, is taking a stab at entrepreneurial assassinations. In addition to the struggles of improvising on the fly after a particularly messy hit, Josie has to deal with a mother in law who’s wise to her real job and wants nothing more than to get her son and grandchildren away from Josie’s perfectly manicured clutches.
This issue was equal parts gruesome business acumen and entitled Fifties sexism, both of which might have made me recoil if done by a different creative team. Delightfully, Joelle Jones’ story and art—amped up by Michelle Madsen’s smooth, bright colors—is engaging, subversive and makes me eager for more. Josie looks like a heterosexual man’s stereotypical pin up dream, but behind her sharp eyeliner is a sharper mind.
The gore is in context of her learning how to clean up after her messes, which is new to her as she begins her solo slaughter service, and the sexism is present to highlight the absurdity of these men who don’t know and don’t care about what the women around them are thinking, always to their own peril. You never really know who you’re next to, after all.
This new Lady Killer series’ depiction of murder is not the overturning of the sexy, mysterious hit-woman trope of the first volume. It’s messy and has consequences and reminds you that taking a life is no small thing. Josie has to make quick pivots and use her environment to her advantage in ways she hasn’t been forced to before, but it brings out her best worst instincts. Her cleverness and ruthlessness are on full display here, and if you loved her first series, you’ll be smitten with the second.
Kara “KZam” Szamborski co-hosts the weekly comiXologist podcast (available on iTunes or SoundCloud) to help you find your new favorite comic to read. She gushes about comics and smashes the patriarchy on Twitter as @KaraSzam.
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