Kill or be Killed, Vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker

But when Ellie lands in an upscale rehab clinic where nothing is as it appears to be, she'll find another-more dangerous-romance, and discover how easily drugs and murder go hand-in-hand.

If you don’t have Kill or Be Killed on your pull list yet, then you have exactly one month to do so.Newsweek's Best Comic Books of 2018 Thrillist's Best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2018 ED BRUBAKER and SEAN PHILLIPS-the bestselling creators of CRIMINAL, KILL OR BE KILLED, THE FADE OUT, and FATALE-present their first original graphic novel in paperback for the very first time! Teenage Ellie has always romanticized drug addicts, those tragic artistic souls drawn to needles and pills, ever since the death of her junkie mother ten years ago. Together, these three are putting together a book that is quickly becoming one of my favorite titles. He also gets a big assist from Elizabeth Breitweiser, who can somehow render colors that vary greatly in texture while also managing to remain stark and muted. The guy gets a lot of praise for how good his pencils look, but not nearly enough credit for how well can sequence a script.

This is aided greatly by Phillips’ aforementioned artwork. The premise of this series is cool enough on its own, but watching things unfold through Dylan’s eyes-along with the rest of his tangled and complicated life-make it even more enjoyable.Īs expected with anything Brubaker writes, the narrative flows beautifully-even the parts where Dylan has to backtrack and take the reader to a different point in the past. It’s hard to pity him or even be horrified by some of things he does because it’s also very easy to see parts of ourselves in him. I love the way Phillips panels things, so it feels like we’re getting cheated out of that sometimes.ĭylan is an unreliable narrator, but he’s also painfully authentic. Thankfully, Brubaker and Phillips take their opening set up and expertly build on it with a fantastic second chapter.Ībout the only thing not to like here are the pages with large amounts of texts going down the side accompanied by unlettered art. Part of me was worried that Kill or Be Killed would suffer from the same sophomore slump that many series with great first issues experience. Definitely not a fan of killing people in cold blood…but if you’re going to pick a first target, then Dylan’s doing a good job.Guns may be easy to get in America, but not if you’re trying to find one specifically to murder someone with (and get away with it). Credit to Brubaker/Phillips for not magically giving their protagonist a gun.Geez, Dylan’s life is pretty weird even without the whole ‘Demon Keeping You Alive Via Death Pact’ thing.

Still not sure how I feel about Dylan yet, but he and I are definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to fairy tales.

Kill or be Killed, Vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker