LIQUID KILL #1, from Whatnot Publishing, follows Kai and her allies as they hunt the group responsible for kidnapping her adoptive father.
The Details
- Written by: Max Hoven, Aaron Crow
- Art by: Gabriel Iumazark
- Colors by: Gabriel Iumazark
- Letters by: Gabriel Iumazark
- Cover art by: Gabriel Iumazark (cover B)
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: Available Now
Is It Good?
Interesting. LIQUID KILL #1 introduces readers to an anti-hero named Kai who may be more villain, or at least morally bankrupt, than anyone remotely resembling a hero. Setting up a protagonist whose a villain against antagonists, who are also villains, is a tall order, but somehow, Max Hoven and Aaron Crow make it work.
Hoven and Crow’s script centers on Kai – a crime lord tearing her way through anyone on her way to finding the people who kidnapped her adoptive father and mentor, Sylla. Kai is not a nice person, and an extended flashback shows how she rose to power, enjoying all the delights of slavery, murder, and cannibalism her role of authority has to offer. Likewise, Sylla is a preternatural killing machine responsible for saving Kai from slavery (or much worse) when she was a child. When Sylla runs into trouble, Kai brings all the tools of her bloody empire to bear.
Again, getting the readers to root for a terrible person is a tall order, but Hoven and Crow succeed by basing Kai’s actions on the fundamental bond between daughter and father. You may not agree with torture and murder, but you can understand why Kai does what she does, and to an extent, her lack of restraint. When a character is properly established and motivated, even pure evil can seem righteous.
Regarding the writing execution, it’s mostly on-point. The pacing is smooth, the dialog is slick, and the plot progression gives you plenty of story packed into a standard-sized comic.
The one area that’s a mild down point is the lack of setup in the first few pages. You’re thrown right into the action without a clear sense of which character is the main focus, so it takes a few pages to get oriented.
How’s the art? It’s slick, cool, hip, and razor-sharp. The cover below reflects the internal pages, so you can see there’s a slight Euro-futurism, cyberpunk-ish feel to the character designs, mostly reflected in the costumes. Gabriel Iumazark’s eye for dramatic camera angles is stellar, and the settings are nasty, reflecting the mood of the characters.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a trio of what appears to be mercenaries or hijackers aboard a US Geological Survey boat. The hijackers’ leader orders one of the crewmates thrown overboard while tied to a tether as the boat speeds along the frigid ocean water. The trio is demanding information about a man named Sylla.
In a flashback, we see Sylla enter a seedy crime den. He confronts the local crime lord, Kai, in his personal quest to wrest control of Kai’s empire for himself. Kai orders his men to kill Sylla, but Sylla appears to shrug off stabs and gunshot wounds with ease. Unable to stop Sylla’s approach, Kai is murdered, and all that is his now belongs to Sylla.
When Sylla surveys his “stock,” he finds a small girl kept in a cage. Sylla frees the girl and claims her as his daughter, giving her the name of the crime lord who imprisoned her, Kai. We conclude the issue with demands, torture, and little Kai all grown up.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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LIQUID KILL #1 is a slick, brutal, cyberpunk-ish crime story about a woman Hell-bent on saving her father from ruthless kidnappers. Making the protagonist just as villainous as the antagonists is a tough sell, but this story makes it work with grimy, bloody action and a noirish atmosphere.
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