POP KILL #1, by Mad Cave Studios on 2/26/25, enters the cutthroat business of soda production when a hitman is hired by Fizz-One to eliminate competition and threats to the business.
Credits:
- Writer: Dave Johnson, Jimmy Palmiotti
- Artist: Juan Santacruz
- Colorist: Brian Reber
- Letterer: Sean Konot
- Cover Artist: Dave Johnson
- Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
- Release Date: February 26, 2025
- Comic Rating: Mature (language, nudity, voiolence)
- Cover Price: $6.99
- Page Count: 32
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of POP KILL #1:
Plot Analysis:
Pop Kill #1 begins with a man breaking into a manufacturing facility. He poisons the containment tanks with a specialized needle. When he’s surprised by a guard, he kills everyone who gets in his way and escapes. We learn the man is Jon Pyle, a mercenary and hitman indebted to the CEO of POP-Fizz for a personal insult. Pyle performs missions of revenge and corporate espionage to work off his debt.
Later, Pyle receives his next and last mission to be free of his debt. The Fizz-One CEO, Goro, gives Pyle a list of names to coerce, intimidate, interrogate, and kill to keep Fizz-One’s interests protected. Pyle makes his way through the list with ease, but the last name belongs to a research scientist who begs for his life in exchange for precious information. The scientist explains that Popso Famous, the rival company owned by Goro’s brother, is on the verge of a game-changing breakthrough. If he can find the inventor of the breakthrough, beautiful and brilliant Dina Deluxe, Fizz-One will stay on top.
When Pyle debriefs Goro on the situation, he reveals the breakthrough is a soda formula that never goes flat. Pyle is no longer indebted to Gogo, so Goro offers Pyle millions to find the girl and get the formula, either by seducing her to defect or killing the invention by killing her before she succeeds.
The issue ends with Pyle playing a long con to seduce Dina Deluxe.
First Impressions:
Dave Johnson and Jimmy Palmiotti have a unique concept on their hands by mixing a James Bond-type character with the cutthroat competition of soda manufacturing. The story is mostly played straight, but the setting makes for a few moments of humor, so it should be fun. Unfortunately, it just didn’t land for me.
Artwork and Presentation:
Juan Santacruz’s artwork is super solid. Pyle’s murderous exploits have a snap and a pop (no pun intended) that fit right in with a charismatic crime thriller. Plus, Brian Reber’s color palette choices evoke a classic, hip aesthetic reminiscent of the mid-century spy thrillers.
Art Samples:
Story Positives & Negatives:
The Positives:
The high point of the issue is the core concept. Dave Johnson and Jimmy Palmiotti’s premise that turns the competition for soda into a high-stakes thrill kill war is certainly unique, and the story flows nicely.
The Negatives:
As noted above, the story doesn’t land for reasons that are creative rather than structural. Pyle is a cavalier killer who doesn’t give the readers any reason to invest in his success or failure. There are no stakes or consequences for Pyle’s actions, so he takes the big assignment for a payday and nothing else. In other words, Pyle has no morality to support or root against, so he might as well be a blank slate. That’s not much to go on.
Further, the latter half of the comic drags quite a bit due to lengthy dialog scenes between Pyle, Goro, and Dina that may work in film but crawl in a comic.
Final Thoughts:
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POP KILL #1 has an interesting idea at its center about rival soda companies that employ killers to hold territories and sabotage competitors. Dave Johnson and Jimmy Palmiotti’s script has a few bright spots, and the world is interesting. Sadly, the pacing drops in the second half considerably, and there’s no reason to care about the main character, so the issue falls flat.
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