Skybound-Image Comics 2019
Created & Written by Kyle Starks
Created & Illustrated by Erica Henderson
Lettered by Deron Bennett
The World’s Former Greatest Hitman hires the 20 best assassins in the world to be his bodyguards. These mean-as-hell hired guns and murderers must work together to keep the new crime boss safe while attempting to solve the mystery of who’s trying to off him.
So, I was very intrigued by the idea of what I saw of this. Granted I hadn’t seen much just that a bunch of assassin’s were getting together and having a free-for-all. So I was like okay I am checking this out and with Kyle writing it, I was expecting a lot. So with a bright outlook and a hint of glee in my eyes I opened this up and began my journey. I like Kyle’s writing and there are a few things of his that have left such a good impression that I will always (outside the “big two”) give his news books a shot.
The opening was really well done and so much so that it gave me everything I could want and more. The interrogation that we see seems to be by someone who is well above their station in life. I say this because the dialogue here is that sensational that we get this sense of who the man is from his choice of words and how he delivers them showcases that. It isn’t just that however, though it is a damn good start, no it’s also what we see happen here that gets the proverbial ball rolling, like a snowball downhill picking up speed and mass.
The way this is structured is extremely well done. The way the issue flows so that the story & plot development and information that everyone should glean is not exactly hidden from view nor is it in your face but it’s so well crafted. The introduction of the characters is done beautifully and as we get to meet them there are a few that stand out for me. What is great about that is the fact that each reader will find those among the crowd that they like, want to see more of and root for in what’s to come. That is the beauty of this kind of introduction, with so many people thrown at us and each one given a personality that we can see kind of developed already yeah that’s exciting to me.
So Erica definitely has her own style to her work. For me it isn’t what I would normally gravitate towards as it feels unfinished or basic even. It’s in the way faces are drawn I can’t quite put my finger on it but there I’ve said it. Now having said that she really does a nice job giving the individuals quite different looks. I find that the attention to detail she brings is quite nice and in a way makes this room full of assassins charming to see. Also there are little touches here and there that show off her sense of humour and those subtle things are priceless. When we get to Fuck Tarkington, he made me a full on fan of Erica’s because that was brilliant. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us she’s got an amazing eye for storytelling. Yes I would like to see more backgrounds but whom am I to complain? Plus that she does all this, colour work included, is impressive. I love the creativity and imagination that is on display here, plus gratuitous violence without a turn of gore, oh yeah that's for me!
Names, nicknames and the like you name it and Kyle brings his own funny sense of humour to it as well. Then there’s the mix, not only of gender’s, ethnicities but sexualities as well. These folks run the gamut and I had no idea this was going to be one of the funniest, most entertaining and offbeat black comedies I’ve had the pleasure to see.