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Advance Review: Alan Robert’s ‘Killogy’ #4

Published

11 years ago

on

Killogy #4 delivers a grand finale that readers will not soon forget. Since the beginning, this thriller delivered on all fronts – crime, black comedy, and grindhouse horror. Even with the star-studded cast of Brea Grant, Frank Vincent and Marky Ramone the plot never takes second fiddle and stands out on its own merit.

WRITTEN BY: Alan Robert
ART BY: Alan Robert
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 24, 2013

With the zombie apocalypse taking place outside, Sally Sno-Cones, Cole Edwards, and Summer Rhoades are locked inside a dingy jail cell. Suffering from intense claustrophobia, none of them can tolerate being in the same room together. In order to escape, the three inmates must go through a growing horde of zombie cops. Even if they make it through the zombies, there is still an apocalypse going on outside.
The three need to put aside their hatred towards each other and work together as a team. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and the only ones who can save it are a thief, a hit-man, and a femme fatale.

For the epic conclusion, writer/artist Alan Robert takes a different route with his storytelling and avoids flashbacks, which was a consistent technique. With his illustrations, Robert finally takes readers outside the prison and depicts a crime-ridden city gone to Hell. The character arcs for Summer, Sno-Cones, and Edwards has changed as well. We’ve seen them hate each other before, and now it’s time to see them work together. Robert provides such witty banter and hilarious one-liners when Sno-Cones and Summer share a panel together. The punchy dialogue has always been my favorite part of the series.

Even though Robert leaves the small and cramped space of the jail cell behind, it doesn’t mean he is taking away the suspense and tension. Readers are given a bigger room that Robert can play with. In this issue, the three inmates escape but only find themselves swamped by bloodthirsty zombies. I found myself rooting for Sno-Cones when he punched a zombie with his bare fist. And the fact that Sno-Cones is played by Frank Vincent, it just makes this illustration so much cooler.

Robert makes great use of colors during the escape from the jail. In these panels, the light source comes from the explosions and flames. Robert only uses red and yellow tones in these pages, highlighting the black ink on the characters. In an impressive layout, Robert uses three panels to showcase Edwards blasting away at the zombie cops. The best part, the zombies are taken out by shots to the head.
Using the likenesses of his cast became an interesting experiment for Robert. Because it never felt gimmicky, Robert pulls off the experiment with a cinematic effect. The way Brea Grant holds her pose, with her hairstyle and head turned, this looks like a performance captured spot-on in a picture.

Readers will have no idea what hit them when they reach the last page of “Killogy” #4. “Killogy” stands out among Robert’s body of work, and it has become my personal favorite of his. How is Alan Robert going to top “Killogy”? I’m not sure, but I cannot wait to find out.

4.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by Jorge Solis

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‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

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2 days ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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