Panelology is a weekly podcast about comics. We talk about current books, what we're looking forward to, and how to get into reading comics in the first place.

Kill or Be Killed: Volume 2 (Image Comics, 2016; #5-10)

Welcome back to the How I Met Your Mother* of serial killer comics.

  • I realize that that’s a strange comparison, but Brubaker’s second arc plays more with its non-linear narrative and Dylan’s role as story-teller than the first.
  • And the book’s tone takes a more darkly comic turn, too; this works well to temper its sense of inevitable doom now that we’re in the thick of it.
  • Don’t expect things to get better for Dylan just because Brubaker veers into dark comedy—because it’s far from smooth sailing.
  • I think I have run out of ways to say that Phillips and Breitweiser’s art looks amazing—but it does, and it’s actually a bit brighter and more colorful than usual here.

If you haven’t checked out Kill or Be Killed, there’s no question in my mind that you should.  The only question I have is…is Volume Three out yet?

* But with a better-written ending, I hope.

Collected in

  • Kill or Be Killed, Vol. 2 (#5-10)

Credits

Writer:  Ed Brubaker | Artist: Sean Phillips | Colorist: Elizabeth Breitweiser

​​​​​​​Spider-Man: Reign (Marvel Comics, 2007; #1-4)

​​​​​​​Secret Six: Unhinged (DC Comics, 2008; #1-7)