Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

A killer is actually fairly rare in comic book stories, particularly in superhero comics. Well, it was before the New 52 from DC where people are dying all the time. It was often a joke in the comics industry that a character never stayed dead as so many characters have been killed and then brought back to life. The exception, so far, is Captain Marvel, of the Kree, the original one, not the numerous characters that have come later with the same name. So when I read The Killer and Samurai Executioner it struck me these are both very good books about people who make their living from killing. This is almost unheard of in American comics, at least, as explicitly as the killing is done in these books. There have been Marvel and DC characters, who are killers, but it is always off stage or their reputation is of a killer, etc. Even the Joker, of Batman fame, must have killed 1000s of people, but the killing is rarely the focus of the story. The one exception that comes to mind is Jonah Hex where he was a bounty hunter, and even then, the original series was far more violent than the most recent series that just ended.

It should come as no surprise that both of these books are not American since the subject matter is so dark and reality based. The Killer is a French series published by Archaia/BOOM! and has been collected into two full color omnibuses. Samurai Executioner was a long running Japanese manga published in America by Dark Horse, originally collected it in ten small volumes but they recently started re-issuing all of Samurai Executioner in thick (almost 800 pages) mini-trades; bigger than traditional manga but smaller than American trade paperbacks. In both these stories the killers are the good guys, at least compared to the people around them. Yet they are also very different from each other.

The Killer Omnibus Vol. 1

The Killer was a ten issue comic series published by Archaia. The stories are broken up into two arcs with the stories between the two arcs (each arc is collected in one omnibus) taking place four years apart. These stories are written by Matz and drawn by Luc Jacamon. It tells the story of a hit man who kills for the money. He has no real reason not to, as killing is just a job for him. He is very meticulous about how he kills and he is the best at what he does. The stories in the first volume are about his thoughts about being a killer while carrying out the hits. These make for a mix of contemplative stories with a large touch of suspense. At times he is just waiting for his victim to be at the right place and time to make the hit and at other times he is on the run after a hit. It is one of the more unique stories I have read as the killer is fleshed out as a human being who you feel for, even if he is not necessarily a good person. It is excellent storytelling in it keeps moving and changing with his personal life, his background, and his killings. You never know where the next page is going to go.

The Killer: Unfair Competition

The second volume which jumps ahead in time is a completely different story as the killer joins two partners from the first volume to form a company that has aims to become legit and take over the world of big business. Along the way he continues to kill, and he finds perhaps the rest of the world is not much different than him. While the first volume is small in scope as it is the killer and immediate family, the second volume takes on a global aspect as he travels the world with as much suspense as the first volume but in a completely different way. There are very few likable characters in this book which makes it so riveting a read. Almost everyone is morally corrupt yet all of them to different degrees. Each character is so well crafted that you care what happens to them, no matter how morally corrupt they are. There is also a fascinating subplot through both volumes about philosophy and religion and their place in modern society. The second volume tackles the pros and cons of the modern industrial world, particularly the cruelty of man and the corruption of world powers.

The art by Luc Jacamon is breathtaking. It is not a flashy style, and it is not a lush painted European style, but it is very cinematic and the colors are amazing. I was taken with how art is reflected of every place the story takes you, from Paris to Rio to Miami to Cuba to London, with each location having its own color pallet and feel. This is the perfect match of art and story. I was mesmerized reading these two omnibuses and I cannot recommend them highly enough. A note though. Due to content, mostly sexual, which is part of the stories and not exploitative, these books are for mature readers only.

Samurai Executioner Omnibus Vol. 1

Samurai Executioner is tells the tale of Yamada Asaemon, who has been trained since his childhood to be a master with a sword. He has become so good he is now the executioner for the shogun. As we find out over these stories he is not only the executioner for those convicted of crimes, he is also at times their last confessor as he hears the tales that lead up to the crimes. Unlike The Killer, Samurai Executioner does not do it just for the money, but for the moral value and for justice and because it is his job. While set in Feudal Japan, the stories could easily be from today’s news. There are arsons, murders, robbery, cheating, and almost any other crime you could think of. What I like about these stories is they are little morality plays. No crime is committed without its reasons, and while justice will be handed out by Yamada, he is a caring and passionate observer of these people’s lives. While there is violence with in these stories, the killing and the executions are not gratuitous. In fact, the stories that end in execution are not really that many, at least so far. While Yamada takes great pride in his job it is obvious that at times it causes him to have second thoughts. Unlike The Killer, where he kills and takes the money, the Samurai Executioner has a sense of justice that at times gets in the way of his given duty. He is both thoughtful and he has a big heart, which is not what you would expect from an executioner.

Samurai Executioner Omnibus Vol. 3

Samurai Executioner is written by the great Kazuo Koike and drawn by Goseki Kojima. Koike is probably best known for his long epic, Lone Wolf and Cub, which is very similar in tone and style, but this is different enough so not as to be just rehashing Lone Wolf. If you think about how many stories Koike has written, close to 500, it is remarkable that he has not recycled the same story over and over. Kojima’s art is slick and fast paced. Like most manga of this genre, it is quick moving and very flashy. The stories are well paced and the layout varies dramatically, which at times can be a little confusing, as they bounce from single page story to a two page spreads constantly and it is not always clear right away where the story continues, But this is a very minor complaint. This is a great read for fans of Lone Wolf, Blade of the Immortal, or Vagabond.

I think Samurai Executioner is a great read after you have read The Killer so you can compare and contrast the two types of killers. The art styles are worlds apart, and the storytelling styles tend to have nothing in common, yet both books tell compelling stories that make you think about the value of life. Neither book is an easy read in that death is never pretty and a lot of the characters are reprehensible. Yet in both The Killer and Samurai Executioner you come away from reading them amazed at the world you just left and thoughtful about what the stories were saying about mankind.

Everything I have written here is my opinion and in no way reflects the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics. I welcome any thoughts or comments at MFBWAY@AOL.COM. I also welcome reviews copies to be written about in future editions column.

Thank you.