Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me #1 (of 5)
Print Edition | Kindle Edition
Writer: Devin Faraci
Artist: Vic Malhotra
Colors: Jason Millet
Letters: Christa Miesner
Cover A: Vic Malhotra
Cover B: Robert Hack
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release date: August 31, 2016
Price: $3.99

When going through this week’s list of comic book releases to choose what I would review, I picked out Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me #1, but I hadn’t in any way connected it to the original novel, since the review file didn’t reference Thompson. I try to read as many comics as humanly possible every week and I liked the title, since it piqued my curiosity. Now, having prefaced with that boring lead in, I will tell you that as soon as I started reading this issue, it all snapped into focus for me. This was adapted from a book I had read over three decades ago and I remember thinking that I enjoyed the introspection so much that it had most likely darkened my very soul.

For you see, this comic book miniseries from IDW Publishing is based on one of the most influential noir books every produced. Set in a small Texas town in 1952, it has all the appeal of rustic Americana but beneath it all is a darkness that weaves through the lives of all its citizens.

If you’ve seen the new animated film, Batman: The Killing Joke, you know that somehow, someway, despite all the fan rage against the DCEU films, they actually managed to mess up the un-mess-up-able. Alan Moore wrote Batman: The Killing Joke in 1988, and it instantly became the most talked about and adored comics maybe of all time. It is the quintessential Batman & Joker story, featuring the Joker committing awful acts in an effort to prove to Batman that all it takes is one really bad day to make a good man go crazy. These include shooting and paralyzing Barbara Gordon, as well as the extended torture of her father. DC animated movies have long been the standard in comic animation, so when critics and fans both slammed this adaptation, it became an easy target for the gang at Screen Junkies to give it the Honest Trailers treatment.

Check out the Honest Trailer below.

Ben Affleck tweeted a short video today supposedly from the set of Justice League giving his followers a tantalizing glimpse of an iconic DC Comics character who, according to a source for Umberto Gonzalez’s original story at The Wrap, could be the main villain in the untitled standalone Batman movie Affleck will star in as well as co-write, produce, and direct. Check out the video below of the reveal of Deathstroke.

Kingsway West #1
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Mirko Colak
Colors by Wil Quintana
Letters by Simon Bowland
Cover by Mirko Colak and Wil Quintana
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: August 24, 2016
Cover Price: $3.99

I’m a long time fan of westerns. I grew up watching The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and the like. The concept of man living so close to nature and constantly at odds with both his environment and other humans appealed to me for some reason. Later, my attention turned to fantasy novels and role-playing games but the love of a good story set in the Old West was always there. So when someone comes along and mixes the two, I’m always down for a good a read. Kingsway West #1 is most definitely trying its best to find a place in my heart.

Read on and I’ll tell you why!

Avant-garde musician Mark Mothersbaugh became an icon of 1980’s rock when he helped found the offbeat band Devo and he has composed original music scores for over 170 films and television shows. He’s long been the go-to music man for directors such as Wes Anderson and the team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and now it looks he’ll be bringing his particular brand of quirky, energetic movie melodies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Mothersbaugh has been hired to provide the score for next year’s Thor: Ragnarok, which is currently filming in Australia under director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows). Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, respectively, are returning as the heroic, hammer-wielding God of Thunder and his villainous brother Loki.