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.

Thumbprint #1
Based on the novella by Joe Hill
Written by Jason Ciaramelia
Art by Vic Malhotra
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Cover by Vic Malhotra
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

As a country we are basically supportive of our troops, usually believing them to be acting in our best interests. Unfortunately, sometimes those same soldiers make poor decisions that haunt them to the end of their days. Thumbprint #1 sets up a story that is much like that, all centered around a soldier who made some choices with which she is trying to learn to live.

Private First Class Mallory Grennan is newly arrived back in the United States after serving abroad, arriving home only to find her father has just recently died. She quickly realizes that she is still living in his shadow even after his death. Working at the local VFW bar, his old friends are constantly reminding her of what a great man he was, a medic and a hero. Purple Heart, Silver Star…he really embodied what it meant to be a proper soldier. Unfortunately, sometimes the apple falls far from the tree.

Fans of the writing team of Joe Hill and Jason Ciaramella will be pleased to know that they are teaming up once again to bring Hill’s novella Thumbprint into the comics world. IDW Publishing will release the three-issue miniseries, with the first issue set to hit stores on June 19th, 2013.

Thumbprint is the story of private Mallory Grenna, a dishonorably discharged member of the US Army who worked at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Grenna has returned home, but the crimes she has committed are not content to stay a world away. The series promises that “over Thumbprint’s three gripping issues, fans will truly feel what it’s like to be haunted “¦and hunted.”

Check out the cover for the first issue below.