Comic Review: The Killing Jar – Issue 4

Issue: The Killing Jar #4
Writer/Creator/Inks/Letters/35mm Photos: Justin Zimmerman
Pencils: Russell Brown
Additional Design: Shannon Zimmerman
Back Cover Colors: Harold Mackinnon
Publisher: Bricker-Down Productions
Release Date: August 2010
Pages: 32
Price: $4.00

” If Sam Peckinpah directed Night of the Living Dead, if a particularly bloody Old Testament story was ghost written by Kathryn Bigelow and John Carpenter, if God’s favorite film was The Outlaw Josey Wales…there’d be something in the comic world like THE KILLING JAR. But there’s not. A small Colorado town. Three drug runners with a van filled with product. Two police officers investigating suspicious activity. A heroic young woman with a violent past, a mentally handicapped little brother and her dead father’s .38 police special. And a throng of ravenous townspeople out of their minds with drug lust. Mix and…BANG!“

Artwork: 4.0 out of 5
Welcome back to one of the best looking western towns to be found in indie comics today. Russell Brown really gives this book a great, gritty small desert town look, that just shines on every page. The tones add depth to the panels, and in this issue we are also presented with some great single page and double page spreads. There is even a very nice amount of gore added in, during a car crash scene, which was easily my favorite panel. The style really fits the story here, and the depiction of the action plays out very well.

Story: 3.5 out of 5
This issue is nicely action packed, as it starts off fast and ends with a nice cliffhanger. Some very interesting plot points were brought up here, with the reader finally being presented with the residents of the town. I like the idea and am looking forward to seeing how it plays out. My downside with this issue was the way the dialogue tried to lighten the mood of the intense action going on. I’m all for a quick one liner in most cases, but I just don’t think that in the few instances here, it worked as well as I would have liked it to. It is not distracting enough to take away from the whole, but I did feel that it wasn’t needed.

Dying Breath: 4.0 out of 5
I really enjoy the concept that is being brought to the pages in this book. I think that the artwork is solid with this issue and I really enjoyed the extras thrown in at the end. What stood out to me most about the previous issues was the reality presented in the dialogue. So while this issue seemed to add in some extras that kind of pulled away from that approach, it is still a solid read. I can not wait to see where this series goes, but the addition of the towns people in this issue has brought on another level that just leads to more storytelling. I like it!

If you would like to know more about The Killing Jar and to purchase copy please go to www.brickerdown.com or www.comixpress.com

Comic Review: The Killing Jar – Issue 4