Part police procedural drama and dystopian sci-fi, Scott Bryan Wilson and Max Alan Fuchs’ Kill More #1 lacks depth, leaving a lot to be desired.
Kill More #1 is a brutal, gritty crime tale that ultimately has a lot of edge with little underneath. The series hails from Scott Bryan Wilson and Max Fuchs. It’s set in a distant future where humanity has colonized Mars, leaving one particular city on Earth to become an afterthought.
Colonia is rampant with crime and most notably, killers. This first issue introduces several of them, some briefly in a single page or panel, another in an interrogation. They all have their gimmick but the most intriguing one is the Sufferer. This killer cradles his victims in his arms, hoping to comfort them as they take their final breaths, before breaking down into tears.
Depraved killers run amok.
The world’s most dangerous killers have made Colonia their hunting grounds, taking advantage of the scarce population and lax law enforcement. However, homicide detective Aaron Aira remains committed to bringing justice to the victims, despite being numb to the violence he witnesses. He carries a list of over 100 open cases with him at all times, including the names of the victims. When his partner bails, he is paired with Mwanawa Parker, a rookie missing persons detective. Unfortunately, their interactions are limited, and we don’t get to know much about them as individuals or as a team.
The city is so clearly terrible and filled with evil that it raises the question of why any normal person still lives there. This may be tackled in a future issue which will be imperative because it is difficult to understand right now.
The issue is quite dense as far as how many words we’re fed, which works well for scenes like the interrogation but can feel overwhelming in other parts. The killers and standard police procedures are given a lot of page time, which isn’t very exciting.
Max Fuchs delivers effective detailed world-building in Kill More #1.
Fuchs’ art is well-suited for the book, as it effectively portrays the city’s gore and ugliness. All the buildings and people are visibly damaged and broken, with hardly any structures free of cracks or graffiti. Few people are seen wandering the streets, and there are a lot of cool little sound effects that appear sporadically.
There are nine more issues to explore, which allows ample opportunity for a deeper exploration of the protagonists. Although the first issue is not very compelling, the topic provides potential for improvement in future issues.
Kill More #1 from IDW Publishing is available now.
For a completely different IDW Publishing experience check out @carlos-alvarez’s review of Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees.
