Previews: Okko #1 and The Killer #2

I’m not sure if these are on shelves yet, but I just found them in the mail from Archaia Studios Press as preview material. And, unlike when it took me way too long to review The Killer #1, I figured I should post something on these while they were fresh.

Interestingly, both of these series were originally published in France and are now being reprinted in English by Archaia Studios Press (both also retail for $3.95 for 26 pages of story). Okko was published as a series of “cycles,” which is probably some allusion to the obvious Japanese influences on it. I say obvious because the story is set in “Pajan” and features people fighting with swords, although there’s some magic and high-tech weaponry thrown in, you know, because Japan’s real history isn’t interesting enough.

I don’t want to seem too down on the book, though. The writing is fine (a pretty direct if strange adventure tale) and the art is quite crisp, to the point that each and every nipple (oh, did I not mention copious amounts of geisha nudity?) is fully realized. The creator, who goes by Hub, sets up a pretty interesting yarn that’s probably worth a read for anyone with a yen for Eastern tales. For more on the series, check here.

In the second issue of The Killer, we see mostly more of the same, a hitman mentally falling to pieces as he awaits his next mark to show up, which gives him ample time to ruminate on how he came to where he is. The art steps up even another notch, with design used flawlessly to keep pages rushing ahead and spots of sharp contrast to intensify the truly brutal violence.

What’s particularly great about this series is how the anti-hero is written. He is not some mysterious, doubtless killing machine, such as the Jackal in his various incarnations. He is a simple man who stumbled into a very different way of life. He’s not particularly strong, just resourceful. But, like anyone, he’s picked up plenty of tricks along the way. Mostly, the job wears on him mentally. And with this issue, those cracks burst wide.