Lady Killer Issue #3, Dark Horse Comics
Women are multi-faceted, and a talented writer and artist can show that in as little as eight pages. The creatives behind “Lady Killer” (Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich), have done this consistently – and with more gravitas in the third issue.
In this issue, our favorite lady killer Josie hosts a party with her husband and attempts to complete an assignment.
Again, we see her as a caring mother, attentive wife, and as a killer. And despite the fact that Josie does accept murder-for-hire jobs, I found her even more relatable in this issue.
I’m one of those women who chooses to balance lots of roles and obligations: family life, work, hobbies. When life gets a little crazy (say I am sick for a few days), the whole balance is thrown off a bit. In contemporary times, this is common for women, if not expected. In Josie’s era, not so much. Women stayed at home or had a career. She does both.
Mrs. Schuller, Josie’s mother-in-law, has been noticing Josie slip out of the house in a peculiar fashion. In this issue, the inevitable confrontation occurs. The elder woman accuses Josie of stepping out with a man instead of working at a hospice (evidently her cover), and Josie responds by assuring her that she’s imagining things.
This scene is particularly disturbing because I see it play out all the time – one person assumes the worst, the other gaslights. In any type of relationship, it’s a difficult habit to break. When you’re wearing a lot of hats and having to display different aspects of your personality more prominently for different people, it’s even harder.
Josie focuses on the tasks at hand, but as she experiences a conflict, I wonder if we’re about to see her whole world unravel. That is the way it works in the real world most of the time. I’m looking forward to her future interactions with her mother-in-law – because I think it will end in something more than ‘I told you so.’ Even if Josie ends up in jail, I relate to her enough to want to see a conclusion in at least one role in her life, since they’re all so at odds.
“Lady Killer” continues to be full of intrigue and action – it’s well worth your time to check it out.
Disclosure: I received a review copy of “Lady Killer Issue #3” from Dark Horse Comics for review purposes.
