The Chill [Hardcover]

Jason Starr (Author), Mick Bertilorenzi (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2010

A modern thriller set in New York City, THE CHILL is steeped in Irish mythology. A broken-down cop tracks a seductive killer who possesses the supernatural - and very deadly - power known as "The Chill." It's a power that provides her eternal life by absorbing the sexual energy of her victims. And he may be the next victim!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There seems to be a serial killer at work in New York, hacking up young men in elaborately grotesque ways, and a drunken ex-cop claims that it is the work of some sort of druidic witch, eating souls for immortality. But there's never any mystery or suspense, just one chase from something to something else, with a lot of yelling and killing going on. Starr is known for his novels, including Panic Attack, but his first graphic novel misses the mark. The ugly and nasty script claims it is neo-noir, but it's actually splatterpunk, with a lot of plot holes. Why are the FBI such interfering jerks? No reason, except to frustrate the heroes' attempts. Meanwhile, the borderline racist caricatures of the Irish and Irish druids are practically embarrassing. Bertilorenzi's art is a cut-rate mishmash of Hellboy and Dylan Dog. Often the book feels as if it was a script for the old Night Stalker TV show rewritten as a Cinemax soft-porn movie. (Jan.)
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From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up The scene is rural Ireland in 1967. Two young lovers are becoming intimate when Arlana inadvertently does something to her boyfriend, Martin Cleary. She nearly kills him. When she runs to her father for help, he savagely beats her and ominously says, Your time has come! Fast forward to present-day New York City. Young men keep meeting the woman of their dreams, only to be savagely murdered when they start to get lucky. An older Martin Cleary figures out that Arlana and her father have traveled to the New World to spread their Druidic nightmare overseas. How can an old man stop such powerful magic? This graphic novel, set in a noir-type world, lacks a coherent story and solid plot. Arlana, the one female character, is depicted as both victim and seductress in equal measure. Readers will feel little sympathy for her situation because it's never really clear why she's following her father's evil wishes. The overall story is scrapped for gratuitous sex, violence, and seemingly every character swearing for no reason other than shock value. The spooky twist at the end will leave most readers underwhelmed. Ryan Donovan, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (January 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401212867
• ISBN-13: 978-1401212865
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JASON STARR is the international bestselling author of many novels, including THE PACK which is out in hardcover and e-book from Berkley/Ace on June 7, 2011. Starr's other novels are COLD CALLER, NOTHING PERSONAL, FAKE I.D., HARD FEELINGS, TOUGH LUCK, TWISTED CITY, LIGHTS OUT, THE FOLLOWER and PANIC ATTACK. He has won the Anthony Award and the Barry Award and his books are published in more than a dozen languages. He has also co-written three novels with Ken Bruen--BUST, SLIDE, and THE MAX--and edited BLOODLINES, an anthology of horse racing stories for Vintage Books. He lives in Manhattan and is currently writing the sequel to THE PACK.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jason Starr - Welcome to Graphic Novels!, January 12, 2010

By 

Michael Rosen "Mike Rosen" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Chill (Hardcover)

As I am turning 50 this year, sometimes I lie awake at night worrying that Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis and Mark Millar are getting old too. And they are all spending more and more time writing standard super hero comics and less and less time writing for Vertigo. So what is to become of sick, disturbing, gripping, supernatural comics that are exciting and mind-blowing?!!! Fear not, Jason Starr is ready, willing and more than capable of carrying on! The Chill has everything a good supernatural thriller needs: Irish mysticism, spooky art, sex, love, and characters who say "fook" and "Jaysus" a lot. Hard boiled NY cop meets hard boiled Irish cop to battle a serial killing team that terrorizes New York and every sex-starved inhabitant. Jason Starr creates a bizarre and alluring plot set to a furious pace, and Mitch Bertilorenzi complements with compelling scenes of lust, sex and death. Like other works by Starr, it is disturbing and funny and most of the characters set new lows for our species. Yet in this story Starr allows us a spark of hope in the survival, morally and physically, of one likable protagonist. So my advice is, dim the lights, pour yourself a Guiness, settle in a comfortable chair in front of the fire and enjoy the ride. Then, of course, hide the book from anyone under 17.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Bizarre, But Captivating, June 25, 2011

By 

JSmalls - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chill (Hardcover)

This is one of the strangest of the Vertigo Crime imprints, but it is one that is hard to turn away from or forget. The characterization is very strong and the illustration work is excellent. What it fails somewhat is its ability to say just the right amount: the ambitious story tried to do too much, which made it messy in places.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars As a paperback thriller, could have achieved mediocrity., January 16, 2010

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chill (Hardcover)

The Vertigo crime series combines established authors ("proper books") with talented artists. This is the second one I've read (the other was Rankin's attempt at Hellblazer), and I remain unconvinced.

The core concept is good, but overlooks the simple truth that "books" and "comic books" aren't the same medium - talented writers in one area can easily flounder in the other.

In the case of The Chill, Starr has put together the rough outline for a fast-paced (if utterly predictable) supernatural thriller and then... quit. A pair of Irish serial killers (dad & daughter) hop around New York - sexing people and then killing them in some sort of uncomfortable, Druidic fashion. A burnt out cop and... another burnt out cop... are both on their trail.

This would've been a fairly bog-standard airport thriller novel, but, in comic book form, doesn't even achieve that level of mediocrity. This is a collection of set-piece scenes for said novel - except it saves the author the effort of writing description by hiring an artist. As writing, it feels awkward. And as art, it isn't any good either - Bertilorenzi relies on bare boobs and messy corpses for titillation rather than actually trying to create atmosphere.

I like the core concept to this series, but they've still yet to impress me.