Customer Reviews

The Chill

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is a crime/mystery graphic novel (hardcover comic book). It has a supernatural element, with a Celtic/Druidic father/daughter serial killer duo loose in modern New York City. Lots of sex and violence in this one. Kind of disturbing, but entertaining in its own way.

A killer is on the loose in New York. There's a suspect but each eye-witness provides a different description. What's going on? The explanation left me cold (pun intended). This supernatural infused crime thriller left me wanting more. More substance. Cool art but the story just didn't do it for me.

This book is about sex and death. The book begins with a woman having sex with her boyfriend and then he gets the "chill" meaning that he get very cold and he is left shivering on the ground.

The rest of the book is a rather convoluted story about a woman and her father who go through Manhattan killing guys as some kind of druid ritual that doesn't make sense. THe boy from the beginning shows up as an old man who is following his old girlfriend around.

It takes about an hour to read and it's an enjoyable hour. It's not terribly deep and some of the things are silly - especially the police procedurial - but that's something you expect in these kind of books.

As part of the DC Comics' Vertigo Imprint's Crimes series, The Chill is a self contained detective story with B&W artwork. I did not think it was bad in the art department, but don't expect a masterwork, the character models are OK looking and everything, but the "limitations" of B&W is not utilized, so no shadowy atmosphere etc. like Mike Mignola brilliantly creates in his Hellboy comics.

On the other hand, the narrative is plain bad. It's boring, predictable and just not entertaining. It has as much depth as a TV horror movie, and the mythical elements are not grounded enough to become exciting.

A fun and fast read. Expect violence and sex but it's tied into a tale relating to Celtic Mythology. Artwork was well done but it's in black and white for those who are turned off by such things. WHEN READ: 10/04/2010; MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.

The Chill is part of DC Comics/Vertigo Crime label. A series of graphic novels that have a crime noir theme but with a tinge of horror or fantasy. Jason Starr's tale revolves around ancient Celtic black magic known as "The Chill". A father and daughter from Ireland are on a killing spree in New York City. The Daughter, Arlana, seduces men and during sex, uses the chill to nearly freeze them to death. Her father then takes over, killing the men with an ancient rite and stealing their life force to keep them eternally young. A victim who escaped their attack and is now living in Boston as a detective has tracked the pair to New York and attempts to aid the police there. They of course think the man is a raving lunatic after he relates his tale but as the bodies pile up, even the hard-nosed NYPD detective begins to realize these are no ordinary killers.

The Chill earns a definite R-rating due to gratuitous nudity and profanity which all became a little much and didn't contribute much to the story. This isn't a bad story but its not one that seems to be deserving of an original graphic novel as say "Dark Entries" which featured John Constantine. While I've quite enjoyed the Vertigo Crime imprint, The Chill is the weakest entry thus far.

I was quite disappointed in this graphic novel. The story could've been a really good one, it had potential but I think that they focused to much on the sex then developing the actual storyline about a celtic neo-pagan cult. I understand that some people do enjoy that sort of thing and I'm not putting them down. It's just not my cup of tea and I was a bit disappointed.