Kill Your Darlings #1 Review

Kill Your Darlings #1 Review

No, no, no—not Kill Your Darlings featuring Daniel Radcliffe, the movie. This is Kill Your Darlings #1, the comic, an exclusive Image Comics book with a major splash. Although my wife did mention to me that Griffin looked like Harry Potter, with a little “poof”. While this book may not contain the epic world of wizards and warlocks, it does contain some really awesome supernatural elements.

Kill Your Darlings #1 drops today wherever comics are sold, or you can order straight from the Image store online. We want to thank Image for allowing us to preview the book early and tell you why we think this is your next comic book buy. Thank your passionate creators for thinking ahead because you won’t have to wait long between single-issue releases, which is nice. Kill Your Darlings #2 is projected to be released on October 18th, and issue #3 will be released on November 22nd of this year, of course. So strap in, little witches, and let’s review this!

FWOOOOOOSH! Is the sound fire makes when a witch goes, burn, crackle, and pop! The year is 1692, and my heart is breaking with this small, four-page prelude as a young girl pleads for her life on the stake. There is nothing more attention-grabbing than watching parents witness an atrocious act happening to their child and do nothing about it. If you’re an older comic fan, then I’m sure you’ll be rolling your eyes to the sound of #backinmyday. “We just whipped the evil out of kids.”

But then the daunting cinders of a pink layered background filled with shimmering glitter covers a new page lost to black; it’s medium stained with text covered in blood that reads Kill Your Darlings Chapter One! Seeing chapters in comics sure gives me the urge to make this a priority read. You know this has legs and numbers.

Mom: Rose… what did we say about espionage?
Rose: Did we say we liked it?

Fast forward to 1995, taking us out of the history books and slamming us into the middle of a child’s imaginary war. It’s quite the juxtaposition in comparison to mom’s war on paying bills. It makes you wonder if Rose’s imagination is the fallout of financial dire straights or if she is really that creative. The story captures the struggle and vulnerability of the broken family, a dynamic to which most people in this country can relate.

I love to hate how happy and safe everything feels until you realize it’s all a facade. A lie. Because what seems so innocent on the outside might not be so great on the inside. The duality of the events around you. Oh, how those horrible things can haunt you without you even knowing it. As Rose stands before her house in flames in what might just be the greatest example of show don’t tell, we see where the story is heading.

The pace was spot on, and the transitions couldn’t be more delicious. Folks, nerds, geeks, and Wiccans lined up for this exciting series. The creators left their hearts on the page because this title cements their dreams in ink and color. I’d like to take a special moment to help highlight some of their thankful wishes. Comics are truly a medium you can’t do alone, and it’s so inspiring to read these words.

“Thank you to all the people in my life who let me pitch the book to them over and over again, who read it before anyone else, and who gave me endless amounts of love and encouragement on this long journey… KI, JAX, RY, PARKER, KYLE, OLI, JULES, ERIC, BENJI, HUGH, GARRETT, ALY, J., SPENCER, FELDKAMP, DYLAN, and CONNOR.

Thank you NAOMI for your patience, for putting up with me, and for always being my number one fan. Thank you to MY PARENTS, for getting me all the way here and for having just enough faith to let me take the leap into this. Dad, you taught me how to talk to people and appreciate the stories in their everyday lives. Mom, you work so hard… too hard, really. Thank you to my incredible writing partner and best friend, ETHAN S. PARKER. (Can you believe this shit, dude??! It’s happening!! WE’RE GOOOOOOOOODDSS!!)

Thank you to our amazing collaborators BOB QUINN and JOHN J. HILL. You guys are so fucking talented and should have no business working with a couple of rookies like us. Thank you RYAN STEGMAN and DONNY CATES. When Ethan and I told them we wanted to make comics, without missing a beat, these gentlemen got to work pointing a couple of extremely eager creators in all the right directions.

MATTHEW ROSENBERG has helped us navigate the chaotic waters. This book would likely not exist without all of their immense faith, generosity kindness, and creative spirit. I hope we make you guys proud.

Thank you STAN LEE, STEVE DITKO, and BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS whose works mean the world to me and set this whole affair in motion.” ~ Griffin Sheridan

“Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, you made our dreams a reality and taught us how to make dope shit. Matthew Rosenberg, you are maybe the most generous person I’ve ever met and you’ve guided us like no one else (much like Obi-Wan Kenobi in that Star Wars you love so much). Brian Michael Bendis, you started it all in that very first comic I stole from a friend who trusted me… And made dialogue my favorite thing in the entire world.

I can’t thank you enough for reading. Unless you’re looking at this on one of those websites, I see you. I wish I could’ve read Kill Your Darlings as a kid. It would’ve messed me up in the best way. I hope it means something to you. Or you just think it’s cool.” ~ Ethan S. Parker

And this is why reviewers and creators like me do this, folks. The love, the collaboration, the creativity! It’s exhilarating and inspiring to accomplish something you can conceive that others can enjoy. I hope you enjoyed this touching review that will not soon be forgotten. As always, stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch the latest on Fueled By Weird.