RunLoveKill #1 Review

writers: Jon Tsuei & Eric Canete / artist: Eric Canete / Image Comics

She stood behind her cello playing inside an empty orchestra to the melody of assault. A metronome kept rhythm, and she didn’t stop playing until the arrow caught up with its target and it was all over. That’s how RunLoveKill beings.

Holy shit.

We refer to murda music often at BNP, but if the introduction of RunLoveKill isn’t the most beautifully drawn incarnation of the phrase, I don’t know what is.

Screen Shot 2015-07-22 at 11.48.17 PM

Between the simple beauty of its cover and the opening sequence that feels more like a movie than a comic, you should be excited to begin reading this series. But what is RunLoveKill about? It’s actually rather hard to tell from the first issue, but here’s what we do know: our protagonist, Rain, lives in Prygat, a city being run by an oppressive organization, and wants to escape. As any respectable totalitarian regime does, Prygat is having a wall built around it under the guise of security and keeping its citizenry safe, only Rain wants to bounce, like, yesterday. RunLoveKill is the story of her escape.

Prygat is a futuristic sci-fi city complete with teleportation machines, and discovering its world is fun, albeit challenging. I laud the Aeon Flux-style character art and many of the panels highlighting Rain’s world are stunning, yet there were several panels I was confused on what I was looking at. I expect everything to become clearer for readers soon, with the only detraction being merely 8 issues to learn as much as we can about the world.

As for Rain herself, issue #1 gives extremely high hopes for a character we root for, who’s desperate, genuine, and a complete underdog. As readers await the “Love” aspect of the title we wonder whether it’s directed towards her smitten friend Dey, or someone else entirely. We know very little about her aside from wanting to get out and start anew someplace else, but she clearly has promise. In an opening issue that’s obviously the most you can ask for.

Screen Shot 2015-07-22 at 11.49.36 PM

RunLoveKill has beautiful artwork, an interesting leading woman, and a story with great pacing thus far. Even if the rest of the issue were trash, the opening sequence would’ve been enough to make the cover price worth it and keep readers along for the ride. Looking forward to seeing what comes of Rain, learning more of the antagonist Origami Corporation, and reading where this one goes.

Tags:

  • Jordan Calhoun is a writer in New York City. His forthcoming debut book "Piccolo Is Black" is a celebration of the common adaptations we made while non-diverse pop culture helped us form identities. He holds a B.A. in Sociology and Criminal Justice, B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Japanese, and an M.P.A. in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy. He might solve a mystery, or rewrite history. Find him on Instagram and Twitter @JordanMCalhoun

  • Show Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

comment *

  • name *

  • email *

  • website *