Quarter Killer Vol. 1: The Myth, The Legend
Written by Vita Ayala and Danny Lore
Art by Jamie Jones
Lettering by Ryan Ferrier
Published by comiXology Originals
‘Rama Rating: 7 out of 10
A new kind of mercenary helps those who cannot help themselves in the futuristic world of Quarter Killer. Written with a driving charm by duo Vita Ayala and Danny Lore and given a Sanford Greene-esque, manga-inspired look by artist Jamie Jones, Quarter Killer transports readers to the not-too-distant-future. Corporations now own much of the city and are enforcing their rule with high-end, highly addictive video game rigs attached to predatory subscription models. But if you have the quarters and if you can find them, the mysterious Quarter Killer and their gang of future punk disruptors will help solve your problems.
Though Lore and Ayala’s worldbuilding never quite comes together, the real charm of Quarter Killer lies in its characters. Led by the enigmatic Q.K., a nonbinary superpowered, arcade game-inspired coder, the cast consistently charms. Also quite solid is the emotional core of the series, centered around a young robotics prodigy who implores Q.K.’s gang for help after the kidnapping of her father, which kicks off the ongoing plot. All of this wrapped in an impressive, intentionally fluid art style thanks to the pencils and colors of Jamie Jones. Standing as a canny mix of 2000 AD and hip-hop/arcade cabinet culture, Quarter Killer is a breezily fun read.
The volume opens on a comparatively grounded setup: Young Aya and her impish DIY robot Sim-One are gathering quarters from around their now-empty apartment. She is working on word from her missing father; if anything should ever happen to him, she should find the Quarter Killer. Her search leads her to an outdated arcade, which happens to be the makeshift home to Quarter Killer and their gang.
But from there, our leads and the readers are swept into a sweeping conspiracy of corporate autonomy and sentient AIs. Unfortunately, this is also where the seams of Danny Lore and Vita Ayala’s narrative start to show – though we are clearly in some kind of futuristic society, the pair never really fully make the rules and narrative mechanisms of the world totally clear. For example, we are given a lot of texture about the Quarter Killer’s mysterious past as a corporate fixer, but it never really goes anywhere. The same can also be said of the new “terminally online” society the pair introduce. We are given some bits and pieces of clarification in some of the middle issues, but it never fully coalesces as well as you might hope.
But thankfully, the pair make up for it with rich characterizations. Though more texture behind Q.K. would have been appreciated, the rest of the cast – including “twins” Lo Lek and High Top and former team member Jax – really pick up the slack. Lo and High especially form a fun double-act that sustains more than a few set pieces throughout the series. Bringing a fun dissonance to the series, Ayala and Lore use Lo and High as the “muscle” and “motormouth” of the team, usually throwing Lo into a scrap while High tries to talk or DJ his way out of situations.
Jax, however, is the “moll” of Quarter Killer, breezing into the series with a sexy, yet duplicitous energy that melts into something much richer by the series’ end. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the issues concerning the team’s infiltration of a key Senate vote and casino heist, both of which really find a spark in the casting, but I kept finding myself wishing that same spark would carry over to the titular lead.
Thankfully, artist Jamie Jones is all spark throughout Quarter Killer. Adapting well to the visual stylings of this new future throughout, Jones bears the lion’s share of the series worldbuilding. He does so with fun visual motifs like the branching technology that now dominates everyday life as well as Q.K.’s arcing, visually appealing Static Shock-like powers. Again, while the series would have had a bit more pop if things were more centered around Quarter Killer, Jones’ eye for blocking and page layouts is hard to deny.
While the writing team of Lore and Ayala keep more things than they should close to the vest, Quarter Killer holds a lot of potential behind its cover. Armed with a sweet, if a bit scant, story and plenty of fun to hang out with characters, as well as a keen, singular visual style, Quarter Killer is an entertaining read for fans of cyberpunk dystopias and old-school arcades alike.