Getting caught up on summer reading here.
My pal and “Young Ancient One” collaborator Andy Kuhn doodled up a cool crime thriller called “10”, published by the unsinkable Boom Studios this past summer.
Written by Keith Giffen and co-created by Shannon Eric Denton, “10” tells the story of a hapless dude who is handed a gun with 10 bullets and a list of 10 names…and the task of killing those 10 contestants before they kill you.
And….GO!
It’s that kind of slam-bam immediacy that hits the reader like an eye-watering nose-shot from page one. Our hero isn’t given time to parse the situation and think about the right thing to do (or, perhaps he would have had he not been on holiday when the game started).
Nope. It’s knock-knock then bang-bang as contestants come calling.
Our guy’s never held a gun before but suddenly it’s kill or be killed. Giffen propels the story along with nail-biting urgency and gallows humor. Andy keeps it from looking like every dreary Miller or Bendis knock-off that’s come out in the past 15 years (I mean, just look at the kick ass graphic design of that cover!).
Blend all that in with the horror of finding out that the contestants are not random. Rather, one is an ex-love that our hero must kill (before she does him in). What’s a guy to do?
“10” is a great read. My primary complaint is that it’s over much too soon and leaves most all your questions unanswered. Still, it’s great fodder for expansion on film or in an HBO series.
Go find “10”…before it finds you…