Joelle Jones takes time to mix in some flavorful ingredients into Issue#2 of Lady Killer 2, and it already begins to pay off. The best thing about good storytelling isn’t always in the payoff, but the feeling during the journey that things could go very wrong. That foreboding tickle at the back of your cranium that raises the blood pressure ever so slightly. The excitement and fear of the danger that is about to come. This second issue reminded me in many ways of an episode of Breaking Bad in its cadence and tone, finding a perfect balance between intelligence and enjoyment. It’s everything that this book has the potential to be.

Josie Schuller is an assassin for hire, while – on the other hand – her cover is that of a loving housewife in the era of Mad Men. With a recent move to Florida, she has gone into working for herself. Picking up the odd job here and there, the first issue had her putting down an aging woman and the owner of a car lot. Surely nothing that someone of her talent can’t handle. Enter Irving, an aged assassin whose talents were always in “clean-up” and another ominous figure who can help Josie get bigger clientele for a cut.

The thrill is in the details. My problem with the first issue was that it skirted by what could have been fun details that could have lent a stronger voice to the proceedings. Instead, it felt like Jones wanted to get past the exposition. Josie kills people. Josie is a housewife. There were fun elements for sure, like Josie’s husband’s boss getting fresh with her, only to see her kill someone a scene later. These juxtapositions are naturally interesting. In this second issue, we not only see Irving come into Josie’s life, but we get to see how he interacts with his family. The details in these interactions are what make my hair stand on end.

It’s nice to see Jones become a stronger storyteller with each story she tells. She’s such a mind-numbingly good artist, she deserves a great story to go with it. I’m happy to see it’s coming from her fingertips.