Jim Thompson’s 1952 novel, The Killer Inside Me, is one of those classic, underground/cult novels that gets recommended to you via a good friend, who, despite questioning their mental stability, knows books. Sure, the novel isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s damn good, and more so than just being a good read, The Killer Inside Me offers a frightening look into one of the dark corners of the human psyche that you don’t get the chance to peer into every day. But that’s enough about the novel, you want to know what I think about the graphic novel that’s based on the book, right?
Writer: Jim Thompson
Artist: Vic Malhotra
Publisher: IDW Publishing
So, what’s The Killer Inside Me? From the publisher:
Jim Thompson’s sinewy, brutal, and beloved novel comes to life in this graphic noir-novel! In The Killer Inside Me, Thompson went where few have dared, giving us a pitch-black glimpse into the mind of the American serial killer years before Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, in the novel that will forever be known as the master performance of one of the greatest crime novelists of all time.”
Before I get into my review of this graphic novel, I must admit that my expectations—being a fan of the source material—were quite high going into my reading. I had come across The Killer Inside Me (The novel) while writing my thesis paper on Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, so, for me, this novel was important, and thankfully, the folks over at IDW did a hell of a job presenting this twisted tale in comic book form.
For fans of American Psycho (the film or the novel), reading The Killer Inside Me is an absolute must, and while I would still say that I prefer the original novel, this new ‘graphic noir-novel’ does a pretty damn good job of bringing the story to life.
While I wasn’t all that fond of this book’s illustrations, they work, and at the very least, the artwork in The Killer Inside Me adds to the experience and amplifies the intensity of some of the more graphic scenes.
If you’re looking for some hard-hitting noir, well, then look no further, The Killer Inside Me is the book for you.
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