Please join me in welcoming Rio to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for their graphic novel, Unemployed Killers Support Group.

Unemployed Killers Support Group is a razor-sharp, darkly hilarious noir-esque manga from Taiwanese creator Rio, this is not your average self-help group. Selected by Taiwan Pavillion as a featured work to be showcased at the 2023 Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Locker Loyed, once a deadly sniper, lost his vision—and his job—on a mission gone wrong. Now, he’s joined an unlikely circle of former contract killers, each grappling with their own personal collapse. Among them: Gloria Maze, a meticulous assassin whose career imploded after catching her husband cheating and killing the mistress in a jealous rage; Jerry Cole, a justice-obsessed lawyer turned bloodthirsty executioner; and Jordi Joe, a delusional con man who’s never actually killed anyone.

As they try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, Locker begins to realize his past isn’t done with him. A dangerous figure—the one responsible for his blindness and a friend’s death—is still at large. And revenge is still on the table.

For fans of dark comedy, crime thrillers, and twisted found family, Unemployed Killers Support Group is a bold, bloody, and brilliantly offbeat ride through the lives of society’s most dangerous burnouts. Welcome to the group—check your conscience at the door.

*****

This is the first graphic novel I have reviewed although not the first I had read. The plot centres around a group of 4 people all of whom are members of a support group of unemployed killers. I love the concept of hitmen and assassins having their own support groups, it conjures scenes of “hello my name is Chris and I’m an assassin. It’s been 10 days since I last killed someone, and every day is a struggle….”.

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