Writer: Si Spurrier
Artist: Vanesa Del Rey
Colorist: John Starr
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Graphic Designer: Emma Price
Editor: Eric Harburn
Cover Artists: Vanesa Del Rey, Christian Ward & Tula
Lotay
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 23, 2025
A man wanders through the swamp. Plants and trees close in
from all sides. Covered in blood, he crouches in the muddy water to drink from
an ornate flask. His bloody knife rests in a mushroom-covered tree root. Yet as
he walks through the trees, the clouds part, heralding a new day. Who is this wounded
man? And why is he bathed in blood? Let’s leap into The Voice Said Kill #1 and
see!
Story
Sergeant Marie Burgau is holding down the fort. It’s not
that the other agents at the Corbeaumort Wildlife Management Area office don’t
want to help. But every time they try to leave their homes, they can’t reach
their vehicles without growing violently ill. It all started at an office
barbecue. While everyone was living it up, Marie was being cautious, being with
child and all. When things got out of hand, Marie sent the rest of the team
home. But some of them landed in the hospital with food poisoning. It's just as
well, Marie took it easy and didn’t eat or drink anything that might upset her
stomach.
In The Voice Said Kill #1, Marie hopes for a quiet week. It
starts like a sad routine, with Mr Norris bailing out the Watters boys. Then
Mrs Watters summons her. The uncrowned swampland queen plays the Wildlife
agency game. She pays the fines when agents catch her sons and employees
poaching. In return, Mrs Watters wants Marie to find one of her sons.
Si Spurrier delves into dark waters in The Voice Said Kill
#1. Marie is alone and suffering. She struggles with morning sickness, worries
about carrying her child safely to term, and quickly grows fatigued. But Marie
can't just sit in the office all day. She must respond to requests from her
state dispatcher. Marie also has an ex-convict to find. Buck has a violent
history, and he is off his meds. And while most of Mrs Watters' workers may
spend a night or two in the Corbeaumort Wildlife office’s holding cells, Buck
blames the “trash with badges” for sending him to jail.
Art
Vanesa Del Rey presents the immensity of the wilderness that
Marie and her crew must oversee. The tall, dense foliage offers ample
opportunities to hide. The art suggests the toll the rustic setting and the
humid air take on its inhabitants. Mrs Watters rules her commercial empire from
her RV. Smoke from her cigarette wafts across pages, framing panels, and
portraying her majesty and Marie from different angles. But Vanesa Del Rey
keeps the camera moving in loosely drawn pages that immerse us in Marie’s daily
dilemmas.
John Starr weaves a captivating spell over this wonderland
of wildlife, where people skate the rules defining legal activity. Textured
surfaces show the dirt and grime that invades vehicles and buildings. Bold
streaks of sunlight enliven Mrs Watter’s blonde hair, linking her with Buck’s
gold, catlike eyes, and the mushrooms adorning the thick aerial roots. The
blood covering Buck appears more magenta than crimson. Teal, purple, blue, and
pink bring the jungle to life as a mentally ill man seeks revenge on his
enemies in The Voice Said Kill #1.
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places lowercase letters in roughly
shaped boxes and spherical balloons. Words grow bold and uppercase for emphasis
and shrink for lowered or distant voices. Strong reactions deform dialogue
balloons, while the sounds of sickness fill splotches. Sound effects help us
hear Mrs Watters punishing her personnel and a barbaric barrage in the bayou.
Thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Forced into an impossible situation, a Wildlife Management
agent faces an additional dilemma while struggling to perform routine tasks.
The Voice Said Kill #1 portrays how the demands of motherhood change women and
the thankless task of enforcing rules that most people don't care about.
Rating 9/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
