I Killed Adolf Hitler

This was the book that brought me back to comic books. It was one of my first visits to a real comic book shop, and I was dead set against getting something that was completely left of center. My interest in Star Wars was too safe, and I didn’t feel up to the financial requirements of reading The Sandman just yet. So, there it was, on the independents shelf: I Killed Adolf Hitler, featuring anthropomorphic characters, and an author who didn’t have a last name. Just Jason. So thirteen dollars later, I was the owner of forty-eight pages of stand alone comics. After reading, I didn’t have anything negative that I could possibly say, other than, perhaps, that it was too short.

Despite having no names, the characters are phenomenally animated. The hero is an assassin for hire in a world where that profession is perfectly acceptable, and not against the law. In the opening scene, he breaks up with his girlfriend, and quickly appears disillusioned by the line of work he is in. So, in walks a scientist who assigns him a hit, and tells him that he will be traveling through time to kill Adolf Hitler. After this doesn’t work out, he works with his ex to track down Hitler in the modern era. This sets up a poignant love story more than anything else, and quick witted to it’s finale. The tone of the book seems to be inspired greatly by the films of Woody Allen. The dialogue is sharp, and the action takes a back seat to the character development.

Jason is yet another great writer who also draws his own books. His art style is very simple, colors minimalistic. There isn’t anything that takes the attention away from the tale being told, but it’s not offensive to the eye either. The sci-fi element of time travel is simply handled as well, with a giant metal bubble being the only time travel device necessary. However, this doesn’t mean that it isn’t plot important through to the ending. As a matter a fact, this plot device provides the sweet ending that makes me constantly recommend this book to readers new to the medium.

Despite a simplistic cartoon appearance, don’t go into this book expecting a young readers experience. The first scene alone depicts the hero’s girlfriend graphically describing masturbation while he shoots and kills someone from her window. This isn’t the only moment of graphic violence either, as there are several moments where another assassin is performing a hit while the hero talks to other characters. This is more a warning than anything else, as it doesn’t take the spotlight away from the fantastic character development and storytelling.

This was my first experience with independent comics. My first graphic novel from the Norwegian artist and writer Jason. This was my indoctrination into the fan base associated with comics, though I’m not one of “those” comic book fans. Give this one a try, and I’m certain you will come back for more shortly after.

4/5

So, my schedule has been thwarted by work, finances, and school over the past two weeks. I'll be playing catch up with weekly comics at the end of the week, and I'm currently working on reviews of We3 by Grant Morrison and Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. I've also been invited to write reviews for , where I will be crossposting my reviews to. I'm still a contributor to The Galactic Outpost as well. Stay tuned, folks.