Killadelphia Volume 1: Sins of the Father

by Rodney Barnes, Jason Shawn Alexander (Artist), Luis NCT (Artist)

Overview

Featuring the show-stopping talents of Spawn series artist JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER, and the writer behind such hit shows as Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Marvel's Runaways, and Starz's American Gods—RODNEY BARNES.

When a small town beat cop comes home to bury his murdered father-the revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr.-he begins to unravel a mystery that leads him down a path of horrors and shakes his beliefs to their core.

The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality...
...and vampires.

But the mystery goes even further when Jimmy's investigation leads him to uncover the source of the outbreak is long-thought dead President of the United States John Adams—a man secretly biding his time as he builds an undead army to start a new and bloodier American revolution.

There's a reason they coin a phrase, “you can't go home.” Welcome to Killadelphia.

Collects KILLADELPHIA #1-6

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534315693
Publisher:	Image Comics
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	360,965
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

Rodney Barnes is the award-winning writer/producer of HBO’s Showtime, Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Marvel’s Runaways, Starz’s American Gods, and a host of other television programs and films. He has also authored graphic novels for Lion Forge’s Quincredible and Star Wars - Lando: Double or Nothing, as well as Falcon for Marvel Comics. He is now writing Killadelphia for Image Comics. Rodney resides in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

08/17/2020

Fast-paced, violent, and not afraid to get a little goofy, this supernatural thriller works as a blood-drenched horror comic and as timely advocacy around Black lives and police violence. Philadelphia police detective Jimmy Sangster revives a case abandoned by his late father and winds up on the trail of a vast, centuries-old vampire underworld. Soon he’s at the center of an all-out war as competing factions of the undead battle for control of the city and the nation. In this modern gothic cityscape, Black vampires ambush corrupt cops, street-level vamps say things like “gimme another hit of that blood, kid,” and the conspiracy goes all the way to the top and a conniving undead president. Writer Barnes has a TV background (Runaways, American Gods), so it’s not surprising the pacing mimics bingeworthy shows, plunging into action with little background explanation and never slowing down. Alexander’s hyperrealistic, heavily photo-referenced art creates an appropriately dark atmosphere, spattering dynamic fight scenes across rain-drenched streets and shadowy housing projects. Full of sex, blood, and National Treasure levels of audacious nonsense (turns out everyone’s searching for a book of vampire secrets), this smart, stylish thrill ride runs on enough social relevance to appeal to an audience outside of gore hounds. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Sparely written, beautifully rendered and topical, Killadelphia is a genuinely frightening horror graphic. Can't wait to read the next issue!" -Steven Barnes & Tananarive Due

“Jason Shawn Alexander is one of my favorite artists working today, and writer Rodney Barnes is the perfect collaborator for this atmospheric horror story with a terrifyingly real sense of place.” -Brian K. Vaughan

“Killadelphia is the stunning and fresh horror fable I've been craving. This one feels like a classic.” -Jordan Peele

“It's the best graphic novel I've ever read. Five times more graphic and eight times more novel.” -Chris Rock

"This smart, stylish thrill ride runs on enough social relevance to appeal to an audience outside of gore hounds." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

06/01/2020

After Philadelphia homicide detective James Sangster is killed in the line of duty, his estranged son J.J., a beat cop in Baltimore, takes up his final, fatal investigation. The trail leads J.J. to a pair of bizarre discoveries—a horde of vampires have gathered in the city of brotherly love, and his father is now one of them. Once reunited, James and J.J. team with a brave medical examiner to do battle against the undead and their leader, James Adams, the second U.S. president. Disappointed at how American society has progressed in the centuries since his supposed death, Adams has built an army of the undead that he plans to lead in a new revolution. The premise might sound somewhat silly, but it's actually effectively scary owing to the gritty, intense script by Barnes (Quincredible. Vol. 1: Quest To Be the Best) and Alexander's (Spawn: Vengeance) knack for producing disturbing imagery. VERDICT A strong sense of place, an offbeat take on vampire mythology, and gorgeously grim illustration combine to make this first volume in an ongoing horror series a memorable standout.

Library Journal