Before the film adaptation of Matz and Luc Jacamon's lauded crime thriller The Killer arrives on Netflix, fans of the series will be treated to a brand new story starring the familiar, nameless assassin. BOOM! Studios will bring readers back to the eponymous Killer's world with a six-issue miniseries by the original creative team with The Killer: Affairs of the State. Besides bringing in new fans, it should help to reintroduce old ones to the world of The Killer ahead of the upcoming David Fincher-helmed movie.
With writing by Matz and art by Jacamon, The Killer is a story about one of the world's most effective and highly sought-after assassins. Despite his natural proclivity for killing, the nameless gun-for-hire tries to remove himself from the life, only to find himself time and time again unable to get out of the crime-ridden world he excels in. The series ran for several volumes, published in France by Casterman and translated to English by Archaia Entertainment prior to their acquisition by BOOM! Studios.
BOOM! Studios' recent announcement promises to reunite fans with the titular Killer, now working with the French government as a contract assassin and put on a leash by a handler and a partner. Described as a "sophisticated, slow-burn" and a "cool, noir thriller," readers will join Matz and Jacamon as they see the Killer struggle with the binds of bureaucracy and the journey to reclaim his personal freedoms. As the hype begins to build for the comic's sequel, fans of the series will be even more engaged when the Killer is realized in a whole new medium.
One of the first big supporters of The Killer was David Fincher, who attempted to bring a film version to life back when the project was still with Paramount Pictures. Though the initial attempt would not come to fruition, Fincher did create a working relationship with writer Matz and the two would later collaborate on Matz's graphic novel adaptation of James Ellroy's Black Dahlia novel with artist Miles Hyman. In February of 2021, it was announced that Fincher would finally work on the movie adaptation of The Killer for Netflix, with Michael Fassbender rumored to star as the title character. With a sequel series in the pipeline and a movie prepped for one of the world's biggest streaming platforms, interest in The Killer could potentially hit an all-time high.
It's a golden age for comic creators as producers look for the next big hit among the many critically acclaimed but lesser-known comic books. The attention can breathe new life into the property, exposing the original series to an eager new base and creating a new generation of fans. But existing fans of The Killer will get a brand new opportunity to see the nameless assassin put his deadly skills to use once more before making his film debut on Netflix.