Synopses & Reviews
It's summer in New York, but a "chill" has settled over the city — a serial killer is on the loose, and the ritualized murders are becoming increasingly sadistic. The NYPD and the FBI have a suspect: a gorgeous young woman named Arlana. The only problem is that every witness provides a different description of her. None of it makes any sense to anyone except Martin Cleary, a beaten-down Irish cop from Boston with a whopper of a secret in his past — and a past that may go back a century or two . . .
Review
"In the heat of summer, a serial killer sends cold shivers down the spines of New Yorkers in this slashingly drawn graphic novel, with art by Mick Bertilorenzi. It's brutal but funny, hard boiled but sexily romantic." Entertainment Weekly (Must List)
Review
"A gritty, ferocious supernatual thriller set in New York...stunningly illustrated by Mick Bertilorenzi." AM New York
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"[The Chill] mixes hard-boiled detectives and the mean streets with a little bit of Celtic magic from the land of Guinness and leprechauns...an engaging and excellent first foray into the comics world." USA Weekend
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"The Chill is the darkest, sexiest, most twisted noir comic I think I've ever read." Ed Brubaker, Eisner Award Winning Author of Criminal and Incognito
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"The Chill is full of more grisly surprises than a backwoods fun house, fusing a noir cop sensibility to a balls-out supernatural thriller. Crime fiction legend Jason Starr makes twin debuts here — comics and horror — and shows he's a master of both, right out of the gate. And Mick Bertilorenzi is his perfect partner in crime, with art that refuses to flinch." Duane Swierczynski, author of The Blonde and the X-Men Series, Cable
Review
"There will be some of you out there who are unfamiliar with the work of Jason Starr, author of
The Chill, the new graphic novel from Vertigo Crime. Starr has written a number of noir novels set primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Each and all of them — from
Cold Caller to
Fake I.D. to
The Follower to
Panic Attack and every other novel he's written — are unforgettable, books that you will keep handy to read over and over again. All feature edgy characters caught in bad situations that they have little or no hope of getting out of; in other words, they are people you know, people to whom you are related, people you see when you look in the mirror. Starr is new to the graphic novel world, and publication of
The Chill raises a question: How does he make the transition? The answer: brilliantly.
The Chillis an original work for Starr, as opposed to an adaptation of one of his already published novels. Vertigo Crime's format is perfect, not only for the book but for the author: hard-bound, digest size, with black-and-white artwork, signaling a bit of a change of direction for Starr's work. While The Chill contains all of the unpredictable elements that make Starr's previous work such a dark joy to read, it is built upon a supernatural plot line that intersects all too closely with the real world. A killer is loose on the streets of Manhattan, isolating and murdering young men, then leaving them in what appears to be a ritualistic position. The circumstances that precede each murder are practically identical, and puzzling. In each case, the victim is last seen in the company of a woman, but none of the witnesses at each scene, including the companions of the victim, can agree upon what she looks like. Further, surveillance cameras at the individual scenes in each case show the victim to be leaving with an elderly woman. This, by the way, is beautifully illustrated by Mick Bertilorenzi, whose skillful pencils masterfully interpret Starr's story, showing the reader what the words do not. The vignette that leads to the initial murder -- a group of drunken Jersey boys in the big city for a night on the town -- will send chills down your spine and up a few places, as well. The NYPD has no clue at all as to what is going on. Their sole lead is Martin Cleary, a drunken, belligerent ex-Boston cop who insists that the slayings are being carried out by a father/daughter team who are hundreds of years old and who are carrying out an ancient Irish curse. He sounds half mad, and he is; the reader also knows, of course, that he is right. The fact that his presentation is off-putting enough in its own right doesn't help his case. Cleary also has a vendetta of his own against the woman in question and her very abusive father. Naturally, there is a showdown, a violent one with a climax that you might expect and an ending that you won't.
The Chill is one hell of a ride, one of those stories that you'll think of at closing time when that woman who has been giving you come-hither glances across the bar for the previous hour suddenly doesn't look so bad after all. What Starr does here is incorporate dark Irish legend into the tapestry of the Manhattan social scene, and convincingly so. I mean, when you pick up a stranger, you really have no idea at all who, or what, you're bringing home, do you? The Chill will make you think twice about entering into that next transitory liaison. And while we're distributing accolades for The Chill, let's not forget to mention Bertilorenzi's work once again. While Starr's narrative could stand on its own, Bertilorenzi's art tells its own story. When, near the beginning of The Chill, Mike and his buds are entering the chaos known as the Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, Bertilorenzi's subtle attention to detail will make you smell the automobile exhaust rising off of the page and feel the interminable, claustrophobic wait that precedes your entrance. Highly recommended." John Hogan, Graphic Novel Reporter
Review
"A great addition to the best new line in comics, The Chill is shadowy and sexy — and pulp in all the best ways. Comics readers are in for a dark delight if they've not yet met Jason Starr, a razor-sharp master of the crime novel. Bertilorenzi's art and layouts manage to be beautifully conventional and innovative at the same time. All in all, a terrific goddamn read." Gregg Hurwitz, author of Trust No One
Review
"It's dark, it's sexy, it's violent...The Chill is a blast!" Barry Eisler, author of Fault Line
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"A smart, sometimes darkly funny supernatural thriller." Under the Radar
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"The Chill is a winner all around, good for more than a few shivers." Rod Lott, The OKGazette
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"Jason Starr's The Chill kept me reading for an exciting evening....Mick Bertilorenzi has a knack for the female form, it's obvious, but he's also great at using black and white to create a feeling of unease and terror." Green Man Review
Synopsis
A modern thriller set in New York City, The Chill is steeped in Irish mythology. A broken-down cop tracks a seductive killer who possesses the supernatural — and very deadly — power known as The Chill. It's a power that provides her eternal life by absorbing the sexual energy of her victims. And he may be the next victim
About the Author
Jason Starr is the Barry Award and Anthony Award-winning author of nine crime novels which are published in ten languages. The Chill is Starr's first graphic novel. He also writes short stories, screenplays and comics for Marvel and D.C.