Unemployed Killers Support Group

by Rio

Genres: Comics

256 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 21, 2026

About the author

"Rio" is the national best-selling author of The Cocaine Princess Saga. The Cocaine Princess part one skyrocketed to #1 on the African American and Urban Bestsellers list within days of its release. That was quite an accomplishment for his first published novel. The Cocaine Princess 2 through 5 are also available. He spends his time writing and reading urban books to better his own writing. Rio's passion is to put his stamp on urban fiction and other genres one book at a time. He is now hard at work on Bulletface 5, his next novel. You can contact him on Facebook: Author Rio Terrell; email: rioauthor@gmail.com; Instagram: authorrio5; or follow on Twitter @authorrio.

Reviews

[Elaine White · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Unemployed Killers Support Group
by Rio
★★★★☆
256 Pages


I really enjoyed this! I thought I would, when I read the blurb, but it was actually much better than I'd hoped for. There was a mix of slice of life, a comedy of errors, and an assassin who is losing his sight quickly. It makes for a really interesting, amusing storyline that taps into how some of the most interesting stories in movies – the life of an assassin – can actually be really mundane.

Locker is going blind, after a job goes wrong. That much we know from the start, but the story actually evolves as the book progresses, until we find out that it's not actually that simple. The backstory slips in piece by piece, which kept me reading. The only negative was that there were quite a few small vignettes mixed into the main story that sometimes drew me out of the plot and were more of a distraction than anything else. Although they eventually tied together, it did slow the pace down.

Ultimately, the story had great bones and it worked really well as a single volume novel. I wish the formatting made it easier to read, but I liked so much about it that I would read the author again. I enjoyed the back stories of all the members of the support group. While the ending was a bit weird and sudden, it suited the wacky characters and all they'd been through.

Unfortunately, the formatting on Netgalley Shelf absolutely SUCKS! It splits two pages onto one, so it's really hard to read. I had to zoom in multiple times a page, which ruined the flow of the story, and made it progressively irritating to wade through what was actually a really good story.

[InfiniteLibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Rio, Netgalley, and Titan Manga for a digital e-arc of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

I think this might be my first time reading a Taiwanese manga, and from Rio though from the looks of it they have been writing manga for some time now. The premise of this book is what sold me right from the get go - it's almost like Grady Hendrix's Final Girl Support Group but this time we are twisting the script and seeing things from the killer's perspective. The killers in question being retired hitmen and hitwomen who after losing their jobs are struggling. Our main character Looker, is a sniper whose last job went bad after he was attacked during it and is now losing his sight. We gradually find his backstory during this volume and I was surprised how emotionally invested I got not just in his story, but in the three other members of the support group also. Gradually throughout their stories interweave into Looker's plot and we find out exactly how human all four of these people are, despite their rather dehumanising jobs.
I think the art style really worked for this book, and I really liked that we had a woman of colour as one of the protagonists also - this book in general really deconstructed a lot of stereotypes of hitmen, and gripped me from start to end. I'm unsure if this is a standalone volume or a continuing series, as the ending does suggest there may be more to come but overall this was a mostly complete story in this volume.
I'd highly recommend this manga for anyone that has interest in the horror and action genre and honestly, anyone in between. The violence, whilst present, isn't gratuitous, and really this is just a very human story of four different people coming together and trying to help one another.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a unique concept! I loved everything about this graphic novel. Well, minus one little thing.

A sniper is losing his sight and is being forced into retirement. Their only suggestion to him is to join a support group. All of members of the group are former killers (they may want to define former). This graphic novel tells their stories.

The graphic novel is in black and white and has a quirky style of art. So even though you are seeing people being killed, it is never gory. And there is a scene that involves a nude female, but it is never graphic in nature. Some language.

The only thing that didn’t connect was the ending. In some ways, it was perfect for the writing style of this graphic novel. In other ways, it just felt flat.

I highly recommend this graphic novel.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise caught my attention first, not just a man losing his sight, but a reluctant professional sniper being cut adrift only to wind up at a support group for unemployed killers. It’s a setting ripe for unconventional group dynamics and interactions, but that aspect felt lacking in this volume.

It’s quick paced and there’s some interactions between characters but it feels intermittent , there and done, before the story moves on. I’m hopeful that this would improve as the story progresses now that the introductions are complete. The plot similarly jumps around between flashbacks and the present day which can make events difficult to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!