Killer Queens

Killer Queens #1-4

by David M. Booher, Claudia Balboni (Illustrator), Harry Saxon (Illustrator)

Meet Max & Alex. Reformed intergalactic assassins-for-hire. On the run. Also super gay. Their former boss - a fluffy monkey with a jetpack - is hot on their tail to take back his stolen ship. They gotta eat (tacos preferably), so they take a mission from Alex's old flame. Your standard no-kill, casualty-free kidnapping recovery from a nearby moon. Only complication? Half the moon is ruled by a fascist dictator hostile to foreigners. They're the Killer Queens, so what could possibly go wrong? Pretty much everything. After their ship is forced to crash land way off target, they have to escape from a high-security detention center run by a race of alien xenophobes. Then it s all laser blasts and one-liners until they face the choice between getting paid for their mission or helping out a struggling group of refugees fighting a rebellion. Tacos are overrated, anyway.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Queer, LGBT, Gay, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2022

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Two gay main characters, actual funny sassiness, a plot that keeps moving, an adorable fluffy monkey as the bad guy.. what more do you want.

All told with a sweet sauce of sci-fi pulp satire draped over it. Lovely.

(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The tagline is, "Putting the sass in assassin!" but the protagonists are no longer assassins and their level of sass is decidedly low. It's not bad -- the art is fine at least -- but until the otter bonus story in the back it wasn't particularly amusing. Maybe promote the otter to headliner?

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

rep: lesbian mc, gay mc, gay character, lesbian characters

think sci-fi but with the vibes of a '60s-written story. this is truly just a gay romp. doesn't take itself seriously at all, and so u can have FUN with it. don't expect a tight plot, expect gay shenanigans & horrible innuendos

[Emily Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tell me why neither of them are assassins 😭😂

Well, they’re ex assassins… however maybe the tagline needs a little work.

Whilst I liked the artwork of this the story and jokes felt very mid. It was camp, but even that couldn’t save it completely.

The artwork was the one thing I really enjoyed, definitely a more classic comic style with high contrast colours and rough linework.

Rep// Gay MC, Lesbian MC, Queer Men SCs.

TW’s listed below, please skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.




Tw// settler colony, colonialism themes, bombs, guns, death.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not tediously campy, not unbearably cutesy, not overwhelmingly quirky. Just right. As if by magic.
This book turned out was more entertaining than I expected. I’m not even a fan of space operas and it was still fun. As gay as a drag queen riding a unicorn, this gay space adventure is a surprisingly charming read featuring the odd couple of two reformed intergalactic assassins who are trying to make a living any way then can.
O yeah, and there’s a monkey on their back. Literally.
Romance, danger, aliens. All sorts of fun done in bright rainbow technicolor.
Not the greatest or the most literary or any of that, but fun all the same. Speeds by like a stolen spaceship.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun, and silly, which I really appreciated. The action was a little hard to follow between issue 3 and 4, but it was a good time. My thoughts on this book are in this wrap up video.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun. Cheesy, tongue in check 80's style sci-fi with queer characters. Makes my heart happy.

[Emmaby Barton Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 i had no idea what was happening half the time but this book is the epitome of no thoughts head empty and be gay do crime - a quick fun gay read set in space! also loved the authors note at the end about reclaiming this time period for queers <3

[Mere Dith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just cause it's gay doesn't mean it's automatically good. It's fun, but plays into stereotypical tropes of lesbians and gay men.

[Matty Cameira]

that was fun!

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best way to put it is gay assassin's in space getting rid of a fascist dictator.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex and Max are Reformed Assassins for Hire who scuttled away from their employer after a job included killing children. Now, they take odd jobs doing dangerous things so they can get paid and eat tacos. They take a highly dangerous job from one of Alex’ old flames to sneak into a fascist country on the planet Antigone and rescue two kids who have been taken as political prisoners. But Bieti, their former employer and a very fluffy monkey, demands his ship back. He follows the two towards Antigone and causes them to crash land, giving up any sort of element of surprise they might have had. Now, they have to escape a high-security prison and break into an even higher-security prison to get the job done. That is, if Max can stop hitting on everything long enough to formulate an escape plan.

Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both main characters are homosexuals. At least one of them is a skilled assassin or bounty hunter, while the other seems more focused on promiscuity, suggestive one-liners and one night stands. I'm not sure how flattering that is for the homosexual community. They do seem to be effective when putting their heads together. They have monkey enemies, fairly solid fighting and piloting skills and a general intention to do good, if at all possible. Their initial (botched) mission turns into helping a rebellion against an authoritarian regime.

Unfortunately, the dialogue tries to be funny and it doesn't aways work. The artwork is good, no doubt there. It has explosions, it's expressive and colorful, if a bit quirky in its scifi themes. Maybe that's intentional too. Overall, the story is fine, the artwork is quite good and, as always, making the characters homosexuals is an afterthought and superfluous effort, though fully abused throughout the story.

[Nico · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this was fun and queer and very, very campy - which was exactly the vibe the creators were going for. My favourite thing was this was made by an entirely queer group. Beautiful, love it, let's see more of that. Also more of this art; it was super bright and great style and definitely a highlight. The story was fun, but that's kinda it.

Overall this was an entertaining read about queer people made by queer people featuring a ton of ass kicking and aliens and unashamed explicit queer love. Not a favourite or anything but still great fun.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Series: Killer Queens #1-4
Rating: 5 stars - I loved it!

OMG this was a wonderful queer story. Alex and Max are reformed assassins for hire and also super gay. Things are constantly going wrong on missions for them and it was hilarious. I just loved all the queerness in this comic. Alex is a lesbian, Max is gay, their ship is painted rainbow colors, and there is a hippy bus speeder. Also, I loved the banter between Alex and Max so much. They have a great friendship and can always rely on each other. I really hope there will be more books in this series because I loved these two and their crazy missions.

You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better gay comics I've read in a while. I wasn't sure if I liked it at the end of the first issue but by the time I turned the last page of issue 4, I found that I was a fan. Read this on Comixology but I plan to buy the hard copy when the collected edition is issued. Worth a second read.

Highly recommended for gay comics fans.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023 Eisner Award finalist - Best Humor Publication

This is more of an action story with some humor sprinkled in, and that humor is somewhat hit or miss. And rather than queerness be one aspect of the characters' personas, it's about the only aspect. In other words, the characters are somewhat 2-dimensional stereotypes. The plot is ok, soldiers of fortune hired to rescue some kidnapped kids and topple a fascist dictator, but it's not terribly original, either. The artwork by Claudia Balboni is solid.

[David Edmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy #pridemonth, y’all! My next #queer read is KILLER ASSASSINS by @davidmbooher with art by @claudiabalboni, from @darkhorsecomics. Max and Alex, super queer reformed assassins, are just trying to make their way in the galaxy (and hide from their former, fluffy-monkey employer). When Alex’s old flame hands them what should be a simple rescue job, they jump at the chance for the money. You know these things are never that simple though. When the truth comes out about the nature of the job, Max and Alex need to decide between getting paid or helping take down a fascist, xenophobic dictatorship. What’s a queer to do?

It’s a fun, quick read full of one-liners and plenty of sass. The retro sci-fi pulp vibe is great. The entire creative team is #queer, too, which is a nice touch. I’d definitely pick up more volumes in the future, if they were to release any more.

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[Kay West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this sooooo much!!

This pulpy, retro futurism, queer space romp is exactly what my heart needed. This queer-normative universe with Archer vibes (if you know that adult animated show).

What you'll get
🔫 High octane space adventure
🔫 Queer normative universe
🔫 Low stakes
🔫 Big heart
🔫 Fluffy monkey nemesis
🔫 Laugh out loud fun

This book is best read in a queer dance club in space, while wondering if that guy had a laser 🔫 in his pants, or if he’s just happy to see you. 🍆

[Danielle Klassen · Rating 5 out of 5]

More thoughtful than you might think a story about two reformed queer assassins in a send up the silver age comics could be, but it's a delightful story and it tackles the larger issues with a dignity that it deserves without forgetting what it is at its heart. Break this one out for Pride season if you can because it's a great read!

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this comic! The integerlactic action-packed adventures of Alex and Max, two queer former assassins for hire. Exploring their battles against fascist dictatorships and power hungry rhinocorns. Beautifully combines classic comic-book themes with incredible queer characters, and the art in this comic is absolutely the highlight, so beautifully designed

[Louis Skye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the art but this book was quite boring. The protagonists and almost everyone they meet are queer which is nice. The main characters are quirky but stereotypes.

The story was derivative. Could’ve been so much more interesting and powerful but was a very wishy-washy takedown of fascism.

[Tuni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun 60’s flair gay sci-fi adventure! Only thing bad I could say about it is that I wish there was already more. Fingers crossed for it getting picked up for another mini-series.

[Kale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5★

[Faith]

This was fun.

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating : 4 ⭐

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outrageous and over-the-top, this wild sci-fi romp is guaranteed to entertain!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

if i could give this more than 5 stars, i would! so FUN and made me laugh. i finished it and immediately handed it to my teen to read, who also loved it!