The Killer: Affairs of the State

Le Tueur, Affaires d’État #1-3

by Matz

The Eisner-nominated series returns ahead of the upcoming David Fincher Netflix film!

Caught and put to work as an on-call assassin for the French government, Killer has to adjust to working with a handler, his new partner Nicolas, a former special forces operative, and living life as a civilian. A network of city-wide corruption awaits, getting Killer even more involved in the midst of an escalating crisis, when he just wants to get back to his nihilistic lifestyle. But, as feeling for a coworker arise in his day job, will Killer be dangerously distracted, torn between two identities? The Eisner Award-nominated series starring everyone’s favorite nameless assassin by artist Luc Jacamon and writer Matz ( The Black Dahlia ) makes its long awaited return! Collects T he Affairs of the State #1-6.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Espionage

176 pages, Hardcover

Published December 20, 2022

About the author

"Matz" is the pseudonym for French writer Alexis Nolent. He has written scripts for video games, a novel, and as Matz, a number of comics including Triggerman by Walter Hill. His graphic novel, Du plombe dan la tete a.k.a. Headshot, was adapted into the 2012 film, Bullet To The Head.


See http://www.dargaud.com/bd/Auteurs/Matz for a bio in French.

Reviews

[Hanieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8/5 (issues 1-6)

Alright alright alriiiiiight.
Finally finished this today as soon as the last issue dropped.
This chapter of The Killer's story had so many ups and downs tbh. My favourite issues were 1,2 and 6. They were the right pace and the plot twists were spot on. The story felt a bit dragged out in 3,4 and 5 for me but still intriguing .
I don't think I ever really get tired of reading about this character. It's layered and real. What I really liked though was how the story concentrated on building a set of strong characters not one. The art was as always really nice .
It felt good going back to this world.
Still one of my favourite comics ever.

[Laurian · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.

[Rural Soul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A part from this spin off, the original series had been in my to-read list for such a long time. It had been vanished from my memory walls until I saw the movie. It looks cliché but It is deep. Story had been dragged but prose is philosophical when it comes to monologues of our character 'Killer'.

[Macks Milner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because of the new David Fincher film for Netflix coming with Michael Fassbender as the lead and I'm kinda disappointed in the film already. The movie's plot synopsis says: "After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers and himself on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal."

Sooo it's just a "oH nO tHeYrE cOmiNg FoR mE nOw???" story that's been done to death 100,000 times? No creativity or imagination whatsoever.

Now, admittedly, The Killer: Affairs Of The State is the first story of The Killer that I've read, thus it is a possibility the film's story is based on a previous story from The Killer. But still. Why pick the most generic plot? In The Killer: Affairs Of The State, the nameless killer is hired by a CIA-like agency to weed out corruption while being forced to work an office job during the day as a cover. This isn't game-changing stuff but it's a lot more interesting than the "oH nO tHeYrE cOmiNg FoR mE nOw???" premise.

There was a lot I liked about The Killer: Affairs Of The State, and much of its aesthetic suits Fincher's visuals (particularly his lighting), such as the character dynamics, the general story, and some of the killer's nihilistic musings, yet something was lacking I couldn't put my finger on. Maybe the artwork needed a little more umph? Maybe shorten or make the killer's ramblings a little less blunt? Maybe the story needed to show a little more? I don't know.

I will say I'm interested in reading more stories from The Killer.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is about an assassin and his team that is rooting out corruption in a French city. The assassin is coerced into working for a CIA type entity after getting caught in South America. Now he's working an office job trying to be normal while they investigate this politician. The series meanders on and on. This killer just rambles on for pages and pages. I had to force myself through it. This is not a series I'll be continuing if Boom continues to translate it. You can certainly tell it was written in the 90's.

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque continúa la historia del asesino sin nombre, se puede leer como una obra independiente. Los eventos pasados no influyen en esta historia, más allá de que ahora sabemos que el asesino ha seguido trabajando. El argumento en sí esta bien pero no es algo innovador: una división clandestina del gobierno francés asesina a gente incómoda dentro de la sociedad y la política francesa. Al mismo tiempo, seguimos adentrándonos en la psique del asesino mediante sus diálogos internos y sus reflexiones sobre la sociedad, la historia, la política, las relaciones humanas. Está bien.

[iamjacsmusings · Rating 3 out of 5]

To quote The Killer: "Times change, but not human behaviour."

It seems fitting as The Killer comic has changed but not the protagonist.

This is still very good but it feels limited in its scope when compared to previous volumes due to The Killer's new employment regime.

Jacamon seems equally reigned in, only unleashing his true mastery in the final two pages.

Not quite filler, but certainly no killer.

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know some reviewers chide this series for being to on-the-nose nihilistic, but I find it wonderfully and smartly written. This volume is a new, complete story that continues after where the last series left off. It was a nice reunion for the reader, writer, and artist to revisit this main character. I’m a fan. I eagerly await to see how the “Netflix” movie brings this world to life.

[Nicole Mosley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character’s moralizing monologues bog down the pace a bit but the overall story is good. I went into this not realizing this is an already established character in French comics. I’ll have to backtrack and check out earlier installments.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more like 3.5 stars. Interesting story yet missing a couple of people from the Complete volume who provided contrast for The Killer.

[Bat B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a tight story. But too much exposition about the way of the world and human nature.

[Julian Dufresne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The entire time I was reading this, I was like "Dang, Fincher really did his own thing with his adaptation." This isn't The Killer. It's the sequel. I'm an idiot.

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quarter of the length of the source story and a tighter, more focused "affair".