The Kill Lock: The Artisan Wraith

The Kill Lock: The Artisan Wraith #1-6

by Livio Ramondelli

Sequel to the cult-hit story of a robotic society where criminals are bound by a Kill Lock, where if one dies, they all do! Through masterful manipulation, the brilliant and psychopathic Artisan took over an unbreakable Wraith body--saving his Lock-mates in the process. Now, the Artisan Wraith has made a safe haven for all those punished by the Kill Lock. And has set his eye on the society that punished them. It's up to two assassins, the Resolve and the Lurk, to bring down the most dangerous being in the galaxy and the planet under his command. Should they fail, the Wraith Legion will take over and where the Wraiths go, only death and destruction follow. But what secrets does the Artisan Wraith know that could tear the assassins, the Wraith Legion, and the very homeworld itself apart? Writer and artist Livio Ramondelli (Transformers) returns to the world of The Kill Lock with another tale of pulse-pounding tension and excitement. It's a space robot universe populated with startlingly evocative, all-too-human characters.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

205 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2023

Reviews

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4 of 5 for sci-fi with robots follow-up, which I'm excited about a bit less)
The second book of Kill Lock closely follows the result of the first and also expands the universe. The idea is still great, but you can see this is just anthropomorphic rather than a unique take on robot society. There are "casts", which determine your overall type and in between there are just typical human mechanics. They are usually a bit turned down, so they won't look much human, but it's still there. Dystopic cast society reskinned humans. If the author had tackled that issue, it would be genius. But, by all means, this is "just" good. Bringing fatalism and a big-picture perspective here does the same thing for the story; it detours from the between-characters mechanic to the clockwork of the world. But it works, it's enjoyable. But I had an issue with action (and there is plenty of it). The art is kind of okay-ish. And the issue leading from that level of art is action. It's a complete mess; it has no dynamics, and it's completely off. The comic is capable of picking the right scenes to ignite your imagination, almost seamlessly bringing the scene to life in your mind. That is not working here. It feels like random screenshots, and I was, against any expectation, happy to get back to the "talking" parts. This is a nice comic, but if it found a way to do something different than reskin humans (and I see it's trying) and also brought in some better "visual storyteller" for the sake of action, it would be a great comic.

[Jakub Kvíz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really enjoy the sequel. The new characters were kind of interesting, but I had a hard time understanding the motivation of all characters, especially the Artisant Wraith.

The art can be epic at some times, but more often, I had issues figuring out what/who am I looking at.

While the first book was a nice read with some cool moments and ideas, I really had to pull through this one.

[Marina S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this comic.

This book (a continuation of the "Kill Lock" mini-series, in which four incarcerated robotic beings struggle to survive in a merciless alien world) is an unconventional but glorious space opera slash family drama. Its creator, Livio Ramondeli, is a veteran of the publisher's "Transformers" comics, and has imbued the series' metallic beings with an inner life that few genre comics allow their characters. At the same time, he is more than capable of delivering moody yet spectacular landscapes, brutal fight scenes, and distinct character designs. One does not need to be familiar with the previous mini-series to appreciate this one (a pair of new characters helps readers acclimate -and breaks their hearts a little later), but readers of that first arc will appreciate the expanded scope, the complex world-building and the world-shaking changes to its status quo. Minor quibbles (the lettering of the Wraith leader can sometimes get too ornate and hard to parse) should not prevent you from missing out on one of 2022's standout sci-fi books.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about finding emotional resonance amongst the chrome. After the surprsing depth of the first vol, I have waited a long time for a follow-up, and it delivered. It certainly didn't take the series in a direction I expected, but I appreciate that, they didn't spread one story beat over the whole run, and jumped two to three more interesting beats further. Our new two protagonists do factor into the plot but it isn't solely on them, and seeing the Legion itself was facinating. The ending wasn't as jaw dropping as the first vol, but it certainly is leaping far ahead to tell a very new story next time, who knows what that will be.

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very intriguing space adventure! I enjoyed it very, very much! The world building is spectacular, the characters quite interesting with distinctive designs and the battle scenes are very nicely done!

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good second volume, maybe the last. the author says he would like to continue, but who knows. This was slightly less good as volume 1, the ending got messy and felt rushed. I enjoyed all the writing and the plot had lots of fun turns that you do not see coming. The story gets bigger in terms of world building and I am not sure that was the right move. The addition of characters at the end, namely the big one, felt a bit cheap. Like maybe I will continue this story but maybe not. The author does finish up the main kill lock story so that was nice and enjoyable. The art is cool at time but also very dark in terms of "wtf is going on" The action and fighting suffer because you really have to go back and forth to figure out what is happening. All that said, this is a good sci-fi series, worth a read

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting storyline with a lot of likable characters, even the "bad guys". I also really enjoyed the different style of the art, i felt it fit the story well.

The big problem for me was that it started super slow, then did a lot of jumping around, and kinda out of nowhere immediately abandoned all characters to a tragic end while leaving one less interesting character alive for a sequel.

That's it, done, over, give me my monies...lol. ....thats all you get until you write me a check lol.


it was so confusing, like abruptly walking away mid interesting conversation.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was all over the place. Instead of the chatacters from volume 1, we get mostly new characters. I didn't buy the agenda of the Artisan Wraith. This escalates massively with no clear direction. If this ends up being a trilogy, then this suffers from middle book syndrome. The art is still mostly good.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this one got a little bogged down at times with dialogue and I very much dislike the fonts used for the wraith, but I enjoyed a lot of the ideas. Ultimately a story about people and relationships in the vacuum of space.

Might not go back for the next one.

[Vishal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent world building and plot

Though I believe first volume was better, this one did not disappoint. What I love most is this world which author is building, absolutely fantastic. A new sci-fi world I am in love with now, and I am excited for future reads.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series.

I really do hope there are more books in the future from this universe. I absolutely loved the concepts and themes from this story. I am going to miss it a lot. It will stay with me and my heart for a very long time.

[Mark Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more history in this installment and it does get a bit hard to follow at times. Especially the Wraiths' language. This does appear to close out many arcs and set up possible new stories. I didn't find the ending perfect, maybe a little wobbly but the potential is there.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good successor to a terrific first volume. I would suggest rereading the first volume before tackling this one. I'd forgotten quite a bit. There is a promise at the end of more to come.

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent extension of the original premise, and continues to pay off the incomplete elements.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoying the story, characters and universe of this series. Artwork is equally good.