Josie Schuller is not afraid to get her hands dirty. In fact, she isn't the typical '50s housewife at all. While she may have dinner ready for her husband and two children, this picture-perfect suburban housewife has more going on than meets the eye.
And with those high-arched eyebrows, deadly curves and a seductive Marilyn Monore vibe, Josie brings a whole new meaning to the phrase if looks could kill.
Published by Dark Horse and brought to life by cartoonist Joëlle Jones and co-writer Jamie S. Rich, Lady Killer follows the story of this seemingly sweet homemaker who is living a double life as a highly trained deadly assassin.
Touching upon gender politics of that time throughout the miniseries, Schuller breaks the stereotypes, proving that a woman can do anything a man can do—even if that means taking on a job as a hit-woman. And trust me, she has no problem manipulating her way to her targets (like by selling Avon), taking them out with some harsh blows.
The illustrations are the picture mix of glamour and gore, and include gorgeous costumes with pops of color placed in juxtaposition to ink-blots of blood splattered during dark moments of murder.
Josie is a mix of Betty Draper and Dexter Morgan, a loving wife and mother who transforms into someone else when she is given a target and a knife. In Lady Killer we are also introduced to Josie's dorky husband, suspicious mother-in-law, and the men she works alongside.
T-Lounge caught up with Jones to discuss the motivations for this dark, yet beautiful character, how she fits in and stands out during this period of time, and what we can expect from the upcoming Lady Killer 2.
Lady Killer #1 was a mix of Mad Men meets Hannibal, with the lead character Josie Schuller being a 1950s housewife by day and badass assassin by night. What was the inspiration for this story?
I've just been really into vintage ads for years, and my favorites are the really sexists ads from the '50s and '60s, and I just really wanted to play in that world, so the idea of coming up with something that was sort of like a contrary lifestyle from what existed seems to really tickle me.
I love the fact that this skilled assassin is a woman. However, we see that Josie has to balance her family and work life throughout the series, which speaks of the gender roles of this time period. Was there a lot of research involved in regard to American society at this time for both the story and the illustrations?
I did at first. I did a lot of research going into it. And then as I was drawing it, the research changed more from historical facts to a lot of looking up clothing and set pieces like home design. It's been really fun to research the clothes, actually, probably my favorite part.
Speaking of women in comics, it's great to see a strong (and yet sometimes vulnerable) female character created by a woman. How important is it to balance Josie's strength with her sexuality?
I mean it wasn't something I set out to do, it kind of came out naturally. It was a story that I wanted to tell from my point of view. It hasn't been difficult for me to balance just because it's relatable to me.
Josie is illustrated to have some deadly beautiful looks. Was there anyone from pop culture that you pulled inspiration from for her design?
I kind of wanted her, in personality and in looks, to be sort of mix between Goldie Hawn and Elizabeth Taylor.
I love the vivid colors created by Laura Allred that are then mixed with darker scenes that are filled with ink-splots of blood. How do these color choices and graphic illustrations affect the mood throughout the comic?
Her [Allred] colors have blown me away from the beginning. I've always been a huge fan of hers, so I decided she was going to color and I let her go crazy, you know, whatever you want to do. And I've been so excited to get every page back from her with the colors, they just seem to work for me, and make my stuff look a million times better.
I noticed that Josie's weapon of choice is a knife. Is there any reason for this?
I thought it would be really funny to have her—especially being a woman in the time that she lived in—to be very crafty, so to be able to kill anybody with anything. And I found guns to be really boring plot wise. It's so easy to just shoot someone across the room, so I just wanted to her to have a little more more fun, and make it a little bit grosser. It's more fun for me.
The series ended, leaving unanswered questions about the fate of Josie and how her job will affect her family, especially her mother-in-law. Does Josie have big plans for her mother-in-law in the second series?
Yes, I'm so excited. I just started drawing the first issue. I finished writing it all, and yeah, I featured her mother-in-law quite a bit more of a plot-point in this one, so it should be pretty interesting.
Let's talk about Josie's supportive husband for a minute. Is he really that naive?
[Laughs] I think so. I mean, he's not with it. He's not dumb or anything, but he's pretty much a man of the times. He's just likes his home life to be simple and he likes things on the surface, and takes it for what it is, but he's very supportive.
Will Josie take him up on his suggestion to start her own business, and will we learn more about the organization that she works for?
Yeah. I started out with her and her family moving out to Florida, and she has decided to start a business of her own. And the old company that she worked for isn't really that excited about that.
In the first series, the reader is taken right into Josie's world, but we don't really know how she got to become such a skilled assassin. Is her backstory something you will touch on this second time around?
This one I'm going to a little bit of backstory. Mostly it's going to be with some of the characters around Josie, we'll find more about them. I am holding the full story of Josie's beginnings closer to the chest and waiting for the right opportunity to bring that out.
You will be taking the reins as both writer and artist alongside colorist Laura Allred. How much different is tackling the series this time around than it was during the creation of Lady Killer #1?
When we began, we knew that Jamie would eventually move away from the book and have me take over the reins, so I've sort of been in practice for it for awhile. But yeah, it's intimidating. It's kind of scary.
Will it be a miniseries again or monthly?
We're going for another five issues. Then I think we will see from there. If the response is still good then I might consider doing more, but for now we're going to take it five at a time.
Can readers can pick up the the second series without having to read the first?
I definitely wanted to make a huge effort to make sure that this story could stand alone without reading the first one. So it will be a story all in its own about a woman starting out in a new city, but if wanted more backstory, you could definitely go back to the first series.
Jones revealed that Lady Killer 2 will be released in March 2016.
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