‘Killer Influences’ Review: Fame Is the Real Monster

Every generation gets the true crime story it deserves, and right now that means podcasts, influencers, and a public appetite for violence that’s basically become its own economy. Killer Influences takes that idea and pushes it about as far as it can go, pairing an actual serial killer with the person trying to build a platform off him, and the result is one of the sharpest, nastiest little crime comics I’ve read in a while.

Meet the Team Behind the Madnes

Writer Joey Esposito is an Eisner-nominated and Ringo Award-winning writer, and he’s currently also writing the ongoing Power Rangers Unlimited series, which is about as far from this book’s tone as you can possibly get, and honestly, that range is impressive on its own. His creator-owned series The Pedestrian was nominated for the Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2025 and went on to win Best Series and Fan Favorite New Series at that year’s Ringo Awards, so he’s clearly someone worth watching regardless of genre. Artist Valeria Burzo is someone we’ve noticed through several horror anthology books, including EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss and Shiver SuspenStories, plus her work on Castle Full of Blackbirds, so we were genuinely happy to see her attached to this series.

Killer Influences is also the second release from IDW Crime, a brand new imprint from IDW Publishing dedicated to crime and true crime comics, following in the footsteps of their horror-focused IDW Dark line. It launched alongside Seven Wives and was followed shortly after by Fixation, and if this book is any indication of the imprint’s quality bar, IDW Crime is off to a strong start.

What Is Killer Influences About?

Melvin is a serial killer working out of Eden, a small industrial town, and despite a genuinely high body count, nobody’s connected his crimes to a single name, he’s too quiet, too methodical, and completely lacking any kind of public identity. That changes when Kylie, an aspiring true crime podcaster stuck at a small-town newspaper, figures out who he actually is and reaches out with an offer: she’ll build him into a household name if he lets her cover his crimes. What follows is a partnership that starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement and spirals into something far more dangerous for both of them.

A Toxic Pact Built on Fame

What hooked me right away is how the book frames Melvin and Kylie as two sides of the exact same coin. Both of them want fame, both of them are willing to use violence to get it, they’re just going about it through different means, and watching that parallel play out issue to issue is genuinely fascinating. I also have to give credit to the commitment behind Melvin’s actual brand once Kylie starts building him up, the “Caddysack Killer” persona leans fully into a golf theme, right down to his choice of weapon, and it’s a small detail that could’ve felt silly but instead comes across as genuinely unsettling. It’s the kind of specific, gross creativity that separates a good serial killer story from a forgettable one.

Kylie’s home life adds a lot of texture too, her relationship with her grandmother and her addict brother, who disappeared after stealing from the family, gives her more depth than the “opportunistic influencer” premise alone would suggest. And when it becomes clear just how directly Melvin is tied to what happened to her brother, the whole dynamic between them flips completely. Suddenly Kylie, who spent the first stretch of the book in control of the narrative, is the one who’s scared, and Melvin gets to play the wounded party pretending he’s moved on. That role reversal is one of the smartest things this book does.

A Short, Sharp Ending That Surprised Me

I honestly didn’t expect this to wrap up in just three issues, and going in I assumed I was getting a longer series. But that short runtime works in its favor, there’s zero fat here. The back half gets genuinely intense, and by the time the story reaches its final confrontation, both of them have fully shown who they really are underneath the partnership. It’s the kind of ending that reframes the whole premise: two people who wanted the exact same thing, using the exact same tools, and never really needed each other at all. That’s a sharp note to end on, and it stuck with me well after I finished the last page.

Final Thoughts

Killer Influences is a tight, mean little crime thriller that understands exactly what it’s satirizing, our collective appetite for consuming other people’s violence as entertainment. If you’re into true crime as a genre, or just want a comic that has real teeth to it, this one delivers. The trade paperback arrives in March 2027, but with only three issues to track down, I’d say hunt down the single issues if you can.

More Serial Killer Comics Worth Reading

If Killer Influences worked for you, we’ve covered a few other comics that dig into serial killers from very different angles. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring follows a secret serial killer bear trying to protect her hidden double life when a new threat surfaces in her quiet town. The Deviant is a much colder read, a psychological horror miniseries centered on a killer Santa Claus and an investigation reaching fifty years into the past. And I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer flips the formula entirely, following a killer just trying to survive fashion school without getting caught, or relapsing into old habits.

FAQ

Is Killer Influences worth reading? Yes. It’s a sharp, fast crime thriller with real thematic teeth underneath the violence.

Do you need to read anything before Killer Influences? No. It’s a standalone three-issue miniseries with no required reading beforehand.

Who is writing and drawing Killer Influences? Joey Esposito writes the series, with art and covers by Valeria Burzo, colors by Iñaki Azpiazu, and letters by Alex Ray.

Is Killer Influences a one-shot, miniseries, or ongoing series? It’s a three-issue miniseries, running from July to September 2026.

When is the trade paperback out? The collected edition is out March 2027.