Butcher of Paris #2 is out 1/8/2020. — **Butcher of Paris #2** is out 1/8/2020.

By Jarred A. Luján — So, a fun fact about me: I’m a giant World War II buff. I could go on and on about why I love that era politically, philosophically, historically, and on and on and on, but I will abstain from doing that in this comic book review. My love of that era, though, is really what brought me to the new book, Butcher of Paris. I’m not sure there’s a better elevator pitch than: “horrifyingly efficient serial killer in Nazi-occupied France” ...except when you end said pitch with, “based on true events.”

This is a story that is haunting all on it’s own, before it ever even gets scripted or drawn, and, as such, this is a story I was intensely awaiting from the moment it was announced.

Butcher of Paris has delivered, with it’s second issue being even better than the first. The story, centered around Detective Massu and his son Bernard, revealed the scale of death in the first issue. Here, Butcher of Paris #2 is centered around the ripple effect of that. A detective, seemingly desperate to redeem himself for past failures, is filled with a special kind of intensity born out of regret. While that’s a brilliant plotline that writer Stephanie Phillips has developed, I think her utilization of the time period and the occupiers’ approach is even better. The way she handles the Gestapo’s approach to Petiot, and the developing callousness of the French people in the face of an era of widespread death, is so unique and poignant, and it all may be more relevant than we’d like to think.

Phillips isn’t so much crafting a murder mystery here, instead she’s crafting a horrified look at the human experience during the darkest of times. This book is written so brilliantly, and it’s something that everyone should be paying attention to.

Furthermore, artist Dean Kotz is a perfect choice for this story. Kotz’s lines feel so eclectic, and it lends a special energy that this story deserves. I want to point out a specific moment in the book, one that centers around Detective Massu experiencing a sort of hallucination. Kotz follows a specific structure of comics, where the lines of the panels are clearly defined, but as Massu falls into this state, Kotz removes them. The page becomes filled with the hallucination, abandoned by borders, in the same way that Massu begins to feel the fade away of reality and delusion. It’s absolutely incredible, and I wish I could read that page for the first time again.

Kotz is aided and abetted by colorist Jason Wordie, too, who utilizes the colors as a brilliant way to stick Kotz’s point all the way through. Honestly, the art on this book operates at such a high level, but the remarkable part is how well it fits together. Like I said before, Phillips is really crafting a special script, but Kotz and Wordie are matching that with very special art work.

I think it goes without saying that this book really is something very special. Even if I wasn’t a giant WWII nerd, there’s so much here that is so different than what normally happens in comics. The art team is really pushing the boundaries, and Phillips is crafting something so poignant, there’s a lot of reasons to pick this book up.

On a last note, for what it’s worth, since this book was announced, I’ve done some reading on Petiot (probably not as much as Phillips, but I’m trying.) I think the team is doing a pretty incredible job in their historical accuracy so far, which only makes the meaning within this book that much greater.

Overall: This book is something very special. There’s so much here so different than most comics. The art team is really pushing the boundaries, and Phillips is crafting something so poignant. There’s a lot of reasons to pick this book up. 10/10

Butcher of Paris #2
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Dean Kotz
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99

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Jarred A. Luján makes comics, studies existential philosophy, and listens to hip-hop too loudly. For bad jokes and dog pictures, you can follow him on Twitter.