By Bruno Savill De Jong — Philadelphia was one of America’s foundational cities, home of the Liberty Bell and where Independence was first proclaimed. Aside from the pun-title, it is the perfect location for Killadelphia, which tells a story of the American Dream turning into an undead nightmare. Philadelphia is now shown as a corrupt and crime-infested place, detective James Sangster observing “Hell Hall”, once prosperous low-income housing ruined through the crack cocaine epidemic, “a cold reminder of what could have been”. Sangster is killed by the residents, leaving his son Jimmy to travel from Baltimore and pick up his case, more out of spite than anything else. Their past bitter relationship grips them like America’s wasted potential. Jimmy is assisted by sympathetic coroner Jose, and also by Sangster himself. See, the mentions of “Hell” and America’s undead past are not just metaphorical, as Killadelphia features an underground coven of vampires, which Sangster has now been turned into. Not only this, but their mastermind is none other than the 200-hundred-years (un)dead 2nd President of the United States, John Adams.

Now, even for a vampire comic, all of this is a little ridiculous. And the ridiculousness is initially hard to parse, given Killadelphia’s seemingly straight-forward tone and the heavily-shadowed gritty artwork of Jason Shawn Alexander. Writer Rodney Barnes’ social-commentary would seem to clash against the brazen supernaturalism and alternative history. Yet somehow, Killadelphia works, and it works really well. Barnes is able to have fun with the undead hordes while keeping them grounded and sympathetic, some of the best elements when he examines American history through their immortal undead eyes. Most of Killadelphia’s cast are African-American; from the Sangster family, to a 12-year-old vampire whose been following John Adams since slavery, to a recent rebellious recruit Tevin Thompkins. More than most, they are able to reflect upon the failings of the American experiment. With the benefit of hindsight, Adams also understands he and the other Founding Fathers were too limited in their creation of America, restricted to “men such as ourselves”, and wishes to begin again with his nocturnal army. Despite being blood-sucking monsters, they feel humane, even if ‘restarting’ is a different thing to ‘reform’.

Alexander’s artwork particularly blends this grounded realism with the supernatural. The dense and photographic etchings are aided by Luis NCT’s colors, keeping Philadelphia’s streets purposefully dark and dull until the vampires appear with their yellow-glowing eyes, pale leathery skin and fountains of crimson-red blood. It makes the quieter scenes drip with a realistically Gothic atmosphere, only emphasizing the horror of when the vampires attack.

Killadelphia escalates its fantasy into exciting pulp, but underlines it with relatable humanity and a dark comedy. The harsh shadows and grinning ghouls become an expression of those disillusioned with current society, even if the past they are reaching for is also ephemeral, walking corpses containing shells of their former selves. Killadelphia is fun and entertaining, while also using its genre to examine issues of history and freedom. As a dying grandmother tells her immortal grandson in the book, “We get the time we do. Any more is an abomination”.

Killadelphia Vol. 1: Sins of the Father - REVIEW

KILLADELPHIA VOL. 1: SINS OF THE FATHER
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander
Colorer: Luis NCT
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Publisher:  Image
Price: $9.99
Featuring the show-stopping talents of SPAWN series artist JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER and the writer behind such hit shows as Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Marvel’s Runaways, and STARZ’s American Gods—RODNEY BARNES. When small-town beat cop Jimmy Sangster returns to his Philadelphia roots to bury his murdered father, he stumbles into a mystery that will lead him down a path of horrors and shake his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality…and vampires.There’s a reason they say you can’t go home again.
Release Date: July 8, 2020
Buy It Digitally: Killadelphia, Vol. 1

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 Bruno Savill De Jong is a recent undergraduate of English and freelance writer on films and comics, living in London. His infrequent comics-blog is Panels are Windows and semi-frequent Twitter is BrunoSavillDeJo.