''Killing'' is an Italian

photo comic Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...

series about a vicious criminal, the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

. It has been published intermittently since the 1960s under various titles.

Synopsis

Killing is a vicious criminal, totally without mercy and portrayed throughout the series without credit by Aldo Agliata. Wearing a black and white costume styled on a human

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

(designed by movie special effects wizard

Carlo Rambaldi Carlo Rambaldi (September 15, 1925 – August 10, 2012) was an Italian special effects artist, winner of three Oscars: one Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1977 for the 1976 version of ''King Kong'' and two Acade ...

), he slaughters other criminals unrepentantly, often stealing their once-stolen loot. He crafts masks from a flesh-like substance to imitate his victims. Killing's methods are brutal and

sadistic Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...

, and the lurid covers and stories often feature him attacking, torturing, and murdering scantily clad women. Supporting characters include Killing's lover Dana (portrayed by actress

Luciana Paoli Luciana may refer to: * Luciana (given name), a Latin feminine given name * Luciana (singer), British pop singer * Luciana, Ciudad Real, a small village and municipality in Spain * ''Luciana'' (album), by Juno Reactor {{disambig ...

), the only person who has seen him unmasked, and Inspector Mercier (actor

Dario Michaelis Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name *Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper *Dario Bellezza (1 ...

), a determined police officer who always just misses catching and detaining Killing for his crimes. The series also featured a rotating troupe of actors who also appeared in many European

spaghetti westerns The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

spy films Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangi ...

sword and sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budge ...

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

(horror/crime) and

exploitation films An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

of the era. The character of Killing was inspired by several previous characters from French and Italian pulp fiction, including

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appear ...

Diabolik ''Diabolik'' ( or ) is an Italian comic series created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani. One of the most popular series in the history of Italian comics, ''Diabolik'' was created in 1962 and consists of more than 900 volumes, and has led ...

, and especially Kriminal. Killing's books, however, were far more violent and sexually explicit than those of his predecessors.

International versions

The series was entitled ''

Satanik ''Satanik'' is an Italian noir comic book created in December 1964 by Max Bunker (writer) and Magnus (artist), also the authors of the popular series '' Kriminal'' and '' Alan Ford''. Synopsis Satanik is Marny Bannister, a skilled female chemis ...

'' in the French edition, '' Kiling'' in Argentina as well as being published in Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Germany and Venezuela. Sold as "Photostories for Adults", it ran for 62 issues (19 in France) starting in 1966, and was published by Ponzoni and editor Pietro Granelli with each episode directed by actor and singer

Rosario Borelli Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

. The character was also known as '' KiLiNK'', the star of several unauthorized films shot in Turkey during the late 1960s and early '70s (most notably '' Killing in Istanbul''). The Argentinean series ran out of the Italian stories and began shooting new adventures that lasted until the 1980s. The series is currently being revived by American editor and comics creator

Mort Todd Mort Todd (born Michael Delle-Femine, November 9, 1961) is an American writer and media entrepreneur, best known as an editor-in-chief of '' Cracked'' magazine, and later, Marvel Music. He is owner of Comicfix, a media company that has developed ...

, under the new title, ''Sadistik: The Diabolikal Super-Kriminal''. The documentary about the character The Diabolikal Super-Kriminalimdb.com: ''Diabolikal Super-Kriminal''
/ref> directed by SS-Sunda had its US premiere at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

on July 25, 2009, where it received Special Mention by the judges.

References

External links

KILLING/SADISTIK/SATANIK film-documentary

on CoolFrenchComics 1966 establishments in Italy 1969 disestablishments in Italy 1966 comics debuts 1969 comics endings Crime comics Defunct magazines published in Italy Fictional murderers Comics magazines published in Italy Italian-language magazines Magazines established in 1966 Magazines disestablished in 1969 Photocomics Pulp stories {{Italy-comics-stub