Pop Kill
Those who remember the 80s will remember the Cola Wars, where Coke and Pepsi duked it out in the realm of public opinion through 
eye-catching ads and seemingly random taste tests. These companies mainly fought for our attention but Pop Kill, from writers Dave Johnson and Jimmy Palmiotti and illustrations from Juan Santacruz, shows two other rival soda companies using much more conventional and destructive weapons to settle their differences.
The companies in question are Fizz One and Popso, each one run by twin brothers who were once conjoined and now can’t stand each other, both looking to destroy the other’s corporation. Enter corporate saboteur/hitman Jon Pyle, a man of many skills and many one liners, currently working for Fizz One due to a misunderstanding among Pyle, Fizz One’s CEO, and the CEO’s mistress. His latest task is to eliminate Dina Deluxe, a scientist who has developed a formula for soda that doesn’t fall flat, a formula that could finally bury Fizz One and put Popso on top. But nobody, not even Jon, thought he would fall for Dina and her pug. Now all three are on the run from two megacorporations who can afford an army of assassins and agents.
The Cola Wars might offer a blueprint for Johnson and Palmotti’s story, but either soda, being a drink that bubbles and pops while having no nutritional value, is the overall metaphor for the narrative, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Pyle spends a lot of time shooting people, causing lots of explosions, and having sex with attractive and often topless women (one panel has him crawl from underneath a pile of them). Neither he nor the plot allows time to ruminate on a career that often involves killing people; instead the book moves briskly from quip to violence and back again, making it not a story one savors after the book is closed but a tale that will be loads of fun while reading it.
And speaking of violence, Santacruz depicts that violence with syrupy blood splatter and automatic weapon gunfire that burns bright while its accompanying “Blam!” sound effects pepper the page. Not only are the players in this action movie committed to paper all look like they stepped off of Central Casting, but the vibrant colors are ones that Coke and Pepsi have used in their own commercials. This book might not feed the brain but it is most assuredly a feast for the eyes.
Many librarians know that some reading is for education or enlightenment, the same way we might eat oatmeal for breakfast and avoid, say, a stack of waffles dripping with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Pop Kill definitely falls in the “stack of waffles” category. Those adult graphic novel readers who love high-velocity action films like The Transporter and Bullet Train will enjoy Jon Pyle’s adventures, which might seem like a guilty pleasure to some but the copious amounts of sex, nudity, and dry wit are guaranteed not to rot your teeth.
Pop Kill
By Jimmy Palmiotti, Dave Johnson
Art by Juan Santacruz
Mad Cave Studios, 2025
ISBN: 9781545817872
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
