Written by Eliott Rahal
Art by Mattia Monaco
Colors by Matt Milla
Letters by Taylor Esposito

December 2nd, 2020

Sometimes you kill. Sometimes you get killed. But no matter what, everyone dies the first time they go on stage.
Pryor Brice has always wanted to be funny. And now, he’s taken the plunge and started doing stand-up comedy. Unfortunately, his older sister – Ronan – wants her brother to stop daydream-ing and focus on his future.
Pryor is determined to succeed…the only problem is: He totally sucks at stand-up. That is…until an accident changes everything, leading both Pryor and Ronan to discover comedy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
KNOCK ‘EM DEAD is a supernatural horror about comedy, brought to you by writer Eliot Rahal (MIDNIGHT VISTA, HOT LUNCH SPECIAL) and artist Mattia Monaco.

Supernatural horror surrounding the early career of a young comedian, Knock Em Dead is setting up to be one hell of a great series.

Pryor Brice isn’t exactly good at comedy, but he certainly wants to be. Comedy is a good escape from tragedy, after all. This first issue has a Killing Joke / Joker vibe blended with supernatural elements – like a Stephen King version. The down on his luck comedian that’s life begins to spiral out of control into something else. It feels like something very grounded in reality, so anything horror oriented that occurs really has the potential to unsettle readers.

There are some truly incredible things done with the art in this book. It feels like it gets darker and darker as it goes along, matching the story itself. The imagery alternates a lot of contrasting ideas: funny and grotesque, dark and light, etc. It’s some extremely powerful work. The colors are absolutely stunning as well and really set the mood. Brilliant things are also done with the lettering, which is no surprise with work from Taylor Esposito, making this first issue a total package.

Don’t miss issue one of Knock Em Dead. This is just the beginning of something great.

-Angel