Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Si Spurrier
Artwork: Vanesa Del Rey
Colours: John Starr
Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Date: 23rd July 2025

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In a grimy, queasy, backwater swamp, a gore covered madman stalks through the mushrooms and mud. A pregnant sergeant at the Corbeaumort Wildlife Management Area struggles through the heat and humidity, dealing with poachers and the politics of the local ‘family’. With the rest of the team out of action following a bout of illness from the annual barbeque there’s no one else around to help. A sense of duty, either worthy or misplaced, will see these individuals clash in this new story from Image.

Having originally thought that The Voice Said Kill was a new horror story, it’s probably better to say well-crafted thriller. The setting, completely alien to me save for references in media, provides the perfect backdrop to allow for the dichotomy of open space and claustrophobia. These swampy wetlands come with all of the tropes one would expect from sleazy suits to gator poachers, and families with a propensity for criminal enterprise. This familiarity doesn’t lessen the tense step from panel to panel as we follow Sgt Burgau navigate her way through a day which starts rough and fails to get better.

I was pulled into this story from the outset through interesting characterisations and clever use of angles. Del Rey and the team seem equally comfortable presenting views through a tangled mess of vegetation as they are with up close expression or action. For me, the colours and seemingly quick rough lines convey the hazy, cloying humidity. Nothing is comfortable, nor should it be.

One could argue that what I’m describing can be put down to storyboarding basics. The viewpoints and sweeping shots nothing you wouldn’t expect from a decent budget TV show. The difference is whether it lands well and fosters that spark of engagement or imagination. I’ve mentioned that I could feel the sweat, perhaps because of the spate of hot weather recently, but you can almost taste the stale beer and smoke in the panels. A particularly good example panel is where we see the ‘blub’ of bubbles in the water cooler. I’ve always had a love hate relationship with onomatopoeia and presenting this simply with imagery works so well for me.

Story wise, I’m not familiar with intricacies of law enforcement in the swamp nor does it really impact my enjoyment of the tale being woven. There’s maybe a few things that stretch the suspension of disbelief but the bubble remained fully intact upon a couple of re-reads. Its easy to see how everything for Burgau is going to go sideways, and sideways very quickly following the, unexpected, climax of this first issue. Given the pacing here and the foreknowledge that what we have is a four-part limited series, I’m happily on board for what’s to come.

Rating: 4/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Adam Brown
Adam Tweets from @brother_rooster

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