''Killing'' is an Italian

photo comic Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling using 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 in ...

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 piëce. The title o ...

(also known as Satanik). 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 most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

(designed by movie special effects wizard

Carlo Rambaldi Carlo Rambaldi (September 15, 1925 – August 10, 2012) was an Italian special effects and makeup effects artist. He was the winner of three Academy Awards: one Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1977 for the 1976 ve ...

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

spy films The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond fil ...

sword and sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (: pepla), 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-budget Holly ...

giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

(horror/crime) and

exploitation films An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

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 appeared ...

Diabolik ''Diabolik'' () 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 to ...

, 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 crime comics series 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 ch ...

'' 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 Pino Ponzoni's Ponzoni Editore and editor Pietro Granelli with each episode directed by actor and singer Rosario Borelli. 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

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

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