The demon that’s been forcing Dylan to kill stops working from behind the scenes in the latest issue of the absolutely great Kill or be Killed.

Kill Or Be Killed 10
Written by Ed Brubaker 
Art by Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweiser

He’s got the NYPD investigating him, the Russian mafia are going to want him dead when they find out he killed their men and his kind of ex-girlfriend is worried about him and wants him to open up, but Dylan kills people once a month to satisfy a deal he made with a demon after he tried to kill himself. Talking about it doesn’t really seem like a viable option without being locked up in a sanitarium.

But after he accidentally killed his drug dealer, Dylan starts to get tired of the whole deal. The demon, however, does what demons do and sets out to convince his agent to continue doing what he agreed to do. He reminds Dylan that if Dylan stops killing, if he doesn’t continue to keep his pistol with him at all times, the people closest to him could be in trouble… mainly from a vengeful Russian mafia.

The issue was advertised as the end of the series’ second story arc, and it sets up the next five issues or so with Dylan dealing with Kira coming back into his life and his current girlfriend setting up an art exhibit of Dylan’s father’s old paintings… one of which featured the Demon that’s been tormenting Dylan! Is the Demon a fabrication of the medication Dylan has been taking? Brubaker really lays in the doubt in readers’ minds here before that final panel, and it’s a great set-up for the future of the series.

Kill Or Be Killed continues to be enhanced by the amazing art of Phillips and Breitweiser, which seems exceptionally exceptional here. Living in New York City and reading this book, there’s no doubt the art captures the feel of living here.

The next arc should be very interesting, and I can’t wait for it to kick off.