Earlier this week, IDW kicked off its new Crime imprint with Seven Wives. Later this summer, the murder mystery party keeps rolling right along when the line introduces Killer Influences.
Written by Joey Esposito, and with art by Valeria Burzo, Killer Influences takes a different, more scathing approach to true crime. Here, we met Melvin, a serial killer who is so good at what he does that he can’t gain the infamy he so desires. His solution? Team up with Kylie, an equally fame-hungry true crime influencer, to help make Melvin a star. It’s like A Star is Born, only with waaaay more murder.
On the one hand, Killer Influences‘ mere existence is a continued celebration of our obsession with true crime. But the tone taken up by Esposito and Burzo — their “journey” is described as one that will “make their dreams come true and destroy their lives in the process” — tells you all you need to know. With the same deep humanity that informed Esposito’s The Pedestrian, and the same vivid visuals from Burzo’s work with EC Comics, Killer Influences takes a knife to a culture obsessed with fame and violence. It might cut too deep for some readers, but then isn’t that the fun?
Killer Influences #1 is due out July 1. (The FOC is this Monday, May 25.) Ahead of both dates, we caught up with Esposito via email recently to field some important questions. That includes helping to launch IDW’s Crime imprint, the root of the true crime obsession, working with Burzo, his personal connections to Melvin and Kylie, and some tidbits from the rest of Killer Influences.
Main cover by Valeria Burzo. Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: Killer Influences is one of the first books from IDW’s Crime imprint. Does that earliness feel freeing or perhaps nerve-wracking? Did IDW give you a lot of direction either way?
Joey Esposito: It was exciting more than anything. I was really given the freedom to build out this sick world in a way I thought would be interesting.
AIPT: The story seems focused on our shared obsession with true crime podcasts and documentaries. Why is that an interest to you and the team, and what do you think drives said obsession?
JE: It’s not true crime itself; it’s those who have found ways to monetize tragedy and speculation masquerading as reporting. The most recent example is Savannah Guthrie’s mother, which was widely reported on cable news and subject to all manners of bullshit speculation online. And if you talk authoritatively about something on the internet with something resembling charisma, someone will believe you. It helped us get where we are culturally, politically, in 2026. It’s not great!
Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: Where did you stand on crime stories beforehand? Did the interest/lack of interest serve you in the writing of this story?
JE: I love crime in all media. The first comic I made was a crime comic. I’m stoked for Grand Theft Auto VI. Lawrence Block is my favorite writer. But I really love crime’s flexibility. It can be combined with any other genre. It can be funny or it can be dark. It can be sexy or it can be bleak. So I thought doing a crime comic from the perspective of not just the criminals, but the criminals who think what they’re doing is totally fine sounded like a fun challenge, both to construct it as a compelling narrative and also to make these characters engaging even though they are terrible people.
AIPT: What was it like working with Valeria Burzo? What did they bring to the table to help shape or inform your own approach?
JE: Valeria is awesome. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, and I was excited to find out she was drawing Killer Influences. Knowing how great she is with character expression, movement, and body language really frees you up to try some more subtle moments, which goes a long way in a story that’s meant to be suspenseful and tense. Add to that [Iñaki Azpiazu’s] colors, and I was confident to lean into those aspects of the story because I knew it’d look great with them behind the wheel.
Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: Do you feel some kind of affinity for Melvin at all? Can/should you like a serial killer?
JE: I mean, it’s fun to write Melvin for sure. But as a person, no, I don’t think I like him much. On whether you should like a serial killer, I really don’t know. What if someone you loved deeply, unconditionally, turned out to be a serial killer? Would you still love them?
AIPT: Same for Kylie: Is her drive somehow endearing, or is it all the sign of some profound decay/larger social issue?
JE: Kylie has a lot of drive but wants to take shortcuts. She’s impatient because of how desperately she wants out of her life. So I understand that and empathize with her for sure. It’s not just that Kylie is exploiting tragedy, it’s that exploiting tragedy is even a lucrative business in the first place. Social decay is churning the worst moments of real human lives into “content.”
Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: Do you feel like the Killer Influences story reflects maybe your own career in comics somehow (or being in comics in general)? Maybe you can relate to some fellow creative who is struggling continuously just to get their name out there?
JE: I think what I can relate to is the desperation to get noticed or just have your work be appreciated by somebody. I can’t say I’ve ever gone to the lengths that Kylie has gone to, but I have definitely grasped at straws or took assignments that weren’t really me because I thought it would help my long-term goals and, in fact, probably did the opposite. So I do think it’s incredibly relatable being stuck in a place you don’t want to be, and seeing something — anything — as a potential way out or step forward, even if you know in your heart it’s not the right move.
AIPT: When writing/telling stories about murderers/murder, how do you strike a balance between when to go full on blood and guts and when to pull back a bit instead?
JE: I think it depends on the tone. Killer Influences is a Silence of the Lambs-type of blood and guts. If it’s there, it’s important, and not to be taken lightly. I love gratuitous gore as much as the next horror freako, but that’s not this book. Not entirely, anyway!
Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment from issue #1? Maybe one that sets the tone of the story as a whole?
JE: My favorite moment in #1 is where we see Melvin texting Kylie anonymously and he deliberately puts typos into his message, rendered wonderfully through Alex Ray’s letters.
AIPT: What can we expect from the story at large? Any threads/ideas you can tease out?
JE: You can expect surprises and comeuppance. While Killer Influences is a complete story, by the end of #3, the door is open to continue Kylie’s saga in a huge, unexpected way that would be a trip. So please buy it, I would very much like to do that.
Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: If you had to host a true crime podcast, what would it focus on and why that angle?
JE: If I had the time, resolve, and fortitude, I would do a deep dive into the prison system and all the ways in which it and its benefactors are corrupt and criminal.
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about Killer Influences, true crime, comics, etc.
JE: Please tell your comic book shop to pre-order you a copy, it’s annoying to say but it is truly the most important thing you can do to support a comic you’re interested in. I hope you’ll check it out! And Power Rangers Unlimited #1, which I’m writing with Kenny Porter, comes out the same day as Killer Influences #1, so pre-order that too for a fun palette cleanser!
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