2025 Releases: The Brownout Murders, Consensual Violence

Title: The Brownout Murders: A True Crime Graphic Novel, Set In 1942
Writer(s): Luke C. Jackson, Kelly Jackson
Artist(s): Maya Graham
Availability: Print, digital, digital library services
Plot Summary: They blamed alcohol. They blamed men. But they blamed women most of all.

The year is 1942, the place Melbourne. A brownout is in effect to dim the night-time lights of the city, and thousands of American GIs are based in Royal Park. As the latter make plans to defend the Pacific, the women of Australia have stepped up to support the war effort at home. Beatrice is doing her part. She’s enlisted as an air raid warden, preparing the city ahead of a possible Japanese attack. Her sister June is an operator at the telephone exchange, while her other sister, Lizzie, works as a shopgirl by day and parties with the Americans by night.

But the times are about to change again, and the three sisters will have to navigate the consequences of a new threat as a series of grisly murders are committed in the eerie half-light of the brownout. Inspired by true events,
Review: The Brownout Murders essentially combines two stories. It

The Brownout Murders is the true story of Eddie Leonski. Leonski was stationed in Melbourne Australia during WWII. As part of air raid precautions, Melbourne tried to minimize lighting as much as possible at nighttime. Under the cover of darkness, Leonski strangled and killed three women to "get their voices".

The throughline of Leonski’s story, the story of life under the threat of attack, and the story of Melbourne in WWII is a trio of sisters, with one sister acting as the protagonist. She is a civil volunteer that educates the public about the importance of the brownout. This civic responsibility makes her feel close to this crime as it;s happening, like she has some additional responsibility to help keep everyone safe. Plus, her sisters are out there living their lives.

The Brownout Murders isn’t played as a genre exercise, it’s played pretty straight with a fidelity to the facts. The less you know about the actual case, the more you’ll probably get out of it. As a story, perhaps it’s more informative than entertaining.

Title: Consensual Violence
Writer(s): Del James, Giulia Brusco (Other primary creator) 
Artist(s): Arjuna Susini
Availability: Print, digital, digital library services
Plot Summary: Shy, dog-loving, and hungry for a better life, Krysten reinvents herself as a fierce lucha libre star in Mexico. But when her trusted trainer—once a wrestling legend—betrays her with brutal violence, her dream career becomes a fight for survival.

From the shadows of El Paso to the blood-soaked rings of Juarez, Krysten’s quest for vengeance explodes into a savage war against corrupt promoters, cartel killers, and anyone complicit in her abuse. Armed with grit, rage, and her wrestling persona, she delivers her own brand of justice—one bone-crushing blow at a time.

Review: Wrestling makes a return appearance! Earlier, I wrote about Joe Keatinge’s three volume series Ringside. Much of what I wrote there applies here too since it’s such a corrupt system. The opening pages of this do feature a sexual assault, so please keep that in mind if needed.

Krysten just wants to break into the business, She tries to learn the ahem ropes from a washed up jobber who runs a scuzzy wrestling school. His lesson starts off with a speech that highlights the romantic aspects of the sport. But the horrors of the sport knock the teeth out of that notion when he feels disrespected and decides to dominate her by force in the ring. In a business of constant power plays this is the worst kind.

Soon after she finds herself in Mexico as a masked lucha wrestler. Her and her tag team partner are on the cusp of leveling up in the promotion when, you guessed it, things go sideways.

While Consensual violence is firmly rooted in the wrestling industry, it’s not interested in staying only in that lane. The shit pot that the masked wrestlers find themselves in is going to make them tougher or kill them. What Consensual Violence is more interested in, especially in the second half(ish) of the book is action, kicking ass, taking revenge. As a pulpy crime ride it’s a blast. Imagine this as a luchador rape revenge story that would have gone over big with 70’s grindhouse audiences..