Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Brian HurttNew story arc! In the aftermath of the tragic battle of the Maw, Drake and company hide in the sprawling city of New Orleans. But as they plot their next move, they find themselves embroiled in another harrowing adventure. Unexpected threats, new enemies, and a host of strange spirits are already aligning against them.
With praise coming from the likes of Kurt Busiek, Jason Aaron and Greg Rucka, Oni’s newest magic western had a lot of hype to live up to. Thankfully, Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt delivered magnificently with their first arc. Click below to find out if the first issue of their second continues to deliver on the awesome.
I’ll admit I really didn’t know much about the book when I picked it up on a lark last month, but what I found was a massively intelligent, largely intriguing and undeniably solid read that masterfully weaved horror mystery and western tradition together masterfully. That said, the end of the first arc last issue was a better end to the story than most comics get for their last published issue. So this issue not only had to establish an almost completely new beginning, but continue the amazing upward trend of the first arc. Thankfully it does both.
Our story begins with a now significantly more morose Drake Sinclair than the last time we saw him. It seems the weight of wielding four of the cursed guns is weighing heavily on his soul. However, before delving into the exact details of this weight, Drake sets off to find a way to rid himself of the guns. While gone, a brash, young gunslinger named Kirby Hale makes a bid earning the hand of heroine Becky before finding himself in a brawl with some local drunks. After proving his skill and taking his leave, we see Becky demonstrate a much keener grasp on using the powers of the sixth gun as it follows her order to reveal the location of Sinclair’s four guns. If hinting that the nubile, wide eyed former damsel in distress may be succumbing to the evil embedded in her weapon isn’t a cliffhanger, I don’t know what is.
On the art end, Hurtt’s work is so clean and well constructed that it shares more in common with animation than it does with traditional comic book art. His line work is crisp and no space is wasted on the page, creating some of the most detailed backgrounds seen in a book in quite some time. However, it’s Bill Crabtree’s colors that really help give the book it’s identity. His strong use of blacks and greens help give the book a genuinely spooky feel and the color composition just makes the characters pop off the page.
Overall, I absolutely love this book. In a completely over saturated market, it manages to take several classic storytelling tropes and weaves them together into something entirely unique. Just like five issues ago, I can’t anticipate the next issue more.
Final Verdict: 9.3 – Buy
