Clara tries to gain some sense of normalcy by going out on a date but since this is her life, nothing ever goes smoothly. “Copperhead” #7 is a very strong issue that gets deeper into analyzing Clara’s personality. Be warned, there are spoilers in this review.
Written by Jay Faerber
Illustrated Scott Godlewski & Ron Riley
Sheriff Clara Bronson goes on a date with handsome schoolteacher Thaddeus Luken, unaware that a gang of vicious outlaws are headed straight for Copperhead.
I love “Copperhead”. I recommend it to anyone who will listen to me. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve seen me go on and on about it. It’s a space western with lots of science fiction elements but with the core of a television drama. Clara Bronson is arguably the best female lead in comics and this issue just adds evidence more to this argument.
“Copperhead” #7 opens with a single page that gives us a little bit more information about Clara’s husband. He’s in prison and he’s getting ready to tell someone (maybe a lawyer) about how he met Clara. We then move on to Clara’s date with Thaddeus, a sweet and charming teacher. Clara is being Clara and the date ends up being one sided. Thaddeus talks a lot about himself and Clara starts drinking a little too much. After basically giving up on making an emotional connection, Clara invites him back to her house for a little “fun”. This is promptly interrupted by a break-in that forces Clara into action in a fight for her life and for Thaddeus’ life.
“Copperhead” #7 is a really great issue for different reasons than previous issues. This one felt much more like an analysis of Clara. Since the first issue, we’ve known that Clara has some personal demons. Her husband is out of the picture and things have happened that caused her to end up on this planet. She’s not necessarily a bad mother but she’s not as attentive as she could be and we saw that she has some prejudices. In this issue though, we see a different side of her as she tries to make a connection with someone other than her son. The use of sex here cannot be ignored because it turns the tables on what we’ve come to expect in comics. Instead of the male jumping to sex after spending little time getting to know the woman, Clara turns the tables on Thaddeus. The magic here is in the execution because it’s not a situation where a male stereotype is placed on a female character. Instead, Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski simply let Clara behave like Clara. This is her personality. She’s the kind of person who takes charge and does what she wants and what she wanted was Thaddeus. However, it’s not abusive and it doesn’t do anything to damage his character either.
This kind of gender role examination is done with again when the house is broken into. Clara is the one who takes charge but is again not stuck in a trope. She’s outnumbered but instead of falling into a generic “I don’t need no man” stereotype, she asks Thaddeus if he can fight. Clara is intelligent and isn’t going into a fight without back up if she doesn’t have to. Faerber and Godlewski really have a grasp on this character and it’s really fun watching them explore her more when she’s out of uniform.
Artist Scott Godlewski does some heavy lifting every single issue. He’s a huge part of why I love this series. Earlier issues of “Copperhead” have featured a lot of sprawling landscapes but Godlewski doesn’t do much of that here. This isn’t the issue for that because this is an exposition heavy issue. That doesn’t mean that Godlewski doesn’t have a lot to do. The first page is a thing of beauty with the big shot of Annabeth sitting in a giant room. Then we perfectly transition into Copperhead and Boo on patrol. The angles are perfect and the shadows hit just the right place to create a wonderful feeling of night without obscuring Boo’s face too much. These pages with Boo feature a lot of tight close ups. Godlewski makes drinking water look beautiful because the details on the faces are so precise. The eyebrows arch just right, the noses have that wrinkle in them when they move and the eyes always show some some kind of emotion.
Continued belowThe scenes in the house are the perfect examples of Godlewski’s range because he can go from one extreme to the next. The sex scene between Clara and Thaddeus is very well done as it’s sexy and tasteful. The moonlight and shadows are used very well but a lot of that can be credited to colorist Ron Riley. The way the panels are broken down into micro moments adds a great feeling of movement and I love the way Riley is able to keep Clara’s bright red hair so visible. We get a big action piece right after this and it’s cinematic in scope with the bullets visually appearing to be moving. Riley steps with Godlewski’s pencils perfectly again here with the use of purples and blues to reflect moonlight. I liked the way that it look natural. Colorists can get bogged down with using a lot of black in a scene like this but he really nails the look of natural light and I think it allows him to keep the characters in focus better.
“Copperhead” #7 is definitely a bridge to something bigger but it does a very fine job exploring gender roles and Clara’s personality. As much as I loved this issue, I do think it’s time to get some more backstory on Boo. I want to know his story and I want to know what makes him tick. I want him to be as fleshed out as Clara is. This is a series that doesn’t get the kind of publicity it deserves. If you’re a fan of westerns or Firefly, this is something worth checking out.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – “Copperhead” #7 is a great Clara centric issue that plays with gender roles in comics.
