This new ongoing from Image promises a lot, and looks fantastic. But maybe this reviewer’s been burned a few too many times by promising science-fiction first issues. Let’s work through this one together.
Written by Jay Faerber
Illustrated by Scott GodlewskiWelcome to Copperhead, a grimy mining town on the edge of a backwater planet. Single mom Clara Bronson is the new sheriff, and on her first day she’ll have to contend with a resentful deputy, a shady mining tycoon, and a family of alien hillbillies. And did we mention the massacre? Writer JAY FAERBER and the art team of SCOTT GODLEWSKI & RON RILEY bring you this gritty 24th Century Western with an extra-long first issue for the regular price of $3.50!
The first thing that strikes you upon leafing through “Copperhead” is that it is pretty. Really pretty. Godlewski’s bold, spacious, lowbrow-influenced style is offset by lovely pastels from Ron Riley, and it’s an addictive combination, making an impression with every flip of the page.
The second thing that strikes you is that you’ve read this comic before – maybe when it was called “Storm Dogs”. It takes up an old chestnut of an idea, the space-themed frontier tale; and while things don’t go exactly as expected, they don’t add up to a novel twist on the formula either.
The introductory sequence – with Clara and her son Zeke taking the train to their new home – has more than its fair share of visually interesting elements. The view outside the window is taken up by motion lines, and while that doesn’t sound too interesting, the way these combine with Riley’s peachy colour choices add a dreamlike feel to the scene. It’s refreshing, too, that the story starts out at a quiet moment halfway between nowhere and nowhere, rather than in medias res. But this otherworldly feel is interrupted by a crusty ne’er do well stirring up trouble – the first explicitly lowbrow visual element in the book. It’s an intriguing switch in tone, and one that is repeated at least once over the course of the issue; only I’m not entirely sure that it works.
On the level of story, this feels like the kind of moment where the sheriff-to-be shows off her stuff and makes her first impression on the people who may well have to rely on her for protection. And while it’s interesting that she blows off the situation instead, facepalming as another passenger picks the fight, it makes the sequence feel a bit transparent – a moment in which to introduce two guys we might encounter later on. I think we’re supposed to be thinking of Clara more as a mother and a woman who’s gone through a lot at this moment, but she feels a touch too distant to really sympathize with. It’s one thing to introduce a compelling “type” like the single-mom-who’s-also-a-sheriff; it’s quite another getting us to believe in her, and I don’t think we’re there yet.
We’re on familiar – but fun – territory as Clara gets her bearings in town. The deputy who is to assist her is a strong, silent type, but he’s also a bit of a malcontent, and this makes him a memorable element. Somewhere between a camel, a chameleon, and a cat in terms of appearance, his oversized, resentful presence adds a dose of tension to Clara’s first experience of her home.
It seems the best moments in the issue are the ones centered around the aliens. While a hillbilly sequence in the middle pushes the lowbrow element too far, making the issue feel like it’s going through an identity crisis, the earlier appearance of a Grey-like town citizen with bad news gets across so much expression that it asks to be looked over again. The opposite is true (in the best of ways) when it comes to the “Arties”, artificial human beings who are probably going to have some interesting contributions to the story down the line. Godlewski gets across a nice mix of impassive and mysterious in the portrayal of these individuals.
Unfortunately, by the end of the issue, we’re no closer to Clara as a character, and Zeke hasn’t got much to him either. Our hook into the next issue consequently has a slightly artificial feel to it. All things considered, I’d prefer to have an opinion one way or another about our main characters before I see them in danger.
This issue puts forth a lot of intriguing elements in its 30 pages, and it’s fun imagining all the different places they could go. But it’s the curse of science fiction comics that they don’t always capitalize on the promise of their first issues, so I wouldn’t call out the variety of elements as a selling point. What you’re definitely getting here is some gorgeous art and colouring, and while it’s early to make a call on the writing front, there certainly isn’t anything here a couple issues of development couldn’t fix. It’s a matter of waiting and seeing where “Copperhead” slithers next.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – A formulaic, visually impressive read with the potential to grow into something more.
