By Yves Swolfs
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781800440005
A bit of genre-blending with this new series: hard-bitten western coupled with a touch of the supernatural. And it works, too.
A preacher, along with his entourage, is stirring up fear and leaving the dead in his wake. He appears to be calling people to arms to fight slavery, but his actions suggest a different motivation. Following behind, a lone gunman tracks the preacher’s progress, but he’s no ordinary man. Gifted with the ability to see someone’s past when he touches them, he can use the knowledge he gains to his advantage. Slowly but surely he is seeking vengeance for those slain.
The action centres around the small town of Holton, where the preacher has been welcomed by the mayor. The mayor has his own men, and his own interests, so to make any further progress the lone gunman needs to negotiate the town’s problems first. There are innocents here that need protecting.
With colours by Julie Swolfs, the rest of the book is the work of one man, Yves Swolfs. It’s beautifully illustrated with bags of detail. So good, in fact, that you’ll have no trouble at all being transported back into the old west. The writing is well-paced, and although the wider politics of what’s happening are only lightly touched upon, clearly to be expanded upon and explored at a later date, there’s more here to enjoy. Characters are given a moment in the spotlight so you can get to know them, and that in turn allows you to get on board with the lone gunman’s desire to do right by the people he befriends.
Also worth noting are the action sequences. Gunfights don’t always play out well in comics, but Swolfs’ framing and posing make the static images come alive. You can almost hear the gunfire, not to mention the bullets biting home.
An impressive opening book from what could well be a promising series.
And if you liked that: Book two, The Ruffians, is out soon.
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