Oni Press out of Portland,
Oregon, has been sending us
review copies of comics and graphic novels.
Up until a couple months ago I was not even aware that this publisher
existed. They are certainly proof, though,
that some of best stuff comes from the smaller comics publishers. This series,
The Sixth Gun, looks like some great stuff, with a very interesting and well
thought out story arc and what you would call a mythology, I guess. I am sorry that this book is 41 issues in
and I am just finding it now, but better late than never.
The Oni Press website describes this book thusly: “During the darkest
days of the Civil War, wicked cutthroats came into possession of six pistols of
otherworldly power. In time, the Sixth Gun, the most dangerous of the weapons,
vanished. When the gun surfaces in the hands of an innocent girl, dark forces
reawaken. Vile men thought long dead set their sights on retrieving the gun and
killing the girl. Only Drake Sinclair, a gunfighter with a shadowy past, stands
in their way.” Sounds pretty killer,
right? It is.
In no way do I know the story line, or what went before, so I can only
tell you about this particular issue, #41.
It is a great story all by itself.
It's the back story of one of the characters, the Grey Witch, and how
she came to be. She is an ancient being,
originally living as a young girl in early Scandinavia,
when she is chosen as the sacrifice from her village. She survives the sacrifice and this leads to
her meeting up with some ancient beings who begin to teach her in their ways
and set her on the path to becoming what she is now, said Grey Witch. And so as not to risk any spoilers I will not
give away any more of the story.
The writing is superb. The story
is well told and the pacing of this issue is excellent. The illustrations, coloring and lettering are
all very well done too. I like to read a
comic that lets you get lost in the story and almost forget that you are
reading a comic. It should be an
immersive experience, which means that the story and the artwork all work
together. And this one does exactly that
on a high level. This is a story that
makes me want to go back to issue #1 and read the entire story to date and then
follow along each month.
I highly recommend this book. Pick
up a few issues, crank some metal, and wile away a few hours with The Sixth
Gun.
- ODIN
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