Wow, that was the longest break ever, for various reasons.  Sorry. Shit happens…

***

There is more to comics than Marvel & DC. There is weird European stuff and there are things like Saga or Copperhead. And many many others. But I wanted to call everybody’s attention to Copperhead.

Still a new thing, published by Image from late 2014, with only two collected volumes out on the market.  Written by Jay Faerber, illustrated by Scott Godlewski, this space western features a single mum who becomes sheriff of a small town on a peripheral desert planet. Full of proven tropes, sometimes reversed, sometimes played straight, a great read for genre lovers.

We’ve seen it many times – a new sheriff arrives in town, hoping for an easy job on the outskirts of civilization, only to find that it’s not exactly peaceful there. Horseback or in a spaceship, does not make much difference. What makes difference is that said sheriff, Clara Bronson, is female and a single parent of her son, Zeke. The town has its mysteries and dirty secrets, Clare hers, both will have to get used to each other.

Oh, and in lieu of Indians we have aliens, like this cuddly deputy that feels he should have gotten the job:

But will never get it, because he’s not human and humans are in charge. They won the war with the help of artificially created supersoldiers (also featured). And not all the resentful aliens are that cute, there are also some uglies:

Space and aliens are here mostly for the aesthetics, the content is pure western, with a dash of police procedural. Robber barons, lowlifes, hired guns, saloons… and even a homme fatale in a form of a former husband. And, while dealing with all that, Clara still takes care of her boy. A very cool and likeable protagonist. And a strong woman in a very good way 🙂

Great for all genre lovers, and I’m pretty sure Firefly fans will be very satisfied.

Art is very good, nothing fancy, but suits the story well and I can’t find any faults in it. Figures, background, colours, all fit together as it should in a comic aiming at providing entertainment, not revolutionising the genre.

Because it’s not the best comic ever. Just a very good one. Which is more than enough.

Most of the people giving it unfavourable reviews claim it’s too unoriginal. I disagree. It’s a good story, and, if heavily inspired by many predecessors – I’m ok with that, more of the good stuff is good news.

Score: 7,5/10