Pretty Deadly

Pretty Deadly: A Penny Dreadful Review

            The Wild West is an excellent setting for a showdown of supernatural proportions. The sweeping landscapes lend themselves well to titanic struggles. The creators of Pretty Deadly, from Image comics, understand this well. I’ve read this comic twice through, and I still haven’t grasped everything that is going on, but the images stick with me, like a stubborn dream. Pretty Deadly is surreal. It’s morbid. It’s gorgeous.

            Death’s daughter roams the land in a tale told by a rabbit skeleton to a butterfly. Death’s agents pursue a young girl and her blind guardian across an epic, sparse desert landscape.

The script by Kelly Sue Deconnick reads like a folk tale. The art by Emma Rios has an eerie, flowing quality. The colors by Jordie Bellaire have an almost sepia tone, giving this strange work a mythological feel, as if the events within are a well-loved tale that happened long ago, when it is in fact only a couple of years old.

            I give this strange and eerie comic four gears out of five. It is beautiful and harsh, and definitely something to seek out.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Weird Wild West

The Weird Wild West: A Penny Dreadful Review

            I love a bit of magic and weirdness in my frontier towns. Last December, eSpec Books released an anthology that delivers that in spades. The Weird Wild West, edited by Misty Massey, Emily Lavin Leverett, and Margaret St. Graw, contains many, many great tales of odd goings on.

            There are a great many stories in this anthology, so you will not leave disappointed, no matter what you’re looking for. Aliens, vengeful ghosts, shapeshifters, mad science, and necromancy run rampant across the weird wests of the authors’ imaginations.

            If I had to pick a favorite, it would be a toss up between “Blood Tellings,” by Wendy Wagner, and “Frank and Earnest,” by Tonia Brown. The first is the tale of a boy mature beyond his years. He speaks with the spirits of the dead. The local sheriff needs his help solving a murder in a house haunted by a malicious entity. The ending is beautiful. The second story involves the worst outlaws in the west and a kitten who defeats a mad scientist.

            The variety in this anthology is fantastic. I highly recommend The Weird Wild West for bite-sized adventures in a frontier that isn’t quite ordinary. I rate it four gears out of five.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Dead Iron

Dead Iron: A Penny Dreadful Review

A man with a curse. A frontier town full of suspicious people that reluctantly tolerates him. A railroad baron that is much stranger than he seems. A beautiful witch. Her dead husband out for revenge. Three silver miners with odd contraptions and even odder secrets. Magic twines around the gritty gears that drive Dead Iron by Devon Monk.
The world is certainly different from anything I’ve seen before, and at first the supernatural elements seemed a little jarring. There’s a portion of chapter three where things become entirely unfamiliar and seem almost unsupported by the story up to that point. Yet, with a little more explanation, things do fall into place, and after chapter four, the story gets a lot better. I won’t spoil it, because it is definitely worth discovering on your own, especially when there’s an underground zipline involved.
I was saddened to find a handful of typos and nonsensical sentences sprinkled through the prose. It seems Ms. Monk’s editor was asleep on the job, and it really hurts the story.
I must say a few words about the awesomeness of the character Rose Small. She’s an unconventional foundling who, in my opinion, totally steals the show. She really shines by the climax, taking up arms in the defense of [spoiler redacted]. I wish her mysterious past had been explained rather than just hinted at.
I give Dead Iron three and one half gears out of five. It was quite good, but could have used another tweaking to make it truly brilliant. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy the dark and supernatural in your Steampunk.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Far West

Far West: A Penny Dreadful Review

It seems to me, as it seemed to Richard Moore, that the land of Faerie must have had a Wild West sort of era. Behold Far West, the adventures of a bounty-hunting duo in a crazy desert full of trolls and shapeshifters.
Meg is a tough spitfire of an elf who dislikes trousers. She plunges into adventures with much less planning than her partner Phil would like.  Phil is a talking and shooting bear. Together, they track down train-robbing, dragon-riding outlaws, duel with water demons in the bathtub (ok, Meg was on her own for that one), flirt with centaurs (also Meg), and cross dress (Phil, for a distraction). Far West is crammed with adventure and humor.
If you are offended by a little bit of cartoon elf bosom or by explicitly male dragons, stay away from this one. There’s a bit of nudity, but nothing X-rated occurs.  I would not recommend this one for children, due to a little adult language and innuendo, not to mention toplessness, but I would allow it into the hands of a young teen with no reservations.  In fact, I would enthusiastically recommend this for any fan of fantasy or Weird West.
I give Far West four and a half gears out of five.  I would say I had a blast reading this, but it would seem a bit gauche considering that the characters have a brush with TNT. Pick up a copy of Far West from Antarctic Press. You will not regret meeting Meg and Phil. Unless you are an outlaw.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Territory 51

Territory 51: A Penny Dreadful Review, by Penny J. Merriweather

            An alien spaceship crashes to Earth right on top of a train about to be robbed by a gang of outlaws in 1873. The aliens emerge, and let’s just say this does not end well for the outlaw gang. I shan’t spoil the story by James Heffron, but I will tell you that the horrifying aliens can shapeshift and require gold to repair their damaged ship.

            The comic is Territory 51, a new series put out by Law Dog Comics.  I acquired the first issue, and enjoyed it immensely. The story seems interesting, and I like the art quite a bit.

            The art by Patrick K. LaHotch and Chad Fidler is fantastic. They can capture a feeling so well. I especially love the way they do eyes – so much expression in so few lines. The play of light and shadow across the panels is exquisite as well. Quite brilliant and a pleasure to view.

            The second issue is set to come out in September 2013, and you will definitely want to read it. I give this title four gears out of five. I look forward to seeing where this story goes.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Pariah, Missouri

Pariah, Missouri: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Something strange is going on in Pariah, Missouri, a thriving riverboat port. Something is just a little off about the puppeteer duo that just rolled into town. Hiram Buchanan, chameleon, gambler, and spy, is on the case. He assembles a strange collection of outcasts, some of whom have talents that are not entirely natural. Supernatural, one might say.

            This is Pariah, Missouri, a graphic novel by Andres Salazar and Jose Luis Pescador. It’s a good read and the art is terrific. The color palette is simple and gives it an old-timey feel. The art is expressive and tells the story quite well.

As for the story, there seem to be a couple of holes in the explanations, as if a few panels are missing, but nothing that will throw the reader too far off track. I enjoyed the characters, and it was refreshing to see a strong presence of minorities in Pariah and in Hiram’s hand-picked team of… well, I won’t spoil it. I will say that I’m not sure why he hand-picked Nellie. Maybe he needed her local expertise? Her uncanny acquaintances? Maybe it will be explained better in the second volume. I look forward to learning more about just what is behind the normal façade of Pariah.

            I give this four gears out of five. I eagerly await the next volume. I suggest you investigate the goings-on in Pariah for yourself.

            They currently have a kickstarter going for further work. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andresjsalazar/pariah-missouri-directors-cut-hardcover-volume-one

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather