Recommended Reading for 4/15: The Sixth Gun

The Weird Western genre has had a resurgence in recent years, and while some of that can be attributed to DC's push on Jonah Hex,as much if not more can go to Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun, a creator owned western out of Oni Press that proved that original Western content had an audience still hungry for it, this writer included (cool fact: issue one of the series was Oni Press's 2010 Free Comic Book Day issue, for which I am grateful, since that's how I discovered the series. Another case where FCBD has done something awesome for me). While Bunn and heart had both done work in comics before (as a matter of fact, they had done a series called The Damned for Oni), this is the series that shone a spotlight on them, and as the series begins its final arc next Wednesday, I wanted to spend some time discussing why you should check it out.

Set in the Reconstruction era American South, The Sixth Gun is the story of a band of unlikely heroes attempting to stop the destruction and recreation of the world using six magical guns. The two main characters of the series are Drake Sinclair, a roguish gunman with secrets in his past, and Becky Montcrief, the innocent young woman who comes into possession of the eponymous Sixth Gun at the beginning of the series, and must keep it out of the hands of undead confederate generals, witches, serpent creatures, and all manner of monsters, or the world is doomed. Throughout the series, a wide variety of deeply written and interesting allies and enemies have lived and died, but Drake and Becky stand at the center of the story.

Before I talk about more plot and character stuff, I just want to address the title and its eponymous weapon. The Sixth Gun has been a tremendous achievement of world building, which I know is one of my favorite phrases, but it's something that draws me to a story. I love when the creators of a comic, novel, movie, or any work of fiction take time to plot out not only a long game, but to give thought to the world around their character, and the objects and locations in it. The Six, the magical guns that are the driving force of the series, are really well thought out. I want to give the description of each gun drawn from The Sixth Gun RPG as they use phrasing from the comic and show that Bunn put thought into each gun as an object on it own, instead of treating them simply as MacGuffins:

The First Gun strikes with the ungodly force of a cannon shell.

The Second Gun spreads the very flames of Perdition.

The Third Gun Spreads the flesh-rotting plagues of old.

The Fourth Gun calls up the spirits of the men and women it has slain.

The Fifth Gun grants eternal youth and the ability to heal from even fatal wounds.

The Sixth Gun speaks to its wielder, revealing the past and the future.

The opening arc of The Sixth Gun introduces readers not just to Drake and Becky, and details how Becky comes to posses the Sixth Gun, but the the current holders of the other guns of The Six. They are a group of former Confederate soldiers who served under the merciless General Oleander Hume, previous holder of the Sixth Gun, as well as Hume's wife. There goal is to retrieve the Sixth Gun so they can return it to the now undead Hume and begin bringing about the apocalypse. Becky and Drake travel, along with Drake's partner Billjohn O'Henry to the Maw, a prison built by Hume, and there, along with one of the prisoners, Gord Cantrell, face down Hume's army of the Undead and the bearers of the Six.

That first arc captures so much about what makes The Sixth Gun a great comic. Not only do we meet a group of fascinating characters, but it's a tense race to keep the Sixth Gun from the hands of General Hume's men, and the final battle at the Maw is a gorgeous set piece, brilliantly put together by Brian Hurtt and featuring monsters and men doing battle.

The series follows Becky and Drake through many different locales, some real or realistic, some decidedly fanciful. The second arc takes place on the streets of New Orleans, but streets populated by Caribbean crossroads gods and demons. There are towns populated by snake people that serve Griselda, the Grey Witch, the mother of General Hume and a powerful sorceress. One whole arc takes place nearly entirely in a supernatural snow storm, with supernatural wolves hunting out heroes. And when Becky goes on a Native American ghost walk, we see the origin of the Six and how they have taken different forms throughout many different ages,

The balance between the western and the weird is another of the charms of The Sixth Gun. While the villains include witches and undead generals, there are also Pinkerton detectives employed to find out heroes. The Native American tribes are always treated respectfully and realistically in their bearing, but there are thunderbirds of myth and the shrunken head of a shaman that possesses his bearer. And while not dwelt on, the social ramifications of the civil war are present, while the possible ramifications of the end of the world always dog the protagonists.

And now it's time to talk about those protagonists. Becky Montcrief is the center of the series, not just as the bearer of the title Sixth Gun, but as she is the character whose emotional journey rests at its core. When we first meet Becky, she is an innocent who has been living with her stepfather away from civilization. But when she comes into possession of the Sixth Gun (which her stepfather had, having been part of the party that liberated it from General Hume), she has to grow up fast. We watch Becky become part of the world outside her limited sphere, and not slowly. She not only has to deal with monsters hunting her, but the weight of responsibility. We watch Becky become a woman to be reckoned with as we move towards the series ending.

Drake Sinclair's path is one of redemption. Drake was part of General Hume's crew during the Civil War, but when he realized just how evil Hume was, Drake broke ties with the General, and tried to live his post-War years as a scoundrel and ne'er-do-well, looking out only for himself, his partner, and his pockets. But when he is drawn into the web of he apocalypse and the Six, Drake does his best to redeem himself for his selfishness and dark actions, and pays repeatedly with his own blood and hat of his friends. I'm a sucker for a redemption story, and Drake is a man who wants to do better, even if he so often falls short.

But if I had to pick a favorite character in the series, it would be Gord Cantrell. Gord is a former slave and a former prisoner of General Hume's Maw prison. He is also one of he few truly and fully good characters in the series. He had dabbled with the dark arts as a younger man, but now has passed through that crucible to be a trusted friend and ally to Becky, using his knowledge of magic to help find a way to destroy the Six. With a past filled with tragedy, Gord is a rich character who feels his own life is worth the sacrifice to save the world.

The final recurring heroic character, and I use the heroic in this case loosely, is Kirby Hale. Hale is a young gunslinger, handsome and charming, and cocky to the extreme. And you're never sure exactly whose side he's on. Kirby's first appearance sparks a romantic triangle of sorts between him, Becky, and Drake. His feelings complicate his life, as he really develops feelings for Becky, which drives him to be a better man and make choices the previously smarmy gunslinger never would have.

The villains of The Sixth Gun are a little more hand-wringingly evil at the time of the series, as most of them have surrendered much of their humanity to the power of The Six or to other forces of evil, but the spin-off mini-series have given us more of an understanding of their times before evil ruled them. The four men who wield four of the guns at the beginning of the series each get a spotlight issue to see what they were after the war and before they returned to hunt the Sixth Gun. Jesup Sutter, a Pinkerton who served Missy Hume and eventually Griselda the Grey Witch, shares a mini-series and we see that he has tragedy in his background. But General Hume and his wife, Missy, and Griselda the Grey Witch, who is revealed as the series big bad? They are more given over the the darkness, and are much less sympathetic figures, which is perfectly fine, if you ask me. When you're trying to bring about the apocalypse, there's a good chance evil is as evil does.

And over the course of the forty-seven issues so far, there are many more fascinating characters. Members of two rival orders, the Knights of Solomon, who seek the secrets and powers of the magical artifacts throughout the world, and the Sons of the Sword of Abraham, a holy order of priests dedicated to destroying The Six, move in and out of the series, the former led by Jesup Sutter, the latter by the noble but driven Brother Roberto. Towards the middle of the series, Becky and Drake gain two Native American allies, the warrior Nahuel and the medicine woman Nidawi, as well as the totem they wield, the shrunken head of the medicine man Screaming Crow, who can possess the bodies of the living and wield his magic through them. And the most odd character of all, Asher Cobb. Cobb was born with gigantism, and after his death was mummified, and whose corpse is now an oracle. Cobb is another character who I found absolutely fascinating, and whose tragic life makes his choices, both good and bad, understandable. And let me boil that down: he's an eight-foot tall mummy who sees the future; if that's not a comic book concept, I never heard one.

 Brian Hurtt's art works perfectly in tandem with Cullen Bunn's scripts. His work captures both the old west and the fantastic elements of the stories, with large and terrifying creatures, like giant white wolves, as well as gunslingers and saloons. The book wouldn't ring with the authenticity without his thoroughly researched work (and if he didn't research the hell out of the period, he's got me fooled).  On top of his excellent character designs, making all the main and minor characters of The Sixth Gun memorable, the monsters and settings make this is visually outstanding series. And on top of Hurtt's excellent work, one of my favorite artists in comics, Tyler Crook of BPRD and Harrow County fame, did three one-off issues focusing on the backgrounds of Kirby Hale, Asher Cobb, and Griselda, as well as my favorite of the the spin off mini-series, the one focusing on Drake's loyal partner Billjohn O'Henry.

The Sixth Gun is a western tale with magic, monsters, romance, and style. If you're a fan of Stephen King's The Dark Tower, another western by way of magic, or traditional westerns of any stripe, it's a great book to try out, and with the concluding arc kicking off this Wednesday, you have three months to get caught up before the big finale.

The Sixth Gun is collected in eight individual trade paperbacks, starting with Cold Dead Fingers, all of which are readily available at comic shops and on-line, that collect the entire series to date, as well as three trades that collect the spin-off mini-series. There are also three over-sized hardcovers to date, but those have not quite reached the most recent arcs, so if you want to get caught up, the trades are the way to go, or if you like big hardcovers, a final volume or two should finish off the series,

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 12/10

Batman #47
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, & FCO Plascencia

Jim Gordon's fight with Mr. Bloom continues as the countdown to Bruce Wayne's memory returning kicks into high gear. The end of last issues looked pretty grim for Gordon, as Mr. Bloom has taken over Gordon's Bat-armor and set it against him. Jim once again proves that he's more clever than people have given him credit for, by not only having the blocker that he was prepared to use on Bloom, but another handy device or two. And when thrown through the roof by his now villain-possessed armor, Jim uses his Bat tools and his smarts to avoid a particularly gory death in an action beat that Capullo handles beautifully; it's only two pages, but it shows exactly how talented Capullo is when it comes to motion and to faces, as the smile on Gordon's is priceless. Meanwhile, the two other character plots for the previous couple issues intersect, as Duke Thomas, still trying to make his way out of the Penguin's Iceberg Casino with Penguin and his fellow freak mobsters on his tail. But when it looks like two of Penguin's men have the drop on him, it turns out that it's Bruce Wayne who has the drop on them, having figured out where Duke was going. And it's Duke who is finally the person who pushes Bruce, who tells him who he is without flat out saying it. He points out that Bruce is the best in the world at deduction, and gives him the clues he needs. And standing in front of an oncoming subway train, as Bruce sees the lights bearing down on them, just before he pushes Duke out of the way, he sees the shape of what he was. If I haven't said it before, between here, We Are Robin, and his appearances in this week's "Robin War" issues, sign me up for the official Duke Thomas should be Batman's new partner club. He is my favorite new character launching out of the Bat books in years (Sorry, Harper Row. I like you too, but Duke is awesome). Meanwhile, things aren't quite as easy for Jim as it would seem, as we learn the one thing that is more creepy than one flower masked, gangly monster villain.And I don't want to say anything about the last page, even though it's been spoiled by various articles on-line, but it FINALLY begins answering a question I've been asking since we saw Bruce up and about again in issue forty-two, one that I'm surprised no one on the context of the comic has been asking, Whether we get payoff on it next issue, or it's going to be a long term plot, well, we'll have to see, but I'm excited to see where it goes.

Harrow County #8
Story: Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook
Art: Tyler Crook and Simon Roy

The second arc of Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook's exemplary horror coming, Harrow County, comes to an end with a war of ghosts and witches. The war between the series protagonist, Emmy, and her twin sister, the wicked witch Kammi, allows both of the series creators to show their strengths. Emmy's fight through the woods from the army of "haints" that have allied with her sister is full of some of Crook's painstakingly designed monsters, with things like harpies, swamp monsters, mud monsters, along with the ghost bears and flaming skeletons that remain loyal to Emmy. The woods themselves have an air of creepiness that Crook brings out in the long shadowed dark corners and the scrubby grass, and when you add in the monsters, it is a place you would not want to go in day or night. It's also impressive to see how, with an identical protagonist and antagonist, it's never hard to tell the two apart, even when Kammi is glamoured to have the same hair and clothes as Emmy. Expressions and body language are perfectly suited to each. The final confrontation between the sisters is Bunn's shining moment, letting everything the two have been feeling for the past arc come to the surface. And the final twist, as Emmy is able to dispose of Kammi, is a terrifying moment, one that makes perfect sense in the world, and ends in a heartbreaking splash of Emmy, once again alone. And while the end of the story seems a country idyll, as the narration points out, the things are still out there, waiting, which is the cornerstone of good horror. Throw in the one page back-up written by Crook and drawn by Simon Roy, a horror tied to something any homeowner knows and fears for mundane reasons, and you have a top notch issue. Two arcs in and Harrow County is one of the best horror comics on the racks right now.

Star Wars Annual #1
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Angel Unzueto & Paul Mounts

After Friday's post about Star Wars comics I'd like to see featured two espionage titles, I found it oddly fitting that this week's Star Wars Annual would be a story of the Rebel spy embedded in the Empire. Eneb Ray is a new character, working as a tax collector under the name Tharius Demo. I like the idea that the Rebellion is exploiting the colossal bureaucracy of the Empire to get its people in places where they can effect change, and that through taxes and tariffs they are able to impact change. But Ray isn't just a number cruncher, and he receives a mission more fitting a comic book, as he must go and liberate a group of senators who have spoken against the Empire from prison before they are executed. Ray's entrance to the prison, drawn beautifully by Angel Unzueto, is right out of Mission: Impossible or the James Bond series, with Ray diving off a pseeding transport, using magnetic gloves to stick to the side of the prison, and enter through the vents with the aid of a magnetic grapple gun. But the mission changes when Ray finds out that the Emperor himself is coming to have one last interview with the senators, and Ray decides it's time to make a play at assassinating Palpatine. Calling in all of the Rebellion's assets on Coruscant, Ray mounts what seems to be a very successful assassination of the Emperor. Too successful if you know anything about Star Wars, and I can't resist quoting everyone's favorite Mon Cal by simply pointing out, "It's a trap!" In the end, as good a spy as Ray is, he's nothing compared to the master of manipulation that is Palpatine, and things don't turn out too well for the Rebels. The issue is narrated by Ray, who thinks of himself as a man who makes the hard choices and not a hero. The journey that he makes throughout the issue is well written and is a great character arc. This is a new character who I hope gets to come back in future issues of this title, or in Darth Vader, which is written by this annual's writer, Kieron Gillen,


And Dan Grote is coming at you with two reviews this week...

Deadpool #3

Story: Gerry Duggan

Art: Mike Hawthorne, Terry Pallot, & Guru eFX.

It’s payday at Deadpool’s Mercs for Money ... or it would be if their checks hadn’t all bounced.

That means Solo can't pay alimony to his ex-wife, Terror can’t afford organ transplants from Morbius the Living Vampire, Slapstick can’t afford the prostitutes he pays to pretend to be his family, and Foolkiller can’t afford more guns.

Meanwhile, original-recipe Deadpool is being interrogated by the police about the killing of the zoning commissioner in issue 1. Turns out the cops don’t think he did it, even though whoever did left loud evidence to the contrary. As part of a crazy-like-a-fox plan, Wade has the cops formally arrest him. While being transported to jail, his bus is attacked by the fake DP who’s been causing all the trouble. The two fight, and we get a brief glimpse under the mask. Whoever’s under there has jaundiced, scaly skin and black eyes.

(Hey, you guys remember Slayback? Just a thought.)

Fake DP gets away, but he leaves Wade a present – a well-beaten, possibly actually still alive Scott Adsit, last seen stabbed in issue 2.

Now for the two Deadpools we haven’t talked about yet. Turns out Stingray has been working as a mole for Steve Rogers, Wade’s Uncanny Avengers boss. Stingray has some concerns about fellow faux-Pool Madcap, who apparently wasn’t so much invited to join DP’s M4M as he just showed up one day. And so the two go to confront him.

Madcap’s hotel room, in a word, is great. A bubble machine blows nonstop, and there are lava lamps and welcome mats everywhere. Told to straighten up and fly right, Madcap boops Stingray on the nose and tried to do the same to Old Man Rogers, who grabs his finger and threatens to do World War II things to him. In response, Madcap cuts off his own finger and jumps out a window. “He needs to go,” Rogers declares. I disagree.

Last week I declared Doctor Strange my favorite of the All-New, All-Different Marvel titles so far. That ranking holds, but Deadpool is a close second. The book has taken such a sharp turn from the previous volume, with a nearly entirely new supporting cast, yet still feels solid. The creative team clearly has a plan for each of the Mercs for Money and refuses to allow them to become one bland mass of red-and-black-clad lunatic killers. A-game stuff.

Gwenpool Holiday Special

Stories: Charles Soule (She-Hulk), Margaret Stohl (Ms. Marvel), Gerry Duggan (Hawkeye & Deadpool), and Christopher Hastings (Gwenpool)

Art: Langdon Foss (She-Hulk), Juan Gedeon (Ms. Marvel), Danilo S. Beyruth (Hawkeye & Deadpool), and Gurihiru (Gwenpool)

What if I told you there was a place where all your favorite canceled but beloved Marvel series characters gathered in one place to warm your heart and make you smile?

What if I told you Deadpool was there, too? And his alternate-Earth Gwen Stacy counterpart that started life as a variant-cover gimmick?

Welcome to Marvel’s 2015 holiday special, billed as a Gwenpool one-shot but actually mostly a She-Hulk story reuniting the Atomic Age attorney with writer Charles Soule.

A holiday happening at the Brooklyn building that houses Shulkie’s law office (and Howard the Duck’s PI agency) acts as the framing device for the book, as Jen and the gang party the night away to ward off insectlike Realtors who use magic to convince people to give up on their dreams and turn over their property so it can be flipped at higher values. In other words, Charles Soule wrote a Charles Soule She-Hulk story, you guys!

A series of interludes shows other heroes making their way to Jen’s party, stopping only to bust a skull or two.

In the first one, Ms. Marvel battles her conflicted feelings about the holidays as a practicing Muslim, a Secret Santa exchange with her platonic-but-not-really bestie Bruno and a store-robbing Santa. Though not handled by her normal creative team, Kamala is as delightful as ever, even when she’s being a Christmas crank. (Even her brother, the most devout Muslim in her family, can find the joy in Rudolph.) After toppling bad Santa, K exchanges gifts with her mentor, Captain Marvel, and the two head off to She-Hulk’s place.

Next up, fellow Avengers Deadpool and Hawkeye (Clint Barton) team up to catch a pickpocket who stole money from Simone, one of the residents of Clint’s apartment building from the Fraction/Aja series. Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) catches the crook, who says he was just trying to get money to buy presents for his son. Wade opens his heart and his wallet, and the three deliver the boy gifts before whisking his dad off to the police. Then it’s off to Jen’s party … and just as quickly away from it, as she has a strict no-Deadpool policy.

Finally, we come to Gwenpool, who combines all the cutesiness of a superconfident fictional teenage girl with the murderiness and colored speech balloons of Deadpool. Gwen is hired to take out a sword-swinging snake-man who looks like the genie from Aladdin, requiring her to watch hours of sword-training videos on YouTube till she gives up and decides to just blow him up with a bomb. Because she’s been a supporting player in Howard the Duck, she too ends up at She-Hulk’s party, where she bonds with Ms. Marvel over karaoke, but not so much over murdering dudes.

Quick shoutout to Langdon Foss, who drew the She-Hulk bits. His splash pages are like a superhero Where’s Waldo, with many more Marvel characters drawn into them than I’ve mentioned.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 6/10

(All Star) Section 8 #1

Story: Garth Ennis

Art: John McCrea

Garth Ennis hates superheroes. If you've ever read his Marvel Knight Punisher, Hitman, and especially The Boys, this shouldn't surprise you. So it was surprising to see DC give him a shot to resurrect his team, Section 8, from the pages of Hitman. These are superheroes so bad and creepy they make the Inferior Five and the Great Lakes Avengers look like the JLA or the Avengers. And it's not a comic for everyone. If last week's Bizarro and Bat-Mite were all ages, comic, this one is the opposite. It's dark, biting, and it's sense of humor runs to, well, the kind of humor Garth Ennis comic usually have, with bodily fluids flying. But if you like Garth Ennis deconstructing super heroes, this is right in line with what you expect. We see what happened to Six Pack, the drunkest hero ever, after the end of Hitman (Ennis seems to be ignoring any and all reboots so that the events of Hitman still occurred). And after an accident returns his memories, he goes about reassembling his team, despite six of the remaining seven members being dead. The new Section 8 might even be weirder than the previous, with new members like Guts, who seems to be just guts, and Powertool, as well as a new version of Dogwelder (his name says it all), and Bueno Excellente, the less said about on a family friendly blog the better. With seven members in place, Six Pack needs to find an eighth, and so when the Batmobile stops outside, he decides to recruit Batman. And as you might imagine, Batman isn't even noticing. What does happen, in a montage featuring art homages from Batman through the ages, is Batman gets a parking ticket, and winds up saying something that makes him look like a pretty big racist. Whether this is a specific shot at Batman as the ultimate example of the white man as superhero, or just something Ennis thought would be funny, I'm not sure, but it works. All Star Section 8 isn't going to be for everyone, but it's definitely right in line with the wackier issues of Hitman, with Garth Ennis writing at his broadest, and is enjoyable for that if nothing else.

Batman #41
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo

The new era of Batman begins, and if this issue is any indication, it will be a good era for as long as it lasts (anyone really think Bruce won't be back?). I'm going to be be pretty open about the new Batman's identity, since it's been common knowledge since Free Comic Book Day. Jim Gordon makes his debut as Batman this issue (well, this issue or this week's issue of Detective Comics or Batman/Superman, depending on which order you read them, though I'd suggest reading this one first), and the issue moves back and forth through time, watching Gordon both in action as Batman and seeing how he came to the decision to become the new Batman. We see both Geri Powers, CEO of Powers Industries (an ominous name if you're at all familiar with Batman Beyond), working to convince Gordon, while Harvey Bullock tries to talk him out of it. Snyder has a great feel for Gordon, and has since "The Black Mirror," his run on Detective Comics, and so if anyone is going to really hit it out of the park with Gordon as Batman, it's going to be Snyder. The issue serves to really set the status quo, about how Batman now relates to the GCPD, and exactly what Gordon's support structure is. We meet his two tech and tactical helpers, Daryl Gutierrez on tech and Julia "Perry" on tactical, If you read Batman: Eternal or "Endgame," you know that last name is a pseudonym, and it's smart that the old Bat allies now have an inside woman. The actual case involves a giant energy being wreaking havoc on Gotham's Little Cuba. It not only allows Gordon to show off the power of his new robo suit, but it also allows him to use his cop brain to figure out exactly what's going on. It was a good choice of case, allowing the reader to really see everything that Jim can do. Aside from all that, there are a couple nice fan moments in the issue. A demonstration of the Bat armor's ability to shift color is a great moment for anyone who knows his Batman history, seeing different eras represented in those color schemes. There is an acknowledgement of how bunny-like the armor looks, and I wonder if that was written when the armor was created, or since there was so much time, if ti was inserted to point out to fans that they are heard. I also rather liked Gordon's under armor costume; it looks like one of the better action figure Batman variants we get in all sorts of toy lines. The first and last page each give hints at upcoming stories in the book, the first discussing new elements discovered that exist under Gotham for only moments, and the last that may feature the return of a character thought dead. Snyder knows how to structure a story, and so I'm counting on these hints paying out over the next few issues in exciting ways. Batman might be dead for now, but this new Batman is worth watching.

Gotham Academy #7
Story: Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher
Art: Mingjue Helen Chen

On the other end of the Bat title spectrum form the much changed Batman is Gotham Academy, which picks up right where it left off and doesn't miss a beat. This issue is a fun one-off, narrated by the super excited Maps Mizoguchi. Maps has been the sidekick/best friend of series lead Olive Silverlock, but Olive is away this issue, so it's Maps's time to shine, hanging out with new student Damian Wayne. But this is Gotham Academy, so it's not like it's going to be a simple event. No, Maps finds out the quill pen she took from the headmaster's office in issue five has magical properties (I love how such a little moment comes back around to pay off). And of course, by writing her name next to Damian's in her journal, she has bound them together. Literally. Maps and Damian spend most of the issue holding hands and unable to let go. It's adorable, especially when you contrast the hyper-bubbly Maps with the hyper-grumpy Damian. It's a great odd couple dynamic, and I wish we could have gotten more of it. It's unsurprising, since Damian's new title has him travelling the world, that he wasn't going to be sticking around, but I wish we could have seen more. The plot of the issue revolves around Damian and Maps attempting to get the quill back from a raven that stole it to undo the curse, all the while being attacked by Maps's friends who seem to be possessed. Along the way they encounter Professor MacPherson, the friendly history teacher, who recounts a story of Batman in Scotland that I thought was a summary of Alan Grant and Frank Quitely's one-shot The Scottish Connection, although I wasn't able to dig up my copy to confirm, and is in fact World's Finest #225, which I now have to track down (thanks to Brendan Fletcher for the correction). I love Cloonan and Fletcher's handle on Batman history, using things like that one shot and cameos from different eras to make this book feel like a natural fit to the universe. Another of those cameo characters, Bookworm, pops up again as the English teacher, and he clearly knows more about what's going on than a normal teacher would. I also absolutely love how Maps swoons over every gadget Damian happens to have, from his grappling gun to a Batarang; she has quickly become my favorite character in the book. In the end., Damian leaves, but only after doing something noble to help Maps, which is in character for the evolved Damian. Oh, and on a sidenote, how has there never been a Batman villain themed around The Raven?  It seems such a natural fit. Food for thought, creators.

Harrow County #2
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Tyler Crook

Harow County #1 came out on one of those weeks I wasn't able to get reviews up, which is a shame, since it was a great first issue, but I'm looking to remedy that omission with this review of issue two. A downhome horror comic, Harrow County stars Emmy, a young girl who just turned eighteen, and lives out on a farm with her father. But there are spooky things in the woods around her house, as evidenced in this issue by Emmy walking out of the woods with a human skin with no body. She realizes that it's a "haint" an object that is possessed by a spirit, one that might have lived, might be alive, or never lived in any way we understand. Emmy is curious about the haint, so folds it and hides it in her bedroom. The haint is possibly the thing that saves her as it awakens her as the locals, including her father, gather at the withered hanging tree near her house to discuss things in the dead of night, and Emmy gets a vision of what was in the tree, and knows to flee before the townsfolk come for her. As she runs into the woods, she encounters her friend Bernice, who had come to try to save Emmy, and they wind up wandering into an ancient potter's field, where things only get worse. This is far from Cullen Bunn's first touch of horror, as his weird Western, The Sixth Gun, and his viking monster comic, Helheim, both are more than tinged with horror and monsters. But this is deep dive into atmosphere, which is the thing that makes for really good horror in my opinion. The dialogue and narration is ominous, and contrasts nicely with how innocent and sheltered Emmy is. And this atmosphere could not be better fostered by Tyler Crook, who has officially ascended into the elite list of artists I will follow wherever they go. From the high concept, bigger than life horror of B.P.R.D. to this more domestic horror, Crook knows how to lay out of panel and page that ratchets up the tension in a horror comic. Add in a couple text pages about a ghost story Bunn's father told him as a kid and a one page story of another horror in Harrow County, and you have my favorite horror ongoing of the year hands down. I try not to compliment a comic be referencing another, but if you're missing Scott Snyder and Jock's Wytches while it's on hiatus, Harrow County is the perfect comic to keep you up at night.

Starfire #1
Story: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Emanuela Lupacchino

Starfire is a hard character to write, I think. Otherwise, we wouldn't get so many wildly divergent versions of the character. This new ongoing takes Starfire and drops her in a new setting with a new cast, and writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti set about using the same whimsical style they used on Harley Quinn in her title to give us a different Starfire than the one in the early New 52 books, and it's one I have already fallen in love with. It's actually similar to the Teen Titans animated version, this naive alien princess on a strange world, with a bit of a temper and a big heart. Deciding to live in Key West, Kori is shown around by local sheriff Stella Gomez, who serves as a reader proxy in getting to know her. We get commentary on Kori's... unique fashion sense, we see that she doesn't exactly get human language, in the sense that nuance and sarcasm are lost on her. We also see just how much Kori empathizes with others, as she cries when Stella mentions her beloved grandmother who had died. I'm sure this Starfire has the same warrior's heart she always has, but it's nice that she also has such warmth within. The issue also introduces Stella's brother, Sol, in mourning for the love of his life who he lost in a storm two years prior, Boone, the handyman of the trailer park where Kori is renting a trailer as temporary lodging, Boone's grandmother, who runs the trailer park, and Burtie, grandma's pet parakeet. One of the standout aspects of Harley Quinn is it's unusual and well developed supporting cast, and it's nice to see a similar cast, if not one as actively bizarre, being built here. Another charming aspect of the issue is the thought bubbles that Kori has. They're little images that pop up, usually demonstrating a literal interpretation of human slang; three big ones is three elephant, horny as an alley cat is a literal horned cat. It reminds me of early issues of Impulse from the 90s, where a similar trope was used, and it still works today. Other than breaking up a bar fight that broke out between two jerks who were both coming on to her, there's no violence or action in the issue, which is a good choice, allowing the story to stay character focused. I was also very happy to see that, while Conner and Palmiotti are up front about Kori's nature as a physical being who enjoys touching and being touched, they do it without making her either overly-promiscuous or slut-shaming her, which isn't unexpected if you've read Harley's title (the new issue of which, by the way, came out this week as well and was also excellent). Add in stunning art from Emanuela Lupacchino that finds a way to make Kori look gorgeous but not oversexed, and you have a fun book that is great for fans of Starfire and the Teen Titans in any of their incarnations.