CREDIT: Image
Rating: 4/5 – The Wild West in Space.
by ComicSpectrum reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
In the closing letter to the readers at the end of the first issue of Copperhead, writer Jay Faerber talks about how he isn’t the first, nor will he be the last to write a “space western”. We’ve seen this concept before in shows like Firefly, but Faerber still wanted to, in his words “take a stab at it”. Copperhead is a western through and through. From the characters to the locales, and all the little touches in between Copperhead gives you the vibe of the old west in space. A space-train racing through a dusty brown environment, a small town set apart from the big city, and some rough and tough characters that need the law, it’s all here. Although its something we’ve seen before, the creative team makes this new series stand out with strong characterization and fantastic art.
The story picks up fast and throws you immediately into its world by introducing the reader to the main character Sheriff Bronson, a single mother who isn’t afraid of anything or anyone. In addition to Bronson, we also meet her young son Zeke. Through the two of them we meet a bunch of different characters and alien races that scratch the surface of the world that Faerber and artist Scott Godlewski have created. The story moves along at a nice pace as we see two branching story-lines, one involving Bronson’s first couple days on the job, and the other involving Zeke as he and a friend get into some childish mischief that may prove to be more dangerous than they expected.
Godlewski’s art is a pleasure to look at and he does a great job of designing the all the different alien races we meet. He also nicely balances the alien and futuristic, while setting that against the “old” western background. The only issue I had with the art is that the world didn’t feel as crowded as a spaceport like this should feel. The backgrounds feel sparse and doesn’t feel as busy or in some panels, as alien as it should. Overall though, this is a strong start to a book that should have a bright future considering the success that Faerber has had in the past with previous series like Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes. Copperhead is another solid premiere issue exploring a genre in comics that’s currently underused.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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