Accusations fly and reveals are made.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell
Art: Jim Terry
Colors: Triona Farrell
Letterer: Crank!
What They Say:
The new residents of Sangre De Moro have barely moved in when the arrival of the mysterious Dr. Moreau begins to split them apart. What horrors lie at the end of the railroad? And what terrible secrets hide beneath Sheriff Abilene’s floppy-eared mask?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The series got underway again after its first arc ended this summer and it wasn’t a long wait, which was a huge plus. It did take a bit to reconnect a touch since we’re in new situations here as we got a mostly complete story in those opening five issues. Tim Seeley’s still a name I definitely trust but I’m always wary because I know I’m going to get something good here yet I’m also going to get something that will be disturbing. With this property, he’s partnered with Aaron Campbell for the story here and they got things underway with a familiar story but one with enough hooks and teases as to how it’ll separate itself from the pack as it moves on. The artwork from Jim Terry captures the period well to make it feel like a period piece but with a kind of earthiness that adds to that realism, especially with Triona Farrell’s color design. The character designs are great and the overall look and style of the book make it worth digging into for just that alone.
With a good bit set in the previous issue, this one throws us right into the problems that are unfolding. With the dead body at Griffin’s, there’s definitely a lot of concern over it as only Dooley is adamant that it wasn’t his mistress that has done this. When he does ask her for help later, in the back of his mind knowing it’ll help to clear her name, she’s not interested as she’s focusing on bigger issues. It’s interesting to see how she’s trying to use Moreau to increase the social status of the area as she really has become accustomed to things and this place has none of that. But it’s also putting her in a position he doesn’t like to work with these kind of despicable people she should be consuming instead. There’s a tension between her and Dooley but I like that we see from her side at the end that she’s the one that feels that she’s the peasant here because of how her world has turned.
The book covers more of the strange things happening throughout and it definitely has its moments. Griffin revealing that he kept one of the creatures has him wanting to ignore the provincial minds in town and to let it loose into the world, but that just draws him to a set of train cars out of the way that opens up its own dark secrets. Alongside that we see how Dooley and Dirck are trying to figure out what killed the local in the last issue and that just takes them to some bad areas, including the reveal that Unsightly Annie is out here. And that’s just bad news all around. It moves quickly with a lot of characters throughout this issue, which again reinforces that this is better in trade form sometimes, as there are several plots that are all connected but each vying for attention right now. It delivers well once you get into the groove, however.
In Summary:
West of Sundown is not a book with just one or two things happening. And that can definitely make following it at times a little rough. But with six issues behind it so far, there’s a lot of things that you see being tied together and how it’s going to unfold. I continue to find Dooley the most interesting character but I also really like how his mistress is trying to rebuild the town here so that it can deliver to her what she needs to eat. It’s a fun way of setting things up and I like that Dooley is mostly on board with it. Griffin just weirds me out again in this issue but the “public” arrival of Unsightly Annie is what’s going to kickstart things into the next gear and I’m excited to see how.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: December 28th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
