Events continue to converge in dangerous ways.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell
Art: Jim Terry
Colors: Marissa Louise
Letterer: Crank!
What They Say:
Temptation abounds! Griffin discovers power untold in the hands of Dr. Moreau, while Rosa is offered the blood of Miss Bouncing Betty. It’s up to Dooley, Dirck, and Cumberland to come to the rescue…but that might not be so easy, seeing as they’re damn near out of their minds wandering the desert on some of that special native tea.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I really enjoyed the first storyline in the series and was surprised that it did well enough to get more since it feels like it’s, well, not a niche book but close to that. Tim Seeley’s 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 continues to do great stuff in creating a particular mood and capturing the period well to make it feel like it’s of the time. It has a kind of earthiness that adds to that realism, especially with Marissa Louise’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 this installment, it’s one where things are moving forward bit by bit but it has to go through some transitional moments first. We essentially again get the three main groupings dealing with what they’re involved in and it’s all connected, mostly with Unsightly Anne again making an end-page appearance to remind us of the strings that she’s pulling. Which is fine, but you kind of want some more direct involvement or more of a nod to the strings she’s pulling. The weakest of the three groupings for me in this issue involves Griffin and Moreau, though it does have its moments. The two men in the train car are continuing on as before where Moreau is working his experiments while Griffin is getting sucked into it more and more, losing his mind and self a bit. Moreau is doing a lot of dialogue here and it feels like it gets a bit lost in the weeds, but seeing how Griffin’s mind is “opened” toward the end is a delightful moment.
More interesting is what we see with Rosa as she’s continuing to give in to her hunger in the jail cell with Betty while the moneymen egg her on, all while trying to get the sheriff to realize that they’re in control. It takes some odd turns along the way and I’m not sure I’m understanding their plot at this point, but seeing Betty reveal her true nature to shock Rosa back into place is good and sets her on a path of control again, giving her purpose. The sheriff has some good moments as well as he’s intending to end things in a big way, giving him more of a position in events. That contrasts what we see of Dooley, Dirck, and Cumberland as they’re out in the desert and going through seeing the dark places in their pasts and confronting them while under the influence from the previous issue. It’s not bad character material but it’s just such a familiar structural piece that it’s hard to connect with, especially after the way we saw how well Dooley’s story unfolded in the earliest part of the series in a more engaging way.
In Summary:
West of Sundown delivers a solid installment here as we get some decent movement when it comes to a couple of the characters. A lot of it isn’t exactly wheel-spinning material but it leans closer to that for me more than anything else. It’s all perfectly fine and done well but it just feels like too much in a small area with several characters. The book works best when it focuses on Rosa, and especially when she’s with Dooley, but I’m glad Rosa’s finally back to herself here and getting ready to take direct action once more. That’s when I’m hooked and eager to see what’s next.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: March 8th, 2023
MSRP: $3.99
