The past is always right there with us.
Creative Staff:
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Sally Cantirino
Colors: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Jim Campbell
What They Say:
There’s an old hot rod that tears down deserted stretches of highway in the dead of night. The car’s called Fireball Sally, and it’s wreathed in otherworldly flames. Some folks say the driver is the Devil himself. He’s not racing for pink slips. He’s racing for souls. Fred’s willing to take the challenge. The only problem, his gas tank’s bone dry.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening storyline for the series was one where I enjoyed the mystery of whether it would be a Cullen Bunn project that I’d really get into or one that would leave me a little too disturbed to really engage with. The project worked pretty well for me and while it took a little bit to get into its rhythm, it’s been very much worth it. As we move into the next storyline, I’m glad that there’s no change in the art side as the incredibly talented Sally Cantirino feels like they’re getting only stronger with the design work here. I adore their style here in how they get into the look of the characters and the kind of weariness to a lot of them combined with such a detailed and lived-in world but without it being hyper-realistic. It’s a land of contrasts that delivers in a huge way for me.
This issue has the gang in another small town in the middle of nowhere with Cascade Falls. There’s a bit of a grim feeling about the day as we focus mostly on Fred as he volunteers to take the rural route, the one everyone hates because it’s long, boring, and doesn’t get much in return. Nobody complains about it but they’re all surprised considering his seniority. It’s what he needs though as it’s the anniversary of the death of his kids from an accident that we see briefly in flashback, which also likely led to his split with his wife. Some don’t know about it so there are questions there, but the main focus is on Fred as he just doesn’t want to interact much. And the rural route definitely makes that a whole lot easier, though he does run into people along the way because the job just makes it so.
One of them is an older woman who is happy to contribute but it’s the ruined classic car in the garage that catches his eye. Her story of the loss of her son to a crash in it, her husband spending years to rebuild it in a way to reconnect with his lost son, and her own loss at his death while doing so, is painful. But it resonates with Fred and takes on the supernatural layer when out later and a ghost version of the car haunts him down the backroads. It’s about as you’d expect, no real consequence – even the cop that pulls him over lets him go once he finds out what the issue was – and it’s the kind of surreal moment that just sticks with him much as his own personal loss.
In Summary:
We’ve had some good installments with the series looking at particular characters as you’d expect and this was a solid one for Fred. He’s been the quietest yet most accessible of the characters for me as a kind of plugger character and I have such a distinctive voice of Sam Elliott in my head for him that I can’t help but to want to see him succeed. This issue does good by him while showing more weirdness in the world that comes from these out-of-the-way places and how certain paranormal things just become the norm and are accepted. Well-written and beautifully illustrated and colored, another strong installment.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: May 31st, 2023
MSRP: $3.99
