Dark Horse Comics 2016
Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Mack Chater
Coloured by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Outside muscle is brought in to secure a business deal and rapidly spirals out of
control. Word has spread through the secessionist community that the Briggs family is weak,
and Grace needs to act quickly and decisively or lose everything.
This is not only a great look at secessionists and how they feel and live their lives but it’s a great look at characters and characterisation. Brian does this absolute magnificent job here with Grace being the new head of the family and her son Caleb who believes himself to be this Alpha Male and yet doesn’t possess the intelligence or skill to be more than a common thug. The difference between couldn’t be any clearer here and how that is portrayed through the storytelling is an amazing bit of work.
Caleb is one of those characters that you just want to hate with every fiber of your being but can’t. He thinks he’s better than he is, smarter than he is and much more capable of doing things his way but he isn’t. We’ve seen him try to buy the Hardware Store and fail miserably in doing so and needing to be bailed out by his mother. Though he refuses to see how he’s done it the wrong way he’s still listening to his mother which honestly surprises the heck out of me. He’s such an idiot and so confident in himself you actually kind of feel sorry for this sick piece of you know what.
The biggest threat to Grace running Briggs Land doesn’t actually come from her incarcerated husband no it comes from her eldest son. His actions make her look weak as if she cannot control her own children let alone a group. It’s because of this latest muck up that she has to scramble harder and faster in her thinking only strengthens my feelings for her. She’s a remarkable woman and regardless of what they are caught up in she does what she has to for herself and her children and all their futures.
I’m such a fan of the work Mack does on the interiors here. The attention to detail is astonishing and the use of the page layouts with their angles, perspective and those incredible backgrounds really give us so much emotion. Mack uses the landscape to give us as much characterisation as he does using the characters themselves and it’s just some of the most sublime work.
I cannot get over that Brian is able to just bring us a story about human drama filled to brink with this battle of the sexes and pure unadulterated hatred as it’s centerpiece. That we both love and despise the characters but can somehow still relate to them is one of those mysteries that cannot be explained. This is the power that a writer like Brian can bring to audiences. Gripping, powerful and riveting in ways that will leave you in awe this is going to be THE series of 2017!