IDW Publishing 2016
Created & Written by Beau Smith
Illustrated by Lora Innes
Coloured by Jay Fotos
Lettered by Robbie Robbins
Wynonna earp, member of the U.S. Marshals Black Badge Division, is hellbent on finding the notorious leader of the Chupacabra Cartel, Mars Del rey. With the help of the mysterious “John Henry,” she just might get her wish…
I’m a huge fan of this character, her history and legacy not to mention her absolute unapologetic no-nonsense attitude. She’s a very good female lead that can handle her own like any man but without earning herself the “B” title. I absolutely cannot stress enough how well Beau writes her so that she can be tough as nails and act like any man but still be feminine enough not to be singled out in a bad way. Thank goodness she’s back because the industry needs a woman like her in the lead of her own book. Hopefully with the SyFy series coming in April we’ll be seeing more of her from IDW.
It’s fun how this issue opens. Aside from Doll’s and Earp’s exchange and his attempts to keep her on a leash the old woman we see was hugely entertaining. Makes you wonder how this town survives if most of it’s citizens are indeed just like her and the man they are chasing. Oh the possibilities this whole scenario brings up are endless and full of promise, yeah I can be weird sometimes but this world and these “people” make me want to explore it!
I like that this triangle happening between Doll, Wynonna and John Henry. There’s something going on between the men and yet John and Wynonna have a weird history and familiarity with each other. This is the kind of stuff that makes for great reading because no one’s motives are abundantly clear. The ambiguity makes me want to keep coming back to see how all this plays out and just what Doll is really up to. I just have this sneaky suspicion that he’s not exactly what he comes across as but then again the way things are going I could be completely wrong and that would be interesting as well.
The course of this issue leads up to the ending and directly into next issue. I cannot wait to see just how the chain of command goes here. Sure Mars is a bad guy and leader of the Chupacabra’s but he’s also a middle man in the scheme of things. So that Wynonna and company are stepping on toes well that’s half the fun and seeing what comes next well that’ll not only be fun but should be character illuminating as well.
Not a terribly big fan of the interior artwork here. It’s not quite Nauck’s Wildguard and not quite cartoon and not exactly as detailed as I think is worthy of the book. There are some great moments where backgrounds are concerned but i’m seriously missing more detail in the main characters. Also i’m not sure what the Chupacabra’s are supposed to look like but they could be more fearsome, they come across as kitschy. This isn’t an all-ages book and the art should reflect that, but again MY opinion.
I’m loving the story, characterization and sheer audacity of the characters.