The Archive
Copperhead
- Details
- Category: Comics
- Created on Saturday, 04 April 2015 16:00
- Written by KTP
Copperhead: Sometimes I just want my sci-fi simple and western.
One of the best series out is also one of the most unassuming. If you judge a book by its cover, and you have to sometime by their very nature, Copperhead doesn't stand out amongst the shock inducing cover art that fans are used to. This is by no means a bad thing, but what makes it different also makes it a must read. The cover art is clean and direct compared to the blood splattered, gory, team ensembles, or scantily clad women that we are used to in our weekly releases. Copperhead may be an unassuming title, but it is full of solid writing, pacing, art, and world building that comes together to create something much better without relying on obvious gimmicks.
Who does this fucking kid think he's talkin' too? That's the sheri.....I mean mom.
The book centers on the new sheriff, Clara Bronson, and her kid arriving in the off-world mining town of Copperhead which seems to lie on the edges of civilization. The setting screams space western as Clara comes into the dusty town on a train and all the locals are, more or less, alien yokels. She is paired up with the wonderfully sarcastic Deputy Boo, an alien who seems to have come out on the losing side of a war against humans. Things get to a rough start when an alien family gets murdered for unknown reasons. It's up to Clara and Boo to find the cause and the killer.
Clara shouldn't be afraid of the synthetic that wears alien skin for clothes. No, really.
What makes this a really good read is the character work and the pacing. Details come in about each of the characters at a solid pace and all prove interesting in their own ways. Clara is portrayed as tough, but not obnoxious with any sort of bravado which is great to see for a female lead. Her backstory is one of the things I'm waiting to see open up as the series moves forward. The artwork throughout is also well done and clean. Copperhead's art makes this dusty and isolated alien mining town look vibrant and life-like.
You ever seen the steaks at one of those chains where they dump a ton of tomatoes or mushrooms on it and charge you $15 bucks? That’s fine and all, but sometimes there are days when I just don’t want a steak dressed up with all the bullshit. If you can find a place that will just cook it just right, that steak will beat every single thing on the menu. That's Copperhead. It's the comic that doesn't standout in any one particular way, but the whole as it’s put together works pretty damn well. It's a comic without the bullshit done right.