Comics
Review: “Pretty Deadly” # 1
Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios’ new creator owned series from Image is a surreal western of the best kind. A rollicking adventure steeped in history. Often pitched as “Preacher” meets “Sandman,” “Pretty Deadly” is so much more.
Emma Rios’ incredible sweeping art compliments Deconnick’s wonderful story. Inside this book you’ll find a lyrical adventure that follows a mysterious protagonist. All of the best western elements are here, and they’re given a perfect dream like twist.
WRITTEN BY: Kelly Sue Deconnick
ART BY: Emma Rios
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: October 23, 2013
Comparing “Pretty Deadly” to other series would frankly do this book an injustice. It is so unlike anything I’ve had the pleasure of reading that I found myself diving into the book a second time immediately after my first read-through. The whimsical tone that begins the book shifts suddenly into a macabre lyrical poem.
A poem that is completely captivating and educational. This book is steeped in history. The past of the protagonist is elaborated through this lyrical style. It’s a refreshing way to experience exposition. Deconnick has us following Death’s daughter.
We learn how she was conceived, and watch as she makes her way across the barren countryside of the west. Deconnick understands western tropes and isn’t afraid to put her own spin on them. The raven imagery is so perfectly articulated by Emma Rios’ art that it comes to define the book.
The stray feathers wandering through the air, the abrasive headdress, and the billowing black cloak say everything about “Pretty Deadly.” Rios finds time within her art to cut her own lease on western imagery. Everything here looks well trodden and decayed. The paneling during the lyrical poem is simply stunning. So many images are overlayed on top of one another, but it never feels overwhelming.
Instead Rios’ command of the page causes the narrative to flow like Sissy’s billowing cloak. The supporting characters feel weathered in comparison to Ginny’s innocence. It’s a fantastic juxtaposition within this world. Her bright eyes will soon fade, but until then Rios has made a point to make her stand out.
Deconnick’s story is one of personal reflection and mystery. The motivations of every character are not entirely clear. Instead, we are engaged in a mysterious adventure surrounded by even more mysterious people. Things get dark and blood is spilt, but for the most part things are rather tame.
The entire adventure feels like an acid western in a similar vein to Alejandro Jodorowsky’s work but with a little more focus. The script isn’t comfortable with providing all of the answers up front, nor should it be. Since the narrative weaves unpredictably throughout the west this is a book that is better approached with a more liberal sense of mind.
“Pretty Deadly” is pretty damn unique. It is bold, dark, and engaging storytelling with a surrealistic flavor. The engaging characters and rich sense of history give the feeling of the gigantic sprawling narrative ahead. It’s been entirely too long since we have had a book like this. While it certainly is in a league of it’s own, if you are a fan of good, dark, dream like storytelling than this is for you.
Rating: 4/5 Skulls.
IDW Dark and Paramount recently joined forces to launch limited comic book tales set in the worlds of Smile and A Quiet Place, and we’ve learned today that they’ll continue hanging around in those franchise universes with two brand new limited series tales.
Entertainment Weekly has exclusively revealed this afternoon that IDW Dark’s Any Given Smile debuts in September, while A Quiet Place: Rising Tides arrives in November.
First up, from writer Stephanie Williams and artist Pablo Collar, Any Given Smile puts a football-themed twist on Parker Finn’s successful Smile movie franchise.
The five-part limited series is “set in January 1995, during the American Arena League football championship game in St. Augustine, Florida. The rising superstar of the Sharks, backup quarterback Dupree, is feeling the pressure from his teammates, the fans, and also the city’s gambling underworld, to whom he owes a considerable debt. Meanwhile, a sports journalist investigates a string of suicides that may be connected to the big game. At the very least, they are connected to a sinister entity that preys on the minds of its victims.”
From writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow, A Quiet Place: Rising Tides will also be a five-issue limited story. The comic book tale “brings the creatures to the Florida Keys, where a father-daughter duo attempt to survive on water in a houseboat.”
EW further details, “This tense family reunion coincides with the arrival of the vicious creatures that hunt through sound. Grace and her dad find safety on the open ocean, but she’ll have to make landfall sooner or later; the father’s oxygen tank and their supplies are running low, while a hurricane swiftly approaches.”
Learn more about both comic books over on Entertainment Weekly.
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