blogging by Andrew Wickliffe
Brian Hurtt
The Sixth Gun 22 (May 2012)
Turns out I was wrong–last issue did end with a soft cliffhanger. Becky and Drake are relatively fine as this issue opens; Bunn does not acknowledge the dialogue-free previous issue either. It’s sort of strange, not to mention it, but the issue works anyway. Bunn continues showing Drake’s viciousness, which is another interesting move. He’s […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 21 (April 2012)
Bunn does a dialogue-free issue. It should be called, “One Helluva Rescue,” as Becky saves Drake from his captors and they battle the Order in its stronghold. But the issue isn’t just free of dialogue, it’s silent. When Becky and Drake communicate, they do it through body language. It’s not like Bunn and Hurtt are […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 20 (March 2012)
Brian Hurtt has a very pleasant style to his artwork. It’s often warm, regardless of content. This issue, however, featuring Drake tortured, it’s not so pleasant. The aged doctor doing the torturing is almost cute in an eccentric mad scientist way, but he’s doing such terrible things. Hurtt’s art style leads to The Sixth Gun […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 19 (February 2012)
Bunn still doesn’t have much of a story for Drake. He pretty much gets a good meal and then gets in a bunch of trouble. Or he’s about to get in a bunch of trouble. There’s the threat of it…. But Becky does get in a bunch of trouble, a couple times even. Bunn gives […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 18 (January 2012)
It’s a setup issue. Becky is in a desolate, starving town looking for Drake. Drake is meanwhile dealing with his captors. They both make–or think about making (it’s unclear so far)–unexpected deals. And that recap is about it. Bunn introduces some new characters, but none of them resonate except the ones Becky encounters. They only […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 17 (November 2011)
Billjohn’s back. Heck yeah. I’ve been missing Billjohn and Bunn and Hurtt reveal he’s back in the first couple pages this issue. This issue finishes the “Bound” arc and shows how complicated Bunn’s plotting is on The Sixth Gun. While nothing big happened–except Drake’s disappearance–the reader learns a great deal about Becky and Gord. Bunn […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 16 (October 2011)
I can see now why Bunn put all the action at the beginning of this arc. It’s not about action, it’s about the calm following the action. For example, the scenes with the most action this issue are Gord’s flashbacks. Except it’s not exciting Western action, it’s the terrible things Gord went through. And it’s […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 15 (September 2011)
Anything after last issue was going to be a letdown and, while this issue isn’t as strong, Bunn and Hurtt are being very deliberate and careful. They’re slowly revealing the past of Gord and Becky. The beauty of The Sixth Gun being a supernatural Western is Bunn doesn’t have to use flashbacks. Instead, he gets […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 13 (July 2011)
The issue ends with a very peculiar turn of events. So much so the issue feels incomplete, like Bunn forgot to resolve something. He changes up Sixth Gun’s status quo in the second issue of an arc… it just feels funny. The issue’s pacing is also funny. It’s an all-action issue (but none of those […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 12 (June 2011)
Is there anything not to love about this comic book? I mean, it ends with this beautifully paced reveal of the big villain–and I quote–a “giant mummy.” In the Old West. It’s just fantastic how Bunn and Hurtt pull off these fantastical reveals and make them work perfectly. Speaking of Hurtt, this issue features some […]
MoreThe Damned: Prodigal Sons 3 (August 2008)
Bunn and Hurtt finish up The Damned here (for now). Apparently, Prodigal Sons was nothing but a bridging series to the next storyline, where the demons are at war once more. This series, in some ways, serves its goals—it introduces Eddie’s brother, it introduces Eddie’s parents, it explores the underworld. It’s also a complete and […]
MoreThe Damned: Prodigal Sons 2 (May 2008)
And here’s where The Damned falls apart. The entire first series, it was implied if not directly stated people knew the demons lived among them. This issue establishes people do not. Only a select few (namely, all the humans in the first series). Why they don’t tell other people? Bunn doesn’t explain. This issue is […]
MoreThe Damned: Prodigal Sons 1 (April 2008)
I’m not sure when Bunn and Hurtt came up with the idea for Prodigal Sons, but it seems like it was during the last issue of the first Damned series. Here, Eddie’s not the protagonist. Instead, it’s his brother (Morgan, I think). And we find out Eddie was always cursed, ever since he was a […]
MoreThe Damned 5 (February 2007)
Bunn brings Damned to a predictable, yet still unpredictable conclusion. The main story about the mob war ends predictably… but there’s a lot unexpected elements here. One’s a new story thread introduced, another’s a conclusion for a character—both have to do with how little Bunn has actually revealed about his protagonist. Unfortunately, the ending is […]
MoreThe Damned 4 (January 2007)
I’m not sure if I just remember the twist in The Damned or if it’s obvious. It’s probably a little of both. Here, in the fourth issue, Bunn gets around to really establishing the demon mythology (still no word on when they first showed up). Hurtt really shows his range here. He’s got the period […]
MoreThe Damned 3 (December 2006)
I think this issue is Bunn’s first all action issue. I guess it’s not all action, but the second half is a long action sequence (a gunfight) punctuated by a mob shootout. The opening is some more weirdness going on with the demons and Eddie talking to the Worm. Bunn’s dialogue makes the Worm sequence […]
MoreThe Damned 2 (November 2006)
Hurtt gets really gross this issue. Not so much in the first half. The first half is all demons and bigger demons and Eddie being all beat up. The second half has a multi-eyed demon with all his eyes torn out wrapped in barbed wire. Then there’s the Worm, who Bunn first mentioned last issue. […]
MoreThe Damned 1 (October 2006)
It’s amazing how much Bunn fits into this issue. It really shows what a comic can do without ads to worry about. He does a cinematic opening of the protagonist—Eddie—being resurrected. Then he has Eddie meet up with one gangster (all the major gangsters are demons, not sure Bunn ever bothers explaining it), then another, […]
MoreThe Damned 0 (October 2006)
This prequel slash teaser slash ashcan ran as a backup in other Oni titles and online. I’ve read The Damned before and… although there’s some nice Hurtt art here (there’s a double page spread, not a lot of action, but the art is beautiful), it’s not a very good preview. Bunn sort of introduces the […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 6 (November 2010)
Almost the entire issue is horizontal, meaning the pages are read across. It must have been a lot of work for Hurtt, but it’s done to excellent effect. The issue is another all action issue, but it’s this huge, layered battle scene. There’s an epilogue to it (The Sixth Gun, I believe, was initially a […]
MoreThe Sixth Gun 5 (October 2010)
Okay, it’s Drake, Becky and Billjohn. Can’t believe I forgot Billjohn. No real action this issue, not even during the last quarter, which means Bunn wasn’t establishing it as an regular formula the first few issues, it’s just how he played them. Or maybe this issue, with General Hume raising a graveyard of zombies to […]
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