Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol I
Blurb:
The Witcher meets The Dresden Files meets Jonah Hex in DEAD ACRE: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel), the bestselling supernatural fantasy western smash #1 audio book and eBook in print and as a graphic novel for the first time!
Demons. Monsters. Witches. His sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down.
James Crowley met his mortal end in a hail of gunfire. Now, he finds himself in purgatory, serving the White Throne to avoid falling to hell. Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his servitude and fade away.
His not-so-sacred duty as a Hand of God? Use his new abilities to hunt down demonic beings that have infiltrated the mortal realm.
The White Throne has sent him to the middle of nowhere: a western town called Dead Acre with a saloon, a moldy church, and little else worth talking about. There isn't even a sheriff. But the local cobbler has gone missing at the same time as a number of graves were desecrated.
Crowley must follow the clues, all while dealing with a cutthroat gang which treats Dead Acre like they own it, an extraordinary woman who makes it hard to focus, and locals not keen on strangers.
Life isn't simple for a Demon Hunter.
Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel ) is written by New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Riley Brown.
For fans of Deadwood, Pale Rider, High Plains Drifter, Red Dead Redemption, Jonah Hex, Bone Tomahawk, Red Dead Redemption,The Dresden Files (Jim Butcher), The Sixth Gun (Cullen Bunn), The Gunslinger (Stephen King), The Dark Tower series (Stephen King), Blood and Shadows (Joe Lansdale), Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy), Trail of Lightning (Rebecca Roanhorse), Lone Woman (Victor Lavalle), Pretty Deadly (Kelly Sue DeConnick), Longmire (books and tv), Pretty Deadly (Kelly Sue DeConnick), Preacher (Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon), Saint of Killers, East of West (Jonathan Hickman/Nick Dragotta), Loveless (Brian Azzarello), Red Rabbit (Alex Grecian), Shadow on the Sun (Richard Matheson), I Travel By Night (Robert McCammon), Last Road Out of Perdition (Robert McCammon), American Vampire (Scott Snyder), West of Sundown (Tim Seeley/Jim Terry), Unbury Carol (Josh Malerman), Skin Medicine (Tim Curran), A Book of Tongues (Book 1 in the Hexslinger Series by Gemma Files), Wynonna Earp, Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman, and weird westerns.
Review:
The Witcher meets The Dresden Files meets Jonah Hex!? And for the fans of Red Dead Redemption, The Gunslinger/The Dark Tower series, and the likes, you say!? HECK. YEAH. How can you possibly say no to such awesomeness!? I just quite simply couldn’t miss out on an amazing opportunity like this. And the best part? It came knocking right on the door! (massive thanks to Boe and the SFF Insiders, which I am a proud part of!). I would also like to extend my heartfelt courtesy to author Andy Peloquin and Aethon Books for providing me with a digital copy of this super fun supernatural fantasy western graphic novel. You guys rock, seriously!
What’s it about?
Crowley. James Crowley. That’s the name, folks. An outlaw unlike any other…
Loves whisky, and was never much for religion in general. Was. That’s cuz he died one day, as all mortals do. But that’s where this story really begins…
Life isn’t simple for a demon hunter.
Demons. Monsters. Witches. His sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down.
Returned back from the dead as a “goddamned Hand of God” aka a Black Badge, he must exact the will of The White Throne to fulfill his newfound duty, complete his “contract”, and carve his path to ultimate redemption. The world is teeming with demons, monsters, and all things evil. His job is to make sure they stay in their place… permanently.
A “gifted” man in an unnatural state, he doesn’t feel pain, recovers fast, and has unconscious strength among other “divine” things. But how far will all that take him? For a man who believes there ain’t no such thing as normal and whose luck rarely gets better, his next task is to investigate the small town of Dead Acre sat quite literally in the middle of nowhere. A place where there’s no law, and there such as heck aren’t any heroes.
Accompanied by his unwavering companion horse Timperina, along with a pair of quick hands, sharp wits, and deadpan humor all for himself, Crowley arrives at Dead Acre to an unsurprising unwelcome. Nobody likes a stranger… and he’s stranger than most.
“Crowley, this isn’t your everyday town. When things happen here, we let them – or they get worse.”
A missing cobbler. Dug-up graves. Wolves among sheep. And a town full of secrets.
“There are wicked things in this world. Things worse than men.”
I’d seen plenty of awful things in my time… but this was something else.
What could POSSIBLY go wrong, eh!?
The good
Pretty much everything is on point to be very honest, and I had a super fun time with it by all means!
Well, to start off, the coloring and the illustrations were just top notch. The attention to detail is totally worth applauding, and everyone involved has done a fantastic job of bringing the western setting to life.
The story, narrated by the MC’s first person voice, was quite enjoyable and equally engaging. The deadpan humor, alongside the “good ‘ol” western tongue, was quite the lovely touch.
The characters were well-depicted, especially that of the MC, for whom we get a short background arc as well.
The setting/world/lore were brilliantly done. Not only were they highly interesting in their own right, but also integrated into the plot quite well.
There’s tons of action and high-octane, no-nonsense drama of which I simply couldn’t get enough of! The mystery and horror/supernatural elements were very nicely executed too.
The “not so” good
Seriously, I don’t have anything negative to say whatsoever. Although I will go ahead and point out that maybe a couple of the tropes/plot points could’ve been more “unique” in my opinion. Having said that, I am very much looking forward to the next installments cuz I’m sure there’s so much more on offer with respect to this story, it’s world/lore, and it’s “not quite undead, yet not fully alive” MC… and I’m super excited for it without a shadow of any doubt!
Highlights
[Text] – In my experience there are two things you just can’t fake… death and fear.
[Text] – Sometimes the simple plan works the best. Shoot things until they stop moving!
[Quote] – “One problem gone means another is right around the corner.” [followed by text] – That sums up my assignments from The White Throne.
Other info.
Written by New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Riley Brown, Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel) brings to life USA Today bestseller Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle’s smash-hit #1 audible bestseller – the first book in the Black Badge series.
It’s published by Vault Comics and distributed by Simon & Schuster, with a total page count of 160.
Trigger Warnings: – Blood/gore/violence; swearing; adult/mature themes.
Final thoughts
Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel) was one heck of a super fun ride through the wild wild west. Talk about high-octane action which goes all guns blazing (quite literally), no-nonsense drama, an engaging plot with interesting characters, a fitting western setting backed up by a well-realized world and lore, a whole host of evil all around, all paired up with a MC who will catch your eye right away with his quick hands, sharp wits, and deadpan humor. Not to mention the quite superb and totally worth applauding work on the coloring and the illustrations that bring everything to life so very well. The hype around it was completely justified, and I honestly can’t wait to dive into the next installments already!
Strap on your western boots, don the cowboy hat, and make sure that belt of yours is as tight as it can get (with a loaded gun in the holster at the ready!). Oh, and do not hold onto your horses for this one, folks, cuz trust me, you absolutely don’t wanna miss out on this western supernatural fantasy adventure whatsoever. CAN’T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!
