The Sixth Gun: Winter Wolves TPB

Man, how weird is it that Cullen Bunn is saving his best stuff for his independent title? Admittedly, I’m pretty far behind at this point; I haven’t read any Larfleeze, Deadpool, or Magneto. But I was disappointed in Fearless Defenders after really enjoying Sixth Gun and Captain America team-up, so seeing a return to form in this collection is a welcome sight.

This is a bit of a filler chapter, as the core cast is trapped worlds apart and they must reunite before moving on to the next chapter.

Drake Sinclair and Becky Montcrief find themselves in a pretty frightening world of winter where they are tormented by wolves and a wendigo spirit. Bunn plays the scene in a pretty neat way; after a bit of interaction, it is hard to see the Wendigo as the villain. He certainly seems to be more straightforward and trustworthy than Sinclair!

The supporting character all team up to face down the religious order of battle priests that showed up in the last collection. It is hard not to cheer for these guys. Gord Cantrell has a huge heart and is a wonderful point of view character; Asher Cobb is a smart zombie/giant, and Kirby Hale is the rascal with a heart. C’mon, who isn’t rooting for this guy’s redemption arc?

These are good archetypes that round out the party nicely. (And I still say there is hope for the now clay-golem Billjohn. He’s still sticking around!)

The book ends with Becky utilizing the power of her gun in a pretty awesome way. The scene really pops because of Brian Hurtt’s artwork. Everyone is so certain of a certain outcome, that when Becky escalates the scene, the reader is shocked just like the characters. It’s a well-done moment that really amps up Becky’s abilities and hopefully steers her into a leadership role. She’s no damsel in distress, but I look forward to her not being led from plot point to plot point by Sinclair.

This is a GOOD adventure comic, with no real superheroes to be found. Instead, you’ve got horror and western tropes mixing into a nice spiritual successor to Joe Landsdale and Tim Truman’s Jonah Hex series.