3 out of 5

I’ve mentioned it elsewhere; I’ll mention it here again: ‘Preacher,’ to me, is the prime example of how to use spin-off series to complement a main series.  The characters are established and interesting without any extras, but some hints are dropped that whet our appetite to find out more.  And when it turns out that, to do that ‘more’ justice, you’ll need 22 pages or perhaps some multiple of that, it’s time to develop a title that splinters off.  Ennis is also guilty of indulgence, of course (such as the Good Old Boys spin-off), but the Preacher Prime example still holds true: if you just like an element of your tale and want to give it its own pages, fair enough, but make it entertaining.

The ‘Buzzard’ three issue mini isn’t boring, but I can’t really say it adds anything to The Goon world, nor is it such a thrilling read that its worth picking up as a stand-alone (which would be the qualifier for entertainment when you’re doing an indulgence spin-off).  Our lead wanders around through some dream-like plane (which, honestly, just seems like lazy Powell writing because he couldn’t figure out a better way to get a skeleton horse into the mix) before coming across a town that’s plagued by monsters.  Buzzy agrees to kill off the monsters’ leader in the hopes that mebbe he’ll do some of that sweet ol’ dying in the process.

What is rewarding about this series – but maybe moreso as an observer of Powell’s work, not so much coming into the tale fresh – is that it shows that Eric can do a straight, sad tale without it being so ghastly melodramatic as ‘Chinatown.’  The key, it would seem, is focus.  Buzzard doesn’t have much to him except for wanting to die, especially since his origin was already covered.  Whether Powell wanted an outlet for some depressive thoughts on life, or whether he just wanted a break from the more plot-heavy world of The Goon, the narrow scope of the mini helps the pacing and tone feel fitting.

Also included in each issue is one part of a Billy the Kid back-up, which is as kooky fun as the series have been and, honestly, does overall nudge the mini into ‘worth it’ territory if you’re a BtK fan.