3 out of 5

Cullen got into this same kind of trouble with his Sons of the Gun mini – this just wasn’t a tale I’m sure needed to be told.  The first series that I read that branched off into, or included, one or two part asides to delve into individual characters was ‘Preacher,’ and it’s still one of the best examples of how to do this.  Because for all of its grand religiousness, ‘Preacher’ is a character-focused tale; Ennis is a character-focused writer.  (Or I prefer him to be.)  Cullen’s ‘Sixth Gun’ has evolved into something very worthwhile due to its concept and the strange worlds it takes us through.  The only characters we really care about are Drake and Becky; Drake is somewhat more interesting due to his mystery, and Becky’s history is mostly known to us already.  The issue about Asher Cobb, the mummy, was important because we needed to understand how and why Cobb could switch sides.  But The Grey Witch…?  She’s evil.  That solves most of it.  There’s a bit of a question as to why she’s grey, as to why her followers are all lizardy, but this issue doesn’t really explain that beyond… she’s evil.  Sixth Gun has been chock full of voodoo lore and random mythology, and we accept it in the extra-real world in whatever good or bad or impartial context it’s presented.  The only difference here is that the Witch has been involved in the narrative for longer than one or two arcs (and, yes, has become our main adversary), but still – there’s really nothing added to the overall story by filling in some details from her past.

That doesn’t make it a bad issue – Bunn has gotten so much more patient with his scripting, even during the last year or so, so the tale proceeds at a very natural pace, with plenty of room for us to absorb a young girl’s descent into madness.  And Crook’s art is always a fun step away from Hurtt’s careful hand, applying the same cartoonish realism but with a much looser hand.

It’s a fine read, but seems somewhat obvious as the pre-planned pause between stories that it is; our narrative before and after this point is not enriched by it.