Writers: Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Andrew Miller
Art: Hannah Christenson
Colors: Juan Useche
Letter: Colin Bell
Publisher: BOOM! STUDIOS
Price: $3.99

Death Be Damned is a good old-fashioned tale of revenge with a dash of mysticism. The story follows Miranda Coler, who seeks vengeance against upon the seven outlaws that murdered her, and her family. How did she return from the grave, and not her family? Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it. The story is surprisingly good, and has the feel of a revenge-fueled western. The writing is well done, and gets you engaged into what’s going on. We’re also introduced to a man named Joseph Murray, which deals with her coming back from the dead. He also has motivations of his own, that does play a part of the story, which may be selfish when you know about it. The question as to why Miranda comes back from the dead, is answered a bit here, which goes into the Zuni Native American culture, and the boundaries that surround life and death. I’m curious how this is going to fit into the later issues. The dialog is great, and feels cohesive with the story. The cliffhanger to this issue is a shocker, but understandable to what happens at that point in time.

I’m not a big fan of the artwork at all, and that’s bad for a first issue. The characters have blocky looking faces, which is a bit of a distraction. The art looks rushed in a few areas of the title, and the line work is very simplistic. All the characters just looked ugly to me. For all the bad, the art does express the haunting imagery in the title. There are a few gruesome scenes in the issue, that is done well. Panels flowed well, and matched the story beat for beat. The color in the issue is solid, and the subtle changes in scenes look superb.

Overall this was a solid issue with some great storytelling, but weak on the art. I’ll definitely keep reading to see how this whole story ends.

3 Miranda Colers out of 5