Hardly an avid comic book reader, my first experience with a comic book store was enlightening, to say the least. I entered the brightly painted building just down my block, eager to find something well-suited to my overall interests. Before entering, I had it in my head that I was going to search every shelf until the one comic book made for me would stick out like a sore thumb. As if God had chosen it himself. Clearly I was looking for something satirical.
Little did I know how intimated I would be by the vast collection the store had. Little did I know how many of the comics would appeal to me. I wanted to buy them all, and before I did just that, I walked to the back of the store for some professional help. The kind man directed me towards quite a few comics that fit the description I gave him.
The comic I ended up choosing did not exactly stick out like a sore thumb, but out of the selection the man showed me, it seemed to intrigue me most. He showed me quite a few comics I was already familiar with—mostly superhero orientated--and normally, I would’ve happily settled for one of those, merely out of comfort; however, the "Copperhead" comic book by Faerber, Goolwski, Riley, and Mauer seemed different. Its cover showed a red-headed woman (which I assume is where the title of the comic originated) and a hamster-like creature book dressed in space attire, inspecting the skeleton of another odd-looking creature in the dirt. I flipped a few pages, happy to find that the female character played a role of great importance, and I’m all about women empowerment, so naturally I was drawn in by her role.
I sat in the car after buying my very first comic and immediately flipped it open and began reading, until the very end. The first few pages of Copperhead had very uniform panels. As I kept reading, I noticed many of the panels turned into bleeds, and eventually there was less and less structure as the comic became more action-packed. The chaotic panels fused perfectly with the chaos occurring in the story. The alien planet that the story took place on hit another place close to home for me. Needless to say, the story had my undivided attention.
The main character, Sherrif Bronson, is a strong, independent woman who is also very nurturing to her son. I connected with her character from the very first page, and I can’t decide whether that’s because of her portrayal’s lack of too much realism, or merely because I share many aspects of her described or implied personality. Nevertheless, I almost felt like I was the one kicking alien butt in the comic. Not to mention, the use of sarcastic remarks, especially hers, made me feel right at home.
The thing I appreciated most about Copperhead was its ability to be so packed with action. Nothing in these pages actually moves. I had to let that set in. The use of sounds effects and motion lines captivated each type of activity taking place within the story. Without a second thought, I filled in the gaps, provided to me in the form of gutters and the story seemed to run smoothly in my mind, as if it was taking place right in front of me.
Just as expected, I got to the last page, only to find a dramatic cliff-hanger, and personally, I can say I’m pretty excited to find out what Sherriff Bronson’s next move is. I’m fairly positive it’ll be an interesting one.
-Marisa Desjardins
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