Copperhead 02

The second installment of Copperhead delivered the much-needed reveal that the first issue deprived us of on the last page; however, the second issue continued with the tradition of suspenseful endings and now I sit here awaiting the third issue. So that I may know what happened in the second one. So that I may wait for what happens in the fourth. I’m sensing a pattern here.

It is indeed a clever tactic, especially for a reader like myself, someone who is not too often able to keep up with things, or should I say not interested in doing so. I will watch one episode of a new show and am able to go the rest of my life without watching another. I can go to the movies and watch a brand new movie and never feel the need to see the sequel. Sometimes, though, I do come across a piece of work like this one. The mystery and constant cliff-hangers leave me wanting more, every time. I don’t know if it’s the perplexity of the story that keeps me interested or the connection with the main character I have established. I want to know her story. I want to know what happens next in her life. I almost want to be her when I grow up…

Sherriff Clara Bronson is so cool and collected, even when it seems her whole world has flipped upside down. Her son, Zeke, goes missing and although it is not long before she finds out and he then returns, she keeps her composure and calmly approaches the issue, as you would expect any good Sherriff would do. Several parts of Zeke remind me of various traits of my nieces and nephew. Their curiosity and subtle intelligence create a parallel with his character’s, which allowed me to mourn for his short-lived absence and near-death experience. I, in reading into his mother’s character, have almost become nurturing towards the boy, myself. I suppose my innate motherly instincts kick-in whenever I read this comic.

The colors throughout this comic are mesmerizing. They are bright and capturing and juxtaposed so perfectly that you can truly feel the full-throttle action that occurs in this story. One particular two-page spread from this issue caught my eye immediately. Jagged-edged panels, close-ups, splattered blood, and a total of 39 different sound effects on these two pages alone, really emphasized the amount of action happening in this particular scene depicting the throw-down between the mysterious character protecting the Sherriff’s son and the bad-guy-alien creature.

The art style in this comic is truly imaginative. These are creatures you probably couldn’t imagine on your own, and probably wouldn’t want to even if you could. Their rare physical appearances, very separate from one another, are almost refreshing. This comic’s illustrations are like a relief from the same-old tired faces we always see when we open any piece of work: human characters depicted attractively so that we may acquire a liking for them. Not this comic, no sir. Copperhead’s characters gush green blood, lack more than one eye, or have faces where eyes are not even openly visible.

 

I would have to conclude that Copperhead is everything that I am looking for in a comic, right down to the cold, sarcastic remarks exchanged between Sherriff Bronson and Boo. I am truly glad I picked up this comic a couple months ago.

-Marisa Desjardins