SPLASHES OF DARKNESS: WESTERNOIR - COMIC REVIEW

10/8/2021

The dialogue is peachy; constantly developing character and plot while showcasing a fine ear for accent.

Comic-books are a medium, not a genre; they can tell any story and suit any palate. You want horror? I've got bottles of the stuff. Welcome to 'Splashes of Darkness.'

SPLASHES OF DARKNESS: THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA
(COMIC REVIEW BY DION WINTON-POLAK)

WesterNoir gets its kick from that bottle of tequila tucked away yonder; the one the barman's been experimentin' with. Seems he's been keep the worms back from the usual batches and dropping 'em into it, month by month. Once in a while some damned fool demands a shot of it, neat, but your barman ain't the killin' kind. If you're takin' it, you're chasin' it with a little sugar. A body can only swallow so much stark reality. Best y'all sit down to drink this.

The clue’s in the title, but I’ll lay it out plain for you – WesterNoir is a magnificent mongrel. The creative team behind it have clearly spent some time sneaking around the genre graveyard, digging up the choicest bits and pieces for their grand project – a monster-hunting mash-up set in the wilds of the American West, portrayed with the *monochromatic starkness and darkness of the bitterest noir. Each issue is a tight little number, no more than 35 pages, but every one packs a punch.

Say hello to Josiah Black. T’ain’t his real name of course, but it’ll do for now. He’s running from a long history of blood and sorrow. Trouble is, he spends so much time looking over his shoulder, he has no idea what he’s headed towards. When the woman with the dead eyes hires him to hunt down the fella who killed her family, he learns there are deadlier things than men abroad in those dusty frontier days. Ghouls, vampires, were-creatures – and who knows what else – hiding amongst ordinary people. Wolves in sheep’s clothing, stalking the innocent and devouring the vulnerable. It might be there’s no such thing as redemption, but if Black’s guns can take down a few of these monsters, save some folk that might have otherwise perished, well, at least he can begin to settle accounts.

AccentUK are an independent comics publisher who place a great deal of value on intelligent stories told from unusual perspectives. Take the time to imbibe a few and you’ll be as blown away as I was. It seems to me their book covers have done them little justice in the past, but the WesterNoir series bucks that trend with their bold headers and dramatic imagery. The books are eye-catching, exciting and intriguing artefacts that demand to be picked up. You can practically smell the pulp oozing from them; and little visual touches like creases, peels and scratches complete the illusion of battered books, long-treasured. These wear-marks may be fake, but the love poured into the tales is true enough.

Dave West writes with real style. Each volume tells a complete tale, expands the world and fills in touches of back-story too. The dialogue is peachy; constantly developing character and plot while showcasing a fine ear for accent. Old-fashioned American dialogue may be formal but it’s chock full of subtlety, and West writes with considerable fluency. His greatest success is in Black’s narrative voice running throughout the stories. The cynical voice-over has long been a staple of film noir, commenting upon both the action and the dialogue to undercut (or throw dramatic new light on) what is happening. It lends a certain tone to a story, and depth to a character that could otherwise appear callous or cold.

Gary Crutchley does a similarly grand job bringing the world of WesterNoir to life with his astonishing inks. Facial features are expertly picked out, costume and scenery given recognisable characteristics and atmosphere without ever feeling overworked – which is a wonderful trick if you can manage it. This lush economy can be seen throughout the books in various forms, from both sides of the creative team and, for me, it defines the style of the book.

The general sparseness of background detail chimes with the Western sensibility (as do the occasionally ornate splashes of detail, when appropriate), while the bold shadows and harsh lines occasionally evoke the nightmare noir of [Sin City]. He makes use of a couple of watery grey shades to bring out the intermediate depth, but little more than that is required. Sepia tones might have been more appropriate for this world, and a different colour palette would have been nice for those times we look through Black’s special glasses, but I guess an indie budget only stretches so far.

The layouts are used to control the narrative pace as much as its direction, and this is so finely gauged that you only realise the sheer variety of panel sizes, density and dimensions when you consciously look for it. These are people who know how to grab you and give you a great ride. There are certain images that you do kind of expect; shots and angles that form part of the visual vocabulary of Westerns and film noir. I was exceptionally pleased to see so many of them worked in without once jolting me out of the story.

WesterNoir may be a patchwork creature, but the needlework is very fine indeed. I urge you to seek it out.

* Note: This review was originally written for Geek Syndicate. At the time, WesterNoir only existed as 4 black and white issues, with more on the way. Since then, the creative team have revisited these issues to update them in full colour. They’ve also produced several more issues with many more to come. I’ll be returning to the world of WesterNoir in the not-too-distant future to see how the colouring adds to their creation and find out just what in tarnation has happened to our black-hatted hero in the meantime.

Written by Dave West
Illustrated by Gary Crutchley
Published by Accent UK
Available now in a collected edition.

Reading experience: 4/5
Reviewer: Dion Winton-Polak