Review–Get your Western-meets-sci-fi-fix with “Copperhead”

Review by C.J. Bunce

Fans of Firefly and Common Grounds have a great new comic book series to look forward to each month. Image Comics released Issue #1 of Copperhead this past week, a new Western that takes place on what appears to be a future planet Earth. We’d call it a police procedural, but it feels more like a classic Western.

Written by Jay Faerber, with art by Scott Godlewski, and colors by Ron Riley, Copperhead is the new hometown of Sheriff Bronson, a tough lawkeeper looking for a fresh start with her son Zeke. Copperhead is not a friendly town, it’s a dusty place just near the Badlands—we’re not sure yet whether these are the American Badlands or a location on a different world. But it’s inhabited by the same rough types of Earth’s Old West, only these folks all appear to be of various alien origins.

Heading up the cast of characters is a slightly ruffled deputy named Budroxifinicus, a giant hamster built like The Rock. He’s been passed over for promotion so he’s not too welcoming of Bronson. He seems harmless enough but we’re thinking he’d being set up to be an interesting partner for Bronson. Just don’t call him “Boo.”

Faerber delves right into the action as Bronson must break up a domestic dispute of family of green, one-eyed globular hicks, who in another world would be featured on their own episode of Cops. The artwork is excellent—these aliens look like the green slime ghosts from Ghostbusters and their battle with Bronson is nicely choreographed.

If Faerber and Godlewski can keep up the momentum and energy from Issue #1 this series could be the next Gunsmoke in space. It also has the potential of Top Cow’s short-lived but brilliant Cosmic Coffee, with aliens of the week coming and going and plenty of room for development of the regular cast, stuck in this desolate town.

Keep an eye out for Issue #1 variant covers from Brandon Graham, Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire, Brent Peeples, and Ron Riley.