The Sixth Gun #8

Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Brian Hurtt

I had some concerns, as this series moved into its second arc, that the story might not be able to keep up the momentum of the first six issues.  I no longer have any concerns, as Bunn has transitioned this title into an on-going series that has a lot of potential.

This issue has Drake Sinclair hanging out with a Haitian man who lives in a slowly crumbling mansion in the middle of a swamp.  He's gone there to see if he can sever his ties to The Six, mystical guns that grant their bearer strange abilities.  To be fair, Drake is only connected to four of them, and his companion has one other, but that is not ever mentioned.  Over the course of their conversation, it also becomes clear that Drake is looking for a way to bring his friend Billjohn back to life, which hints at a more human side than we've seen in him yet.

I've been enjoying the world-building that Bunn has been doing with this comic.  The setting (the post-Reconstruction South) is one not often used this way in comics.  Sure, we have Jonah Hex roaming around the same time period, but the way that Bunn has weaved in so many fantastical elements to his tale makes it pretty fresh.  As usual, Hurtt has been doing a terrific job on the art.  I found myself studying the swamp mansion pretty carefully, as I found it such an interesting setting.