The Sixth Gun #15

Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Brian Hurtt

It's often difficult to write about a comic once its most recent story arc has reached the half-way point, as the story is usually firmly established, and there's nothing much new to say.  Bound, the current storyline in The Sixth Gun defies that.  Last issue it focused exclusively on a new character, filling in his back story and providing him with motivation.  I thought it was an interlude issue, and was surprised to see that it counted as the third chapter of this story.

Now, we get the fourth chapter, and that same sense of interlude-ness permeates the book, although in a different way.  The issue opens on Gord Cantrell, who we haven't seen for a while.  He's returning to the plantation where he grew up a slave, and Bunn and Hurtt make his scenes in the book particularly interesting.  The plantation is deserted and slowly rotting away when Gord arrives, and then is suddenly brought to life, populated by all the people that Gord remembers from childhood, including his former master.  I love the way Hurtt changes the backgrounds depending on where Gord is looking - when he is gazing at something, it's shown as vibrant and alive, while everything behind him is decaying.

The rest of the book is given over to Becky Montcrief, the owner of the titular sixth gun.  She's under the protection of the Sword of Abraham, who have taken her to their stronghold.  She's concerned that the gun won't show her anything of what became of Drake Sinclair two issues ago, and it's not long before she starts seeing ghosts of her own.  I'm very curious to learn more about the Sword of Abraham.  The character we've seen the most from this order is portrayed as a priest, yet we clearly see Muslims praying on the grounds.  I hope that this group's history is explored in more detail soon.

As always, this is an excellent issue of an excellent series.