Copperhead #1

By Jay Faeber, Scott Godlewski & Ron Riley

Copperhead had a bit of an underground buzz surrounding it before its debut issue came out this week. This also marks Jay Faeber’s return to comics since his Image series Near Death abruptly ended. Copperhead follows a single mother who is the new sheriff in the tough town named Copperhead. Not only does Clara Bronson have to take over the duty as sheriff, but she and her son, Zeke, have to adapt to life in a new city in a totally different environment.

Faeber has not lost his touch; Copperhead‘s first issue immediately immersed the reader into the story. This world that is built out of equal parts western and sci-fi is the perfect setting for a comic. Faeber is able to take the best of both of these genres and seamlessly combine them on the page. As a first issue, Copperhead had plenty of fun character development and  world building, but leaves plenty of room for the story to literally go anywhere.

The artistic pairing of Scott Godlewski and Ron Riley are extremely important to the appeal of Copperhead. They are able to capture the look of the dirty west with the clean futuristic look of a space story. Godlewski’s people look incredibly expressive and he also creates diverse looking aliens. Then when you add Riley’s colorful palette, it truly makes the entire issue pop.

Copperhead totally lives up to the hype. This first issue was a great introduction to the world of Copperhead and all of its inhabitants. Copperhead is poised to be one of Image’s next big ongoing titles that you are going to wish you had read.