In El Mesa, New Mexico, Cody Coyote is an attractive young woman who also happens to be the town's deputy sheriff. In the first part of this new series, she shows that she is tough enough to deal with drunk customers who are getting too unruly. Feeling confident, Cody decides to tackle a border jumper locked up in jail next. It's an unusual case for Cody as the border jumper only carried a laptop across the border, and a flash drive that is password protected. She coerces the border jumper into giving her the password, only to discover to her horror that it's full of very dangerous evidence of serious crime and he is actually a government informant. Meanwhile somewhere else, two kids are shooting at cans, playing around when they spot two cars who they can only assume are border jumpers, so they call Cody to let her know what's happening. Cody quickly rushes to the scene and to her surprise, it's a situation that may be out of her element.
One of the things that appealed to me about this comic is the strong emphasis on character development. Cody is a strong character, but even she can have her moments of weakness. The writer quickly introduces the Cody character by discussing her past with Cal, the town's Sheriff so you already have an idea of what she's been through already. Cody is a likable character and it's easy to see that she is very much admired in her home town. There is a lot of personal things in the story and since it's a small town, those things get talked about often. I also liked how the writer often lets you know what Cody is thinking, so we see the story from her perspective and we understand her feelings and reactions better. She seems like a real person, and you can understand more about her as her past is explained in this issue. We're also introduced to the other characters that help shape Cody, such as Cal, the kids who look up to Cody, the waitress at the El Mesa Grill, and the rest of the town around her. It's clear that she is a well-liked person and respected by her colleagues.
The backgrounds are simple, and your attention is drawn to the characters in the comic and what they are doing. The characters have very expressive faces, so you know how they're feeling. One of my favourite scenes was when a mysterious man is seen walking in the distance while the sun was setting. It looked amazing, especially with the colouring and it shows what the country looks like with its harsh climate. During the darker scenes, where Cody is confronting the dangerous border jumpers, the artwork makes it out to be a very sombre and moody atmosphere. I loved the colouring, there were a lot of orange and brown hues which seems suited to the desert setting. The lettering is nicely done as well and suits the story.
The story has a lot of potential for Cody to develop into a really well rounded character. I'm looking forward what happens next to the gangsters who look like they'll prove quite a challenge for even tough Cody. I enjoyed reading this as it showed a lot of focus on addressing all sides to a character such as Cody. This series will run for four issues and there is more information about this title available at - http://www.qewpublishing.com/ |
