What do you think?
Rate this book
Pretty Deadly #1-5
Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Graphic Novels & Comics (2014)Kelly Sue DeConnick (Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel) and Emma Rios (Dr. Strange, Osborn) present the collected opening arc of their surprise-hit series that marries the magical realism of Sandman with the western brutality of Preacher. Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her origin story is a tale of retribution as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage.
"It's a perfect match for the gorgeous, dizzying artwork in a sumptuous palette-overlaid panels add intricate choreography to fight scenes, and detailed, whirling splash pages beg for long-lingering looks. Couple that, along with a handful of Eisner nominations, with a multicultural cast of tough-as-nails women who all fight for their own honor, and this is a series to watch out for." - Booklist
"It's ambitious and challenging (two qualities that are not often valued, but that probably should be), under a façade of violence and sacrifice. Rio's art is lush and detailed, and is more than capable of keeping up with the far-reaching story." - PW
"It's a perfect match for the gorgeous, dizzying artwork in a sumptuous palette-overlaid panels add intricate choreography to fight scenes, and detailed, whirling splash pages beg for long-lingering looks. Couple that, along with a handful of Eisner nominations, with a multicultural cast of tough-as-nails women who all fight for their own honor, and this is a series to watch out for." - Booklist
"It's ambitious and challenging (two qualities that are not often valued, but that probably should be), under a façade of violence and sacrifice. Rio's art is lush and detailed, and is more than capable of keeping up with the far-reaching story." - PW
120 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2014
198 people are currently reading
13027 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Sue DeConnick
363 books2,234 followersKelly Sue DeConnick’s work spans stage, comics, film and television. Ms. DeConnick first came to prominence as a comics writer, where she is best known for reinventing the Carol Danvers as “Captain Marvel” at Marvel and for the Black Label standard-setting Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons at DC. Her independent comics Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly (both from Image Comics) have ranked as New York Times best-sellers and been honored with Eisner Awards, British Fantasy Awards and Hugo nominations.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,467 reviews
April 6, 2018
I wanted to like it, but the story was all over the place and the art was very confusing for me in a lot of panels. Maybe it was because I read it digitally, but some of the action scenes were just too hard to understand.
My overall impression was that the whole thing was cluttered with feathers.
If you like metaphorical shit and your stories don't need to make sense?
This will be your jam.
I mean, the issues are narrated by a dead rabbit and his BFF the butterfly. Because?
I don't fucking know.
What's this about?
Some woo-woo mythology shit about a death god set in the wild, wild west. Sorta. My problem with stuff like this is that I feel as though the author doesn't really know what story they are trying to tell, so they just toss some ideas out on the page and hope that the reader is pretentious enough to not call them on their bullshit.
The emperor has no clothes!
Or maybe I'm just stupid and need to be spoon fed everything.
Not my cuppa.
My overall impression was that the whole thing was cluttered with feathers.
If you like metaphorical shit and your stories don't need to make sense?
This will be your jam.
I mean, the issues are narrated by a dead rabbit and his BFF the butterfly. Because?
I don't fucking know.
What's this about?
Some woo-woo mythology shit about a death god set in the wild, wild west. Sorta. My problem with stuff like this is that I feel as though the author doesn't really know what story they are trying to tell, so they just toss some ideas out on the page and hope that the reader is pretentious enough to not call them on their bullshit.
The emperor has no clothes!
Or maybe I'm just stupid and need to be spoon fed everything.
Not my cuppa.
May 17, 2014
Pretty Deadly Volume 1 should come with a beret, it’s so art school-y. Writing-wise that is as, while Kelly Sue DeConnick’s writing and storytelling is dull and pretentious, Emma Rios and Jordie Bellaire bring their A-game to the art.
Pretty Deadly’s a western set sometime in 19th century America during the frontier days but the story is heavy on the magical realism/mythologising brand of storytelling that makes it feel like a fable of sorts. And that’s what the first volume is, very broadly: the origin of how Sissy, a little girl wearing a vulture’s skin, became Death. I say very broadly because DeConnick throws in a ton of other stuff to confuse the reader which turns the story into an absolute mess by the final chapter.
I’m going to talk spoilers for the rest of the review so if you want to avoid all of that and just get my quick takeaway now, here it is: DeConnick is a crap writer and storyteller and Pretty Deadly is a woeful reading experience most of the time. But Emma Rios’ art has never looked more incredible and, coupled with Jordie Bellaire’s amazing colours, this is easily one of the best looking comics I’ve read all year, if not the best. So it’s worth picking up and taking a leisurely look through it, enjoying the gorgeous panels and breathtaking covers. But if you’re looking for a great western comic, that also incorporates magic and the supernatural, check out Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun series, where the writing matches the quality of the art.
‘kay? Spoilers a-hoy-hoy!
Right from the start the book has the quality of a creation myth as a butterfly and a skeleton bunny tell each other the story of Deathface Ginny, Death’s daughter. If Pretty Deadly fully committed to the idea of a myth-like story, I’d be more lenient on it, but it doesn’t so I won’t. If it were just a myth, I’d not mention the non-existent character development and often bizarre plot developments as these are qualities in myth stories.
The point of myth/creation stories is not to tell a convincing story in the conventional sense but to impart a message or moral. Myths are also usually straightforward in that sense as they’re a disguised message, but an understandable one - Pretty Deadly is convoluted to the point of indecipherability.
Sometimes Pretty Deadly is a myth, but quite often it wants to be both an action movie and a hip anime, and it wants emotional resonance with its characters. So it effectively takes itself out of the myth genre and tries to go for a plethora of things, all of which means character and plot critiques are fair game.
But it’s more than just the vague vision it’s sort of aiming for that bothered me, it’s the way it staggers around to get from point A to point B. I think this is the story of Sissy becoming Death because that’s where the story ends up but if you asked me before it got to the end what it’s about, I’d have to say: I have no idea. Big Alice is hunting Deathface Ginny, while Sissy’s guardian, the old blind Fox (this is another quality of myths - animals/animal names feature prominently), who’s an old dude and not a real fox, is trying to save Sissy from something and also trying to find redemption, and Death is involved somehow. And what’s with the framing device of the skeleton bunny and butterfly?!
The more deeply you look into Pretty Deadly the more superficial it seems as DeConnick fails to join the dots in her story to make it’s story meaningful to the reader. And all it does is raise numerous questions that for the life of me I can’t answer.
What was Johnny Coyote’s story - something about giving Sissy a note that somehow brought Big Alice to her attention? What was he supposed to get out of that and how does he know her? And then why did he get involved later if he fulfilled his purpose?
What was Big Alice’s story - bring in Deathface Ginny? Why? And, after a pretty epic fight with her, why did she return, reincarnated, for a second round without any game plan only to die again, for no reason?
What was Ginny’s story - run away from domineering dad, Death? Running away from her destiny as the next Death? Did she have a story?
What was Death’s story - kill everyone? Seems straightforward, he IS Death, but why does Death have such a problem meting out death?
Why was Fox hiding Sissy - did he not want her to become Death? Was that his wish or hers? Because Sissy does become Death, so is that a happy ending? And, while it was important for her to live life to become the avatar of death, to appreciate the burden, does it really qualify as living if you’ve only “lived” for a few years - wouldn’t it be more meaningful if you lived a full life, ie. ‘til old age, BEFORE becoming Death? And why were they tooling about the old west putting on shows anyway?! What was Fox getting out of telling his life story to an audience?
I paid attention to the story, I even made notes, and I went back and re-read entire chapters, and I still had no idea what the point of anything was in this book. If these “characters” had stories, DeConnick doesn’t pursue them much, choosing instead Sissy’s fight and flight story over all else, which didn’t really make much sense in the first place. The final chapter really underlines this as characters, shoot one another, die left and right and I still had no idea who I was supposed to root for and why. I think Sissy, because she’s an innocent, right? Whatever.
DeConnick’s a bad writer because she’s unable to create 1) characters whose motivations are understandable, 2) characters who feel remotely real, and 3) a coherent plot. She’s able to conjure up scenes that are interesting in themselves, like having a biblical flood happen in one issue, or a trip to hell in another, and gun and sword fights in canyons between two supernatural beings, but when you slot them against one another and try to make them flow as a single story, it fails completely.
Like I said, Emma Rios’ art is outstanding. The frontier vistas are stunning, her action scenes fluid and well-paced, and her character designs really eye-catching - I guarantee Deathface Ginny’ll be a con staple for years to come! Jordie Bellaire’s colours perfectly complement Rios’ art, using bright colours to give the drab ol’ west a feeling of otherworldly vibrancy that suits the supernatural tone of the story.
I’m not going to keep reading Pretty Deadly as this is my third DeConnick book now (I’ve also read her Captain Marvel at Marvel and Ghost over at Dark Horse) and I can tell this writer isn’t for me, but if I see it on the shelf of my local library, I’ll pick it up and enjoy the art.
And that’s Pretty Deadly - pretty terribly written!
Pretty Deadly’s a western set sometime in 19th century America during the frontier days but the story is heavy on the magical realism/mythologising brand of storytelling that makes it feel like a fable of sorts. And that’s what the first volume is, very broadly: the origin of how Sissy, a little girl wearing a vulture’s skin, became Death. I say very broadly because DeConnick throws in a ton of other stuff to confuse the reader which turns the story into an absolute mess by the final chapter.
I’m going to talk spoilers for the rest of the review so if you want to avoid all of that and just get my quick takeaway now, here it is: DeConnick is a crap writer and storyteller and Pretty Deadly is a woeful reading experience most of the time. But Emma Rios’ art has never looked more incredible and, coupled with Jordie Bellaire’s amazing colours, this is easily one of the best looking comics I’ve read all year, if not the best. So it’s worth picking up and taking a leisurely look through it, enjoying the gorgeous panels and breathtaking covers. But if you’re looking for a great western comic, that also incorporates magic and the supernatural, check out Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun series, where the writing matches the quality of the art.
‘kay? Spoilers a-hoy-hoy!
Right from the start the book has the quality of a creation myth as a butterfly and a skeleton bunny tell each other the story of Deathface Ginny, Death’s daughter. If Pretty Deadly fully committed to the idea of a myth-like story, I’d be more lenient on it, but it doesn’t so I won’t. If it were just a myth, I’d not mention the non-existent character development and often bizarre plot developments as these are qualities in myth stories.
The point of myth/creation stories is not to tell a convincing story in the conventional sense but to impart a message or moral. Myths are also usually straightforward in that sense as they’re a disguised message, but an understandable one - Pretty Deadly is convoluted to the point of indecipherability.
Sometimes Pretty Deadly is a myth, but quite often it wants to be both an action movie and a hip anime, and it wants emotional resonance with its characters. So it effectively takes itself out of the myth genre and tries to go for a plethora of things, all of which means character and plot critiques are fair game.
But it’s more than just the vague vision it’s sort of aiming for that bothered me, it’s the way it staggers around to get from point A to point B. I think this is the story of Sissy becoming Death because that’s where the story ends up but if you asked me before it got to the end what it’s about, I’d have to say: I have no idea. Big Alice is hunting Deathface Ginny, while Sissy’s guardian, the old blind Fox (this is another quality of myths - animals/animal names feature prominently), who’s an old dude and not a real fox, is trying to save Sissy from something and also trying to find redemption, and Death is involved somehow. And what’s with the framing device of the skeleton bunny and butterfly?!
The more deeply you look into Pretty Deadly the more superficial it seems as DeConnick fails to join the dots in her story to make it’s story meaningful to the reader. And all it does is raise numerous questions that for the life of me I can’t answer.
What was Johnny Coyote’s story - something about giving Sissy a note that somehow brought Big Alice to her attention? What was he supposed to get out of that and how does he know her? And then why did he get involved later if he fulfilled his purpose?
What was Big Alice’s story - bring in Deathface Ginny? Why? And, after a pretty epic fight with her, why did she return, reincarnated, for a second round without any game plan only to die again, for no reason?
What was Ginny’s story - run away from domineering dad, Death? Running away from her destiny as the next Death? Did she have a story?
What was Death’s story - kill everyone? Seems straightforward, he IS Death, but why does Death have such a problem meting out death?
Why was Fox hiding Sissy - did he not want her to become Death? Was that his wish or hers? Because Sissy does become Death, so is that a happy ending? And, while it was important for her to live life to become the avatar of death, to appreciate the burden, does it really qualify as living if you’ve only “lived” for a few years - wouldn’t it be more meaningful if you lived a full life, ie. ‘til old age, BEFORE becoming Death? And why were they tooling about the old west putting on shows anyway?! What was Fox getting out of telling his life story to an audience?
I paid attention to the story, I even made notes, and I went back and re-read entire chapters, and I still had no idea what the point of anything was in this book. If these “characters” had stories, DeConnick doesn’t pursue them much, choosing instead Sissy’s fight and flight story over all else, which didn’t really make much sense in the first place. The final chapter really underlines this as characters, shoot one another, die left and right and I still had no idea who I was supposed to root for and why. I think Sissy, because she’s an innocent, right? Whatever.
DeConnick’s a bad writer because she’s unable to create 1) characters whose motivations are understandable, 2) characters who feel remotely real, and 3) a coherent plot. She’s able to conjure up scenes that are interesting in themselves, like having a biblical flood happen in one issue, or a trip to hell in another, and gun and sword fights in canyons between two supernatural beings, but when you slot them against one another and try to make them flow as a single story, it fails completely.
Like I said, Emma Rios’ art is outstanding. The frontier vistas are stunning, her action scenes fluid and well-paced, and her character designs really eye-catching - I guarantee Deathface Ginny’ll be a con staple for years to come! Jordie Bellaire’s colours perfectly complement Rios’ art, using bright colours to give the drab ol’ west a feeling of otherworldly vibrancy that suits the supernatural tone of the story.
I’m not going to keep reading Pretty Deadly as this is my third DeConnick book now (I’ve also read her Captain Marvel at Marvel and Ghost over at Dark Horse) and I can tell this writer isn’t for me, but if I see it on the shelf of my local library, I’ll pick it up and enjoy the art.
And that’s Pretty Deadly - pretty terribly written!
February 8, 2016
Absolutely brilliant storytelling and mind-blowing art combine to make a story that you'll want to read again the instant you finish it.
November 3, 2019
”Book, you have the right to a speedy trial” review!
THE DEFENSE
- Interesting cast of characters.
When the embodiment of Death is one of the less notable players in a story, you know you're reading about an interesting bunch. From perky and charming Sissy to unflinching and rugged Fox, there were a lot of distinct personalities on display. And while the main cast was fun to read about, there were some compelling antagonists as well, like Deathface Ginny, a ghost story come to life, and Alice, a hunter who gives as much thought and consideration to shooting someone in the leg as she does choosing what hat to wear (and since she always wears the same hat, I mean "not a lot"). This was quite an eclectic cast of characters, although Sissy was by far my favorite. Let's face it, in any ensemble cast, there will always be one that stands out...
(It's obvious who the stand-out in this gif is... it's the middle cat! Why? Which one did you think I meant?!)
- Great dialogue at parts.
When I think of the western genre, I often think of gritty dialogue, and the writing really hits that sweet spot here. One rather clever analogy has a human character comparing her ability to evade supernatural predators to a spider avoiding people, stating "You don't see them, don't think about them at all, 'cept as the occasional nuisance when one of 'em manages to bite. But they watch us like their lives depend on our whims... 'cause they do." In another moment, a ruthless killer is told she and her posse could just leave, and instead of making a grand gesture or a long monologue, she comes off as even more chilling when she simply utters, "We could". I already knew Kelly Sue Deconnick could write brilliant dialogue from her work with Captain Marvel, and she brings that same magic to this supernatural western setting as well. I can really appreciate clever dialogue, since my attempts at a witty comeback usually come out more like this...
(I'm not even clever enough to come up with "Mr. Jokey Joke-Maker"... I actually have to steal comebacks like "Mr. Jokey Joke-Maker"!)
Unique art style.
This was my first time reading a graphic novel drawn by Emma Ríos, and while I did have mixed feelings about her artwork (more on that in a moment), I did really appreciate how original her style is. Emma utilizes a more abstract art method than usually seen in graphic novels, which gives some of the characters a more sinister edge to them. This is especially effective in close-up shots, when a character drawn by Emma can make the reader tremble with just a squint. In an industry where many artists adopt a similar style, it was nice to see something truly different for a change!
(I love this gif 3,000!)
THE PROSECUTION
- Sooooooo, about those mixed feelings about the art...
As much as I like Emma Ríos' drawing style in the more static shots, I did find it distracting in faster-paced moments. When penciling an action sequence, Emma would use more fluid imagery, to the point where everything looked rather opaque. In what should have been the most exciting parts of the story, I sometimes couldn't tell who actually did what because of the blurred imagery. While I do appreciate an artist trying to create something different, it was frustrating having to reread certain sections just to try to figure out what was happening. Looking at the artwork sometimes made me feel like this...
(If someone ever wrote a book that was just quotes by Lily from "Modern Family", it would have a 5.0 star average rating on GoodReads!)
The story is as convoluted as the art sometimes.
While the characters themselves were pretty interesting and the dialogue they spoke was often entertaining, the actual storytelling was a little too muddled at time. Each chapter is book-ended by a conversation between a butterfly and a dead rabbit... and no, I wasn't drunk when I typed that, it's really what happens! Maybe the strange "narrators" make more sense later on in the series, but here they just pulled me out of the story and didn't add anything of value for me. Some plot developments didn't work for me, either. At one point, revelations are made about two characters, but they had so little presence in the story and their role in it was so unclear, there was no impact. It's hard to be invested in a world when you aren't sure what the rules of it are, and too many times while reading this, I had the same "Huh" expression on my face as this guy...
(Some parts of this graphic novel would make as much sense to this dog as they did to me!)
Some characters get short-changed.
There's a lot of players introduced in the five chapters of this story, and inevitably some of them don't get as much of a chance to shine in the spotlight as others. One character seems completely disposable until they suddenly become a major player in chapter 4, while one of the most likable people in the story doesn't get to do much more than stand in the background. I also felt some characters just didn't reach their full potential. Some players were made out to be practically undefeatable, only to be vanquished a little too easily. While the set-up for these characters was really intriguing, too often the payoff was just underwhelming.
(Wait, how DOES someone just "whelm"? I... I need to lie down now, my brain is hurting!)
THE VERDICT
The creators of "Pretty Deadly" introduce a lot of interesting characters and concepts in this first volume, but muddled storytelling in both the writing and artwork prevents the tale from reaching its fullest potential. I found it worth reading for the snappy dialogue and occasional bits of brilliance, even if the execution fell flat at multiple points of the story. I will check out the next volume of the series, but this one isn't exactly inspiring me to put it at the top of my TBR list.
THE DEFENSE
- Interesting cast of characters.
When the embodiment of Death is one of the less notable players in a story, you know you're reading about an interesting bunch. From perky and charming Sissy to unflinching and rugged Fox, there were a lot of distinct personalities on display. And while the main cast was fun to read about, there were some compelling antagonists as well, like Deathface Ginny, a ghost story come to life, and Alice, a hunter who gives as much thought and consideration to shooting someone in the leg as she does choosing what hat to wear (and since she always wears the same hat, I mean "not a lot"). This was quite an eclectic cast of characters, although Sissy was by far my favorite. Let's face it, in any ensemble cast, there will always be one that stands out...
(It's obvious who the stand-out in this gif is... it's the middle cat! Why? Which one did you think I meant?!)
- Great dialogue at parts.
When I think of the western genre, I often think of gritty dialogue, and the writing really hits that sweet spot here. One rather clever analogy has a human character comparing her ability to evade supernatural predators to a spider avoiding people, stating "You don't see them, don't think about them at all, 'cept as the occasional nuisance when one of 'em manages to bite. But they watch us like their lives depend on our whims... 'cause they do." In another moment, a ruthless killer is told she and her posse could just leave, and instead of making a grand gesture or a long monologue, she comes off as even more chilling when she simply utters, "We could". I already knew Kelly Sue Deconnick could write brilliant dialogue from her work with Captain Marvel, and she brings that same magic to this supernatural western setting as well. I can really appreciate clever dialogue, since my attempts at a witty comeback usually come out more like this...
(I'm not even clever enough to come up with "Mr. Jokey Joke-Maker"... I actually have to steal comebacks like "Mr. Jokey Joke-Maker"!)
Unique art style.
This was my first time reading a graphic novel drawn by Emma Ríos, and while I did have mixed feelings about her artwork (more on that in a moment), I did really appreciate how original her style is. Emma utilizes a more abstract art method than usually seen in graphic novels, which gives some of the characters a more sinister edge to them. This is especially effective in close-up shots, when a character drawn by Emma can make the reader tremble with just a squint. In an industry where many artists adopt a similar style, it was nice to see something truly different for a change!
(I love this gif 3,000!)
THE PROSECUTION
- Sooooooo, about those mixed feelings about the art...
As much as I like Emma Ríos' drawing style in the more static shots, I did find it distracting in faster-paced moments. When penciling an action sequence, Emma would use more fluid imagery, to the point where everything looked rather opaque. In what should have been the most exciting parts of the story, I sometimes couldn't tell who actually did what because of the blurred imagery. While I do appreciate an artist trying to create something different, it was frustrating having to reread certain sections just to try to figure out what was happening. Looking at the artwork sometimes made me feel like this...
(If someone ever wrote a book that was just quotes by Lily from "Modern Family", it would have a 5.0 star average rating on GoodReads!)
The story is as convoluted as the art sometimes.
While the characters themselves were pretty interesting and the dialogue they spoke was often entertaining, the actual storytelling was a little too muddled at time. Each chapter is book-ended by a conversation between a butterfly and a dead rabbit... and no, I wasn't drunk when I typed that, it's really what happens! Maybe the strange "narrators" make more sense later on in the series, but here they just pulled me out of the story and didn't add anything of value for me. Some plot developments didn't work for me, either. At one point, revelations are made about two characters, but they had so little presence in the story and their role in it was so unclear, there was no impact. It's hard to be invested in a world when you aren't sure what the rules of it are, and too many times while reading this, I had the same "Huh" expression on my face as this guy...
(Some parts of this graphic novel would make as much sense to this dog as they did to me!)
Some characters get short-changed.
There's a lot of players introduced in the five chapters of this story, and inevitably some of them don't get as much of a chance to shine in the spotlight as others. One character seems completely disposable until they suddenly become a major player in chapter 4, while one of the most likable people in the story doesn't get to do much more than stand in the background. I also felt some characters just didn't reach their full potential. Some players were made out to be practically undefeatable, only to be vanquished a little too easily. While the set-up for these characters was really intriguing, too often the payoff was just underwhelming.
(Wait, how DOES someone just "whelm"? I... I need to lie down now, my brain is hurting!)
THE VERDICT
The creators of "Pretty Deadly" introduce a lot of interesting characters and concepts in this first volume, but muddled storytelling in both the writing and artwork prevents the tale from reaching its fullest potential. I found it worth reading for the snappy dialogue and occasional bits of brilliance, even if the execution fell flat at multiple points of the story. I will check out the next volume of the series, but this one isn't exactly inspiring me to put it at the top of my TBR list.
October 26, 2016
Pretty Deadly reinvents the spaghetti western as feminist, artsy, often experimental, surreal, metaphorically charged sub-genre that is a far cry from your typical contemporary superhero story. It’s a unique reading experience: unnecessarily difficult in places (though it did not feel pretentious to me), but also rewarding in poetic and subversive ways that are a rare treat in popular culture. Oh, and the collaboration between writer Kelly Sue DeConnick & artist Emma Rios is officially the most organic, congenial comic-book team-up this side of Brubaker/Phillips territory. Recommended to fans of the more challenging kind of revisionist genre fiction!
November 24, 2017
11/24/17 - ON SALE for $3.99:
http://amzn.to/2zjQSN0
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
There's a special kind of chaos that went into the creation of PRETTY DEADLY.
The installments begin from the POV of a bunny and a butterfly and are told with fable-like flair, but as the main characters are human, there's a significance to our animal narrators that isn't immediately understood. I say "understood" b/c there's a lot that is never explained, just implied.
Combine that with the maelstrom of images that bombard you as the violence escalates, and . . . like I said, chaos.
That's not to say I didn't like this collection of the first five PRETTY DEADLY episodes, I absolutely did. I maybe even loved it.
The story woven through each installment had the feel of a folktale, but it was one I'd never heard before: a man wed a beautiful woman, and overcome with fear of losing her to another, he built a tower to keep her in. She swore she'd die if he locked her away, and that's what she did . . . But not before Death fell in love with her too.
After that things get interesting.
And when the art wasn't making my eyes twitch (b/c overwhelming), it was beautiful . . . but sometimes also disturbing . . . Pretty . . . Deadly . . . I see what you did there . . .
Basically, it's a new fairy tale set in Wild West with gorgeous artwork, AND it's clever to boot. What's not to like? Highly recommended.
http://amzn.to/2zjQSN0
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
There's a special kind of chaos that went into the creation of PRETTY DEADLY.
The installments begin from the POV of a bunny and a butterfly and are told with fable-like flair, but as the main characters are human, there's a significance to our animal narrators that isn't immediately understood. I say "understood" b/c there's a lot that is never explained, just implied.
Combine that with the maelstrom of images that bombard you as the violence escalates, and . . . like I said, chaos.
That's not to say I didn't like this collection of the first five PRETTY DEADLY episodes, I absolutely did. I maybe even loved it.
The story woven through each installment had the feel of a folktale, but it was one I'd never heard before: a man wed a beautiful woman, and overcome with fear of losing her to another, he built a tower to keep her in. She swore she'd die if he locked her away, and that's what she did . . . But not before Death fell in love with her too.
After that things get interesting.
And when the art wasn't making my eyes twitch (b/c overwhelming), it was beautiful . . . but sometimes also disturbing . . . Pretty . . . Deadly . . . I see what you did there . . .
Basically, it's a new fairy tale set in Wild West with gorgeous artwork, AND it's clever to boot. What's not to like? Highly recommended.
October 14, 2015
Err… What the hell what that? Apart from a deadly pretentious, deadly uninteresting, deadly boring piece of utter confusion? I don't read many comics so I might have missed something here. Something that might have helped me understand why so many reviewers rave about Pretty Deadly. Some critics think it is "grand and majestic," others mention how "dark, alluring and original" it is. And you know what, I think that's the problem right there: this comic tries too hard. It tries too hard to be original. And cool. And grand. It almost feels as if DeConnick and Ríos are two immature students trying to impress their art school teachers: "Let's just throw everything we've got in there and show them how awesomely creative we are!"
DeConnick and Ríos definitely threw everything in there. The problem is, none of it makes any sense. The story is a paper thin, confusing mess. There are some interesting scenes here and there but no overall coherence. The characters are flat and under-developed. What their motivations are? No idea. What the point of all this is? No idea. Come to think of it, it almost feels like the script only exists so that Ríos can impress the readers with her omg-I'm-so-cool art.
Ah. The art. Problem #2: I didn't like it. At all. To be honest, I thought it was pretty ugly. There, I said it. Most reviewers seem to love Río's artwork. To me it was as confusing and tedious as the story. It kind of felt like there was too much of it somehow and it desperately lacked clarity. Some panels I just couldn't make sense of and most of the time I had no idea what the hell I was looking at. Sometimes I couldn't tell the characters apart. The close-up panels were particularly confusing and some of them were so crammed I had trouble figuring out what they were supposed to represent.
How can you enjoy a comic if you don't understand what you're looking at? The art ends up being a hindrance to the story. I did like Jordie Bellaire's color work but that alone wasn't enough to make this work for me. Would I have appreciated the artwork more, had I been more comics savvy? Maybe. But I'm not. And I didn't. So there you have it.
► Now what you should do is read Nenia's review for Pretty Deadly. It's Pretty Interesting. And Pretty Cool. So much so that it might even convince you to give this a try. Ha.
DeConnick and Ríos definitely threw everything in there. The problem is, none of it makes any sense. The story is a paper thin, confusing mess. There are some interesting scenes here and there but no overall coherence. The characters are flat and under-developed. What their motivations are? No idea. What the point of all this is? No idea. Come to think of it, it almost feels like the script only exists so that Ríos can impress the readers with her omg-I'm-so-cool art.
Ah. The art. Problem #2: I didn't like it. At all. To be honest, I thought it was pretty ugly. There, I said it. Most reviewers seem to love Río's artwork. To me it was as confusing and tedious as the story. It kind of felt like there was too much of it somehow and it desperately lacked clarity. Some panels I just couldn't make sense of and most of the time I had no idea what the hell I was looking at. Sometimes I couldn't tell the characters apart. The close-up panels were particularly confusing and some of them were so crammed I had trouble figuring out what they were supposed to represent.
How can you enjoy a comic if you don't understand what you're looking at? The art ends up being a hindrance to the story. I did like Jordie Bellaire's color work but that alone wasn't enough to make this work for me. Would I have appreciated the artwork more, had I been more comics savvy? Maybe. But I'm not. And I didn't. So there you have it.
► Now what you should do is read Nenia's review for Pretty Deadly. It's Pretty Interesting. And Pretty Cool. So much so that it might even convince you to give this a try. Ha.
September 5, 2018
I went back and reread this after so many others raved about it, but I still found this an incoherent mess of story and art. A lot of people love Emma Rios's art in this, but I found the action scenes to be a blurry jumble of images. I hate the trend of these small panels in action scenes. You can't tell what's going on in any of them. I think it's a crutch for artists who can't portray art in larger scenes more than anything innovative. As far as the story goes, it's the classic Death falls in love in the old West. The twist here is that Kelly Sue was wearing a pretentious beret while writing this. Honestly, go read East of West for a better version of the same story without the pretentiousness.
June 18, 2015
There is A LOT of weird stuff going on in Pretty Deadly, Volume 1: The Shrike; from a skeleton bunny narration to a butterfly…..
Skel-a-bunny!!! (if you know me, you know I have an obsession with skele-creatures – Not like Kelly does but so few can rank with her, really – and one of my all time favourite artists is Chiara Bautista for this exact reason.)
(This isn't a Bautista piece, to be clear, it's just a google search that I liked)
Anyways, so this story is kind of all over the map really. There is beauty being trapped by humanity and then stolen by death itself going on; an innocent being sacrificed for a greater good story arc and a burnt out cowboy seeking distraction from busty prostitutes. It really has everything cowboy-story wise going for it.
I LOVED the characters of Alice & Jinny so much.
I mean, how could I not?!
My biggest complaint about this would be the art, and it’s not BAD don’t get me wrong, I just didn’t love it. It’s a bit too busy and too sparse, in turns, for my liking. I found it both inconsistent (the female characters are MUCH more detailed then the male ones) and quite frankly ugly at times. Maybe it’s too soon for me to have a preferred style, who knows, all I know is that whatever this is isn’t mine.
Skel-a-bunny!!! (if you know me, you know I have an obsession with skele-creatures – Not like Kelly does but so few can rank with her, really – and one of my all time favourite artists is Chiara Bautista for this exact reason.)
(This isn't a Bautista piece, to be clear, it's just a google search that I liked)
Anyways, so this story is kind of all over the map really. There is beauty being trapped by humanity and then stolen by death itself going on; an innocent being sacrificed for a greater good story arc and a burnt out cowboy seeking distraction from busty prostitutes. It really has everything cowboy-story wise going for it.
I LOVED the characters of Alice & Jinny so much.
I mean, how could I not?!
My biggest complaint about this would be the art, and it’s not BAD don’t get me wrong, I just didn’t love it. It’s a bit too busy and too sparse, in turns, for my liking. I found it both inconsistent (the female characters are MUCH more detailed then the male ones) and quite frankly ugly at times. Maybe it’s too soon for me to have a preferred style, who knows, all I know is that whatever this is isn’t mine.
October 4, 2014
OK, seriously...what the fuck was that?
"So Ms. DeConnick, what exactly were you hoping to accomplish here? Did you have a plot or plan for this to make more sense? Was there a reason for things?"
"I see. Butterfly and a dead bunny? Care to elaborate on the symbolism you've used here for our narrator(s)?"
"So...that's a no then? MMMkay. Moving right along...can you explain to us the origins of Johnny Coyote and how he fits in with Big Alice, Ginny, Sissy, and Death?"
"OK. Sorry...guess it's a secret. Do you plan to continue the series in the same manner with no character development, but lots of intense fight scenes?"
"Ah. Indeed. So pretty much you're just wingin' it and letting Rios' art carry your random musings?"
"Swell. It's been a pleasure. All the best in your future endeavors."
Get this review and more at:
"So Ms. DeConnick, what exactly were you hoping to accomplish here? Did you have a plot or plan for this to make more sense? Was there a reason for things?"
"I see. Butterfly and a dead bunny? Care to elaborate on the symbolism you've used here for our narrator(s)?"
"So...that's a no then? MMMkay. Moving right along...can you explain to us the origins of Johnny Coyote and how he fits in with Big Alice, Ginny, Sissy, and Death?"
"OK. Sorry...guess it's a secret. Do you plan to continue the series in the same manner with no character development, but lots of intense fight scenes?"
"Ah. Indeed. So pretty much you're just wingin' it and letting Rios' art carry your random musings?"
"Swell. It's been a pleasure. All the best in your future endeavors."
Get this review and more at:
June 26, 2014
Second in my lineup of Keith Reads All The Image, I went for Pretty Deadly. The first time I read it I realized by the second chapter that I had absolutely no idea what was happening, and by the fourth chapter I decided I was just going to have to slog through it to get the beats down, and read it a second time.
It mostly made sense on the second read, but I'm still baffled by the book's existence in these perilous times. Perhaps the point is stronger right now because I just came off Matt Fraction's risque but ultimately streamlined Sex Criminals, but in our current media landscape I just can't believe a book as obtuse, impenetrable and whackadoo as this one is coming out of a company as big as Image. More experimental by far than most self-published fare I've seen, even with benefit of hindsight this book is pretty looperdoo.
Its internal mythology is both extremely sure of itself, and also less-than-minimally-interested in betraying itself to the reader in an eloquent way. There's people in animal forms and animal in people forms and people who say they're animals but it's probably just a metaphor. The majority of the plot is explained in a series of terrible limericks in the first three pages, before you actually know who any of the characters are or what the story is about in the first place. There's immortal grim reapers and mortal grim reapers and gardens that are also bisected guardians to the Underworld.
There's two narrators who are a butterfly and a bunny skeleton.
I mean What. The. Living. Fuck.
The art and design of the book is so totally gorgeous and fluid that even if none of that makes sense (it doesn't), you'll still be willing to read it twice to sort it out. And this is the first book I've read that really reminds me of the heady swagger of the first time I read The Sandman when I was sixteen.
This formidable praise isn't without a smidgen of concern, as much of Sandman seems kinda goofy to me now. But the important thing is that I have read (and you have read, probably) a thousand comics trying to achieve that level of all-encompassing world-building magic, and even if it comes at the cost of bad limericks, PD is 100% nailing it.
It's a wholly imperfect book, but a very real one. It might only be surviving on luck, incredible art, and pure verve, but I think I'm cool with that. It's a fantasy death western with more female characters than male ones! And it's put out by Image, who is in fact doing a lot of things interesting, and a lot of things right.
It's narrated by a butterfly and bunny skeleton. You do what you need to with that.
It mostly made sense on the second read, but I'm still baffled by the book's existence in these perilous times. Perhaps the point is stronger right now because I just came off Matt Fraction's risque but ultimately streamlined Sex Criminals, but in our current media landscape I just can't believe a book as obtuse, impenetrable and whackadoo as this one is coming out of a company as big as Image. More experimental by far than most self-published fare I've seen, even with benefit of hindsight this book is pretty looperdoo.
Its internal mythology is both extremely sure of itself, and also less-than-minimally-interested in betraying itself to the reader in an eloquent way. There's people in animal forms and animal in people forms and people who say they're animals but it's probably just a metaphor. The majority of the plot is explained in a series of terrible limericks in the first three pages, before you actually know who any of the characters are or what the story is about in the first place. There's immortal grim reapers and mortal grim reapers and gardens that are also bisected guardians to the Underworld.
There's two narrators who are a butterfly and a bunny skeleton.
I mean What. The. Living. Fuck.
The art and design of the book is so totally gorgeous and fluid that even if none of that makes sense (it doesn't), you'll still be willing to read it twice to sort it out. And this is the first book I've read that really reminds me of the heady swagger of the first time I read The Sandman when I was sixteen.
This formidable praise isn't without a smidgen of concern, as much of Sandman seems kinda goofy to me now. But the important thing is that I have read (and you have read, probably) a thousand comics trying to achieve that level of all-encompassing world-building magic, and even if it comes at the cost of bad limericks, PD is 100% nailing it.
It's a wholly imperfect book, but a very real one. It might only be surviving on luck, incredible art, and pure verve, but I think I'm cool with that. It's a fantasy death western with more female characters than male ones! And it's put out by Image, who is in fact doing a lot of things interesting, and a lot of things right.
It's narrated by a butterfly and bunny skeleton. You do what you need to with that.
August 2, 2014
Today, on a whim, I devoured this first volume of a female created black fantasy-western hybrid, I revelled in it's often incredible and evocative artwork and became engrossed in it's narrative despite being unsure of exactly what was happening until almost the final pages when things tied together in a remarkable and hugely impressive manner. The whole time I was thinking to myself how my friend who only loves Gaiman would be hugely impressed and that if Ennis could scale back the gross humour he just might have written something this brutal. It turns out that I wasn't the only person to draw the same comparisons, for once saying this book is X (Sandman) meets Y (Preacher) is not just a lazy marketing pull quote, it's entirely accurate, and yet missing out what makes this book stand on its own unique merits as a book to recommend to anyone interested in seeing what graphic novels can be when freed from the Marvel/DC superhero status quo. As Warren Ellis tells us, this is "grand and majestic storytelling" that utilises everything that makes the medium unique to full effect as words and pictures combine to create a powerful and thoroughly entertaining experience.
September 17, 2022
Pretty, but the story is a bit drab. DeConnick was going for a poetic, but it just feels pretentious to me. Apparently the weird narrative framing with the dead rabbit and butterfly was inspired by her daughter. It is a good match for the artwork, but it could have been so much better than it is. I feel I would have enjoyed this much more if the story was more straightforward and not intentionally obscure.
"Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her origin story is a tale of retribution as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage."
I kept reading the series, right up to the somewhat neglected third volume The Rat (which was published perhaps a few years too late to make a splash).
Emma Rios is a cool artist, but she's yet to draw a comic I connect with. I.D., Mirror The Nest, and this book are all comics I can appreciate from afar.
"Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her origin story is a tale of retribution as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage."
I kept reading the series, right up to the somewhat neglected third volume The Rat (which was published perhaps a few years too late to make a splash).
Emma Rios is a cool artist, but she's yet to draw a comic I connect with. I.D., Mirror The Nest, and this book are all comics I can appreciate from afar.
January 15, 2017
A bit hard to follow. The art was nice to look at though.
Reread: THE story was a bit easier to follow 2nd time around. I'm still not sure it's good. The art is still pretty.
Reread: THE story was a bit easier to follow 2nd time around. I'm still not sure it's good. The art is still pretty.
September 5, 2018
Death's heir is nearing the throne in the wild west. Carnage ensues.
A tad convoluted but beautiful all the same. This definitely feels like a prequel.
Story: 3
Art: 5
A tad convoluted but beautiful all the same. This definitely feels like a prequel.
Story: 3
Art: 5
February 6, 2016
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Pretty Deadly is a lyrical, fairytale type of story set in the Old West but firmly rooted in folklore and fables. Seemingly disparate threads slowly converge as the story unfolds, creating a mersmerizing story of love and loss. This is another great example of how graphic novels are a true artform - iillustrations furthering story, with each working together to create a unique and distinct tale.Story: A butterfly and a bunny have a story to tell about several girls/women; of particular, a child in a vulture suit who follows a blind man, telling stories at small towns for money. Enter a ginger-haired gunslinger with a talking crow, the daughter of death himself, and the story of love gone wrong and you have a grand adventure in life and beyond. As for the bunny and butterfly? The bunny is shot through the head in the first panel and continues the tale in bone form thereafter.
What we have is a solid story, very well thought out and then exquisitely executed in full color artwork. This isn't a spaghetti Western; rather, a fable that just happens to be set in the old West. What really surprised me were the successive layers with each chapter. What seemed inconsequential or trivial in the beginning soon begins to take on new dimension and definition. Odd nuances and mysterious characters slowly develop through words and images, each chapter pushing the reader to continue to solve the riddles of the beginning. This is definitely a book that rewards with each subsequent rereading - from a cat hiding under floorboards as a dog walks blithely by to the lyricism of the story within a story told by the old man Fox.
For once, in a Western and a comic, we have very strong female characters, many flawed but all facing their fate head on and with determination. For really, this series is the story of those women: mothers, daughters, lovers, and wives.
Pretty Deadly completes a very solid story arc, answering all the main questions to satisfaction, yet leaves the story open to continue in further issues.
Reviewed from an ARC.
September 10, 2020
Incredible artwork, but very confusing story.
September 10, 2014
This is a story about Death, a story told by the skeleton of a rabbit to a butterfly.
So yeah, it's kind of a weird book.
Going in, that weirdness appealed to me. The idea of a fantastical, western-themed fable is still interesting to me. And the book is at its best when DeConnick stays on that mythic level. The basic story, as I understand it, makes a sort of fairy tale sense. The bunny's narration pulls it together, for the most part. But there's serious clarity issues. Reading other reviews, I can see that some people have wildly different interpretations of some key events than I do, including people whose opinions I trust. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe they're wrong, it doesn't really matter. Either way, DeConnick obviously wasn't telling her story clearly. And I don't think she meant to be ambiguous.
Which is all aside from the book's detours into pure action movie territory. It's a little out of place, and does the main storyline no good. And there's an abundance of characters with unexplained, and maybe inexplicable motivations. Again, that clarity issue.
But the art is pretty amazing. It's beautiful and detailed and delicate in a way that I associate with fairy tales. Fitting for the story, I think. And just plain great to look at.
I have serious mixed feelings about this book. I appreciate what DeConnick was trying to do, but I don't think she successfully executed. And wow, that art is pretty. Is it worth reading? If your answer to the question, "Are you interested in reading a fable about Death told by the skeleton of a bunny to a butterfly?" is "Yes! Tell me more!" then definitely.
So yeah, it's kind of a weird book.
Going in, that weirdness appealed to me. The idea of a fantastical, western-themed fable is still interesting to me. And the book is at its best when DeConnick stays on that mythic level. The basic story, as I understand it, makes a sort of fairy tale sense. The bunny's narration pulls it together, for the most part. But there's serious clarity issues. Reading other reviews, I can see that some people have wildly different interpretations of some key events than I do, including people whose opinions I trust. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe they're wrong, it doesn't really matter. Either way, DeConnick obviously wasn't telling her story clearly. And I don't think she meant to be ambiguous.
Which is all aside from the book's detours into pure action movie territory. It's a little out of place, and does the main storyline no good. And there's an abundance of characters with unexplained, and maybe inexplicable motivations. Again, that clarity issue.
But the art is pretty amazing. It's beautiful and detailed and delicate in a way that I associate with fairy tales. Fitting for the story, I think. And just plain great to look at.
I have serious mixed feelings about this book. I appreciate what DeConnick was trying to do, but I don't think she successfully executed. And wow, that art is pretty. Is it worth reading? If your answer to the question, "Are you interested in reading a fable about Death told by the skeleton of a bunny to a butterfly?" is "Yes! Tell me more!" then definitely.
September 22, 2014
Bullet Review:
Very different from any other comic I've read. Probably most like Vaughan's Saga if anything. Cross-genre with vivid art but the story is more than slightly confusing. It took me quite some time to realize that the Bunny at the beginning DIES and becomes a skeleton. In fact, there are a LOT of panels I had to read and reread before I "got" it or gave up.
That said, the characters were cool (TONS of women), and I am interested enough to check out Volume 2.
UPDATED: On Second Thought, not sure why I am rating so high. Yes, it's better than Ghost, but not that much. It's confusing as hell, and just plain...huh? Not bad, may still continue, but not as fantastic as other Deconnick's works.
Very different from any other comic I've read. Probably most like Vaughan's Saga if anything. Cross-genre with vivid art but the story is more than slightly confusing. It took me quite some time to realize that the Bunny at the beginning DIES and becomes a skeleton. In fact, there are a LOT of panels I had to read and reread before I "got" it or gave up.
That said, the characters were cool (TONS of women), and I am interested enough to check out Volume 2.
UPDATED: On Second Thought, not sure why I am rating so high. Yes, it's better than Ghost, but not that much. It's confusing as hell, and just plain...huh? Not bad, may still continue, but not as fantastic as other Deconnick's works.
March 14, 2020
MINOR SPOILERS INCLUDED
When it comes to stories about the American Wild West whether factual for fictionalised, one of the most interesting traits about this period is how it can be interpreted by any media from the clean shaven cowboys from John Ford’s films, the ultraviolence of Sam Peckinpah, to the spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone. However, there are also the mashups with the Western genre being merged with another genre, whether it’s sci-fi i.e. Cowboys & Aliens and Westworld, or in the case of Pretty Deadly, present something mystical to the Wild West.
As apparently told by a skeleton bunny narrating to a butterfly, the story comprised about almost otherworldly characters colliding in a bloody journey of mysticism and vengeance. Amongst these characters is the skull-faced Ginny, the Reaper of Vengeance who is summoned by the saying lyrics of a song.
Following Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos’ Marvel comic Osborn, which was a violently fun examination of supervillains, Pretty Deadly seems like a perfect fit for the two creators who don’t depict the comic’s western setting as a romanticisation but a brutal period where men and women get to show their savage side. In fact, the first issue opens with a cute bunny getting its head shot off, which gives you an idea of how dark this book is going to be.
Clearly influenced by Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, DeConnick’s story draws on aspects from mythology and folklore, with characters deceiving each other through the art of storytelling, to even fantastical sequences such as a talking raven, which clearly taken from Matthew in Sandman. As you can tell from a lot of the description from this review, there is plenty of weirdness in Pretty Deadly and this will ultimately judge your main opinion on this volume as there are too many characters and many of their motivations are unclear, whilst a lot of the plot can be vague.
If there is one reason to get this book, it would be the art as both Emma Ríos and colourist Jordie Bellaire are at the top of their game. Given its 19th Century American setting, the West has never looked this murky or indeed beautiful as this before with the unique European colour palette that you don’t associate with the Western genre, whilst Ríos presents a manga sensibility to the characters.
As a combination of top class artwork mixed with somewhat muddled storytelling, this first volume of Pretty Deadly is a decent enough mashup of genres with a unique presentation that’ll be interesting to see where it goes in future instalments.
When it comes to stories about the American Wild West whether factual for fictionalised, one of the most interesting traits about this period is how it can be interpreted by any media from the clean shaven cowboys from John Ford’s films, the ultraviolence of Sam Peckinpah, to the spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone. However, there are also the mashups with the Western genre being merged with another genre, whether it’s sci-fi i.e. Cowboys & Aliens and Westworld, or in the case of Pretty Deadly, present something mystical to the Wild West.
As apparently told by a skeleton bunny narrating to a butterfly, the story comprised about almost otherworldly characters colliding in a bloody journey of mysticism and vengeance. Amongst these characters is the skull-faced Ginny, the Reaper of Vengeance who is summoned by the saying lyrics of a song.
Following Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos’ Marvel comic Osborn, which was a violently fun examination of supervillains, Pretty Deadly seems like a perfect fit for the two creators who don’t depict the comic’s western setting as a romanticisation but a brutal period where men and women get to show their savage side. In fact, the first issue opens with a cute bunny getting its head shot off, which gives you an idea of how dark this book is going to be.
Clearly influenced by Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, DeConnick’s story draws on aspects from mythology and folklore, with characters deceiving each other through the art of storytelling, to even fantastical sequences such as a talking raven, which clearly taken from Matthew in Sandman. As you can tell from a lot of the description from this review, there is plenty of weirdness in Pretty Deadly and this will ultimately judge your main opinion on this volume as there are too many characters and many of their motivations are unclear, whilst a lot of the plot can be vague.
If there is one reason to get this book, it would be the art as both Emma Ríos and colourist Jordie Bellaire are at the top of their game. Given its 19th Century American setting, the West has never looked this murky or indeed beautiful as this before with the unique European colour palette that you don’t associate with the Western genre, whilst Ríos presents a manga sensibility to the characters.
As a combination of top class artwork mixed with somewhat muddled storytelling, this first volume of Pretty Deadly is a decent enough mashup of genres with a unique presentation that’ll be interesting to see where it goes in future instalments.
October 28, 2014
I'm having a bit of a hard time with this book. I didn't find it as confusing as many other people seemed to, but I do feel that there wasn't much to grab hold of. It felt like set-up, something that might've been better as a flashback in an established comic, because you get the feeling that the important stuff is yet to come. And worse, you don't get much of a grasp on character -- it's like a myth in that sense, but there's also the Wild West vibe and other stuff going on that makes me feel like it should be more than something pretty and mythic. I mean, we know what Deathface Ginny is by the end of this, but we have no freaking idea who she is. Allegiances and relationships and characters are all unclear.
Visually, it's a stunning comic. I'm not a great fan of Emma Rios, usually; I really didn't like the work she did on Captain Marvel. This worked better for me, though, and there's some amazing pages here. They can be a bit crowded, though -- full of panels, and very little script and explanation.
Overall I think it's a cool idea and a cool team -- I am a fan of Kelly Sue, and Rios' style does look good here! -- but I think it needed to be tightened up, pruned, written differently. I don't know if I'll read more of Pretty Deadly; I think I might look for like-minded reviews and see what they're saying when there's another TPB out. Deathface Ginny could be really, really cool, but there's so little of substance here.
Visually, it's a stunning comic. I'm not a great fan of Emma Rios, usually; I really didn't like the work she did on Captain Marvel. This worked better for me, though, and there's some amazing pages here. They can be a bit crowded, though -- full of panels, and very little script and explanation.
Overall I think it's a cool idea and a cool team -- I am a fan of Kelly Sue, and Rios' style does look good here! -- but I think it needed to be tightened up, pruned, written differently. I don't know if I'll read more of Pretty Deadly; I think I might look for like-minded reviews and see what they're saying when there's another TPB out. Deathface Ginny could be really, really cool, but there's so little of substance here.
February 25, 2021
Auch im dritten Anlauf konnte ich mit PRETTY DEADLY nicht warm werden. Zeichnungen und Kolierung sind ansprechend, aber die Story wird mir zu kompliziert erzählt. Alles wirkt furchtbar anspielungsreich, bedeutungsvoll und voller Details, die nicht übersehen werden wollen. Leider habe ich bei vielen Panels das Gefühl gehabt, dass ich nicht verstehe, welche Information genau ich aus dem Bild ziehen soll, was insbesondere den Einstieg erschwert hat.
February 21, 2014
If you aren't picking up the issues of this as it comes, well I won't say you're wrong but I am a bit less likely to trust your taste in booze, films, and starships, your ability to quote Vonnegut or Winterson, and certainly wouldn't consider you an asset for West Wing trivia. At the very least you should mark this one down in the calendar to pick up when it comes out.
It's weird-good and good-weird chaparral animal bones haunting revenge western of the very first order.
It's weird-good and good-weird chaparral animal bones haunting revenge western of the very first order.
May 16, 2016
A marriage of Sandman and Preacher, not a good premise for someone who mildly liked the former and detested the latter. A bumbling narrative too predictably western noir to be interesting. I don't know which came first, this or East of West, but Jonathan Hickman's child of Death concept is much more interesting. Skip unless you're a glutton for westerns.
July 30, 2017
3,5/5
Un primer volumen interesante, pero a la vez algo confuso y en el que las cosas suceden para mi gusto a una velocidad de vértigo sin dejar tiempo a que los personajes y situaciones tomen verdadera forma.
Aún así.... bien. Crea una mitología propia prometedora.
A ver como sigue.
Un primer volumen interesante, pero a la vez algo confuso y en el que las cosas suceden para mi gusto a una velocidad de vértigo sin dejar tiempo a que los personajes y situaciones tomen verdadera forma.
Aún así.... bien. Crea una mitología propia prometedora.
A ver como sigue.
April 9, 2017
Başlarında sıkıldıysam da, sayfalar ilerledikçe kendimi hikayenin içine çekilmiş bir halde buldum. Çizimler gerçekten hoşuma gitti ve olay örgüsü, gittikçe daha açık bir hale geldiğinden kafam hiç karışmadı.
Ama sanki fazlasıyla "son"du? Devamında neler olabileceğine dair hiçbir fikrim yok. Eğer devamı olmasa, biri çıkıp da, "Bu kadardı," dese, hiç sorgulamazdım; oldukça oturaklı bir şekilde bittiğini düşünüyorum. (Yan karakterler açısından çok fazla sorum var ama.)
Karakterler farklı ve ilginçti. Coyote, Fox, Ginny, Sarah, Alice, Beauty, Sissy... Hepsinin hikayesini ayrı ayrı merak ettim. Ginny'ninkini biraz öğrendik, aynı şekilde Beauty'ninki hakkında da biraz fikrimiz var ama ben yine de Beauty'nin, Death'in yanındaki hayatını öğrenmek isterdim. Karakterler hakkındaki sorularımdan birazına gelirsek: Alice, kim mesela? Nereden çıktı da geldi? Coyote, nasıl kendini bu durumda buldu ve Molly kimdi?/neydi? Sissy bundan sonra ne yaptı?
Devamını gidip okuyacağım hemen. Bekletmenin lüzumu yok.
Ama sanki fazlasıyla "son"du? Devamında neler olabileceğine dair hiçbir fikrim yok. Eğer devamı olmasa, biri çıkıp da, "Bu kadardı," dese, hiç sorgulamazdım; oldukça oturaklı bir şekilde bittiğini düşünüyorum. (Yan karakterler açısından çok fazla sorum var ama.)
Karakterler farklı ve ilginçti. Coyote, Fox, Ginny, Sarah, Alice, Beauty, Sissy... Hepsinin hikayesini ayrı ayrı merak ettim. Ginny'ninkini biraz öğrendik, aynı şekilde Beauty'ninki hakkında da biraz fikrimiz var ama ben yine de Beauty'nin, Death'in yanındaki hayatını öğrenmek isterdim. Karakterler hakkındaki sorularımdan birazına gelirsek: Alice, kim mesela? Nereden çıktı da geldi? Coyote, nasıl kendini bu durumda buldu ve Molly kimdi?/neydi? Sissy bundan sonra ne yaptı?
Devamını gidip okuyacağım hemen. Bekletmenin lüzumu yok.
January 1, 2015
actual rating 3.5 stars
ARC provided by Image Comics through Netgalley
Attend the song of Deathface Ginny, and how she come to be
A wraith of rage for men who'd cage and harm what should be free
It all began when the Mason man took Beauty for his bride
He quick turned a fool and made her a jewel
In the crown of his glittering pride
He'd loved that gal since they were kids, a Beauty for more than her skin,
But he crushed that joy, when he made her a toy
To tease before covetous men
Overcome with the fear that he'd lose her, he built a prison of stone
She said, "I'll die from despair if you put me in there!"
...If only he'd listened, if only he'd known.
With no one else to talk to, Beauty prayed to the cold God that made her
"If I can't see the sky then let me die.
"And she begged for Death to come take her
He ought to have sent a reaper, but when he heard her sad song from above
He went himself for the girl
And the end of the world began when Death fell in love
He stayed too long in that tower, and his heart grew desperate and wild
'Til he gave what she asked and Death wept as she passed
For Beauty left Death with a child.
The sun set and the moon rose, one end and one beginning
He freed Beauty's soul
But he kept the child whole and Death named his baby girl Ginny
He raised her a reaper of vengeance, a hunter of men who have sinned
If you done been wronged, say her name, sing this song
Sound the bell's knell that calls her from hell...
Ginny rides for you on the wind, my child...
Death rides on the wind!
So begins Pretty Deadly, and it sums up the story of several of its characters.
I LOVED the concept, I LOVED the artwork, I LOVED the colours... but the narrative didn't quite rise to everything it promised.
For one thing, it was too disjointed. It needed to be disjointed for this tale to work and to give it that dreamy feel, but it meandered too much... I can't imagine how aggravating it must have been for those reading issue by issue, I was a little lost even with the whole first volume providing answers to my questions.
The concept is gorgeous, and the artwork and colours are absolutely amazing, look:
But, as I said, it didn't quite work for me. It took too many detours which, admittedly, were explained by the end, but made for a very frustrating reading experience until I got to those answers.
Mind you, the artwork alone makes this worth reading, but it still left me with the sense of something unfulfilled...
Still, that may just be me, so make sure to check it out!
August 25, 2017
A lot of mixed feelings from folks about this book, some love it and some hate it. I’m somewhere in between.
What’s it about?
This is a fantasy western about the daughter of Death… that’s most of what I gathered about the general storyline… oh and it’s in the old west to make it even cooler.
Pros:
One thing I have learned… KSD knows how to write fantastic action and find artists who draw action well. The action is the highlight of this book for me. I love bad-a** western action and this book has a lot of it and it’s really freaking good. (TIP: Goes great with metal)
The art is the one thing everyone seems to love and I understand why, the art is amazing!
It’s unpredictable.
There’s some really good dialogue in this one. I thought some of the lines were pretty good.
The main character is really bad-a** and interesting. She’s the daughter of Death FFS, of course she’s gonna be pretty bad-a**.
The narrative is well done for sure.
Cons:
The story is… not well written to be honest. The characters are part of the problem because except for the main character, all the side characters are really bland and not memorable so if they aren’t memorable I’m not exactly able to tell what happened to who. Another problem is it tries too hard to be artsy or something so that always bugs me because it gets to the point where the story gets a bit too confusing and I have a hard time following it because of the writer’s (and probably artist’s) need to be all ‘look at how fancy and artistic I am, ooh’ so I did not care for that.
I wasn’t a fan of the ending.
Overall:
This is the second book I’ve read by KSD, it’s definitely better than her Captain Marvel (which I’m not even bothered to continue reading to be honest) but gets the same 3 star rating. It’s kinda funny because Captain Marvel was just barely good enough to avoid 2 stars for me, this is just bad enough to avoid 4 stars because I actually thought about giving it 4 stars but one of the most important things about a comic is the story. While this book has a lot of fantastic things a bad or hard to follow story can really make or break a book so I know I recently said this about Justice League 3000 but now Pretty Deadly has taken the honor of being my favorite 3 star book. It could be great and maybe that improves in the future but as far as the first volume goes the artsy-ness shoots down something that really could have been amazing.
3/5
What’s it about?
This is a fantasy western about the daughter of Death… that’s most of what I gathered about the general storyline… oh and it’s in the old west to make it even cooler.
Pros:
One thing I have learned… KSD knows how to write fantastic action and find artists who draw action well. The action is the highlight of this book for me. I love bad-a** western action and this book has a lot of it and it’s really freaking good. (TIP: Goes great with metal)
The art is the one thing everyone seems to love and I understand why, the art is amazing!
It’s unpredictable.
There’s some really good dialogue in this one. I thought some of the lines were pretty good.
The main character is really bad-a** and interesting. She’s the daughter of Death FFS, of course she’s gonna be pretty bad-a**.
The narrative is well done for sure.
Cons:
The story is… not well written to be honest. The characters are part of the problem because except for the main character, all the side characters are really bland and not memorable so if they aren’t memorable I’m not exactly able to tell what happened to who. Another problem is it tries too hard to be artsy or something so that always bugs me because it gets to the point where the story gets a bit too confusing and I have a hard time following it because of the writer’s (and probably artist’s) need to be all ‘look at how fancy and artistic I am, ooh’ so I did not care for that.
I wasn’t a fan of the ending.
Overall:
This is the second book I’ve read by KSD, it’s definitely better than her Captain Marvel (which I’m not even bothered to continue reading to be honest) but gets the same 3 star rating. It’s kinda funny because Captain Marvel was just barely good enough to avoid 2 stars for me, this is just bad enough to avoid 4 stars because I actually thought about giving it 4 stars but one of the most important things about a comic is the story. While this book has a lot of fantastic things a bad or hard to follow story can really make or break a book so I know I recently said this about Justice League 3000 but now Pretty Deadly has taken the honor of being my favorite 3 star book. It could be great and maybe that improves in the future but as far as the first volume goes the artsy-ness shoots down something that really could have been amazing.
3/5
May 30, 2014
I'm so impressed with this collaboration from Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios. The artwork alone is enough to satisfy me; the drawing is gritty but sculptural with coloring that uses dusty earth tones, all matching perfectly with the Western grit that holds the story together.
I was immediately intrigued by the folkloric way in which DeConnick opens and narrates the story. Using a conversation between a butterfly and a bunny, we follow the story of how a young girl comes to take over a very interesting job.
The setting is Western, yes, but not controlled by men. On the contrary, DeConnick has packed her tale to the brim with strong, powerful female characters. While I am pleased with other recent depictions of women in comics (Saga, with a breast-feeding young mother on the cover!), I have still awaited the variety in body type that has eluded the comic world for so long. Alas, it is here! Rios draws the unique women of Pretty Deadly beautifully. Where she does render sultry, impeccable bodies, it is necessitated by classic, fabled tropes.
I am beyond thrilled to have found this series. A dark Western steeped in vivid, intricate folklore and magical realism, starring lots o' women. What more could I possibly want?!?!
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.
I was immediately intrigued by the folkloric way in which DeConnick opens and narrates the story. Using a conversation between a butterfly and a bunny, we follow the story of how a young girl comes to take over a very interesting job.
The setting is Western, yes, but not controlled by men. On the contrary, DeConnick has packed her tale to the brim with strong, powerful female characters. While I am pleased with other recent depictions of women in comics (Saga, with a breast-feeding young mother on the cover!), I have still awaited the variety in body type that has eluded the comic world for so long. Alas, it is here! Rios draws the unique women of Pretty Deadly beautifully. Where she does render sultry, impeccable bodies, it is necessitated by classic, fabled tropes.
I am beyond thrilled to have found this series. A dark Western steeped in vivid, intricate folklore and magical realism, starring lots o' women. What more could I possibly want?!?!
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,467 reviews