I dug into another TV show tie-in with my expectations somewhere in the middle. This one is a little different since technically the upcoming Syfy TV show Wynonna Earp is based on a limited comic book series called Wynonna Earp, which was created in 1996. The three pages of cast and set photos assure me that this new book has more to do with the TV show Wynonna Earp, than the original comic Wynonna Earp. Hope you could follow all that.
Wynonna Earp (a descendant of Wyatt Earp) is a Special Agent of The Black Badge Division of the U.S. Marshalls. Her job is to hunt supernatural entities that are causing harm to the normal world. In this issue she is investigating cannibal creatures in the middle of Idaho with ties to her archenemy Mars Del Rey. The concept here isn’t original but the execution is decently done.
Wynonna is a tough as nails, no nonsense kind of heroine. She reminds me of Jessica Jones, leather jacket and all. I’m afraid that those comparisons are going to be more frequent as the series goes on. The dialogue is pretty fresh and clever when it comes out of Wynonna’s mouth. She spouts off a couple zingers here that had me laughing out loud. Other characters aren’t written with the same wit that Wynonna is and seem like your average supporting cast.
The artwork here serves the purpose of the story. It’s a fun, zombie hunting setting. Some of the details in the drawing lacked definition but that’s just me nitpicking. Splashes of colorful gore fill the pages during action scenes. I had fun seeing zombie heads explode in a really comical way.
I’m a big fan of supernatural detective stories but they’re all basically the same format. Wynonna Earp doesn’t stray from that format. It’s a monster of the week book which will probably translate into a monster of the week TV show. There seems to be a thin mythology here involving Wynonna’s past dark past and her unseen enemy Mars Del Rey. The book served the purpose that tie-in books are supposed to. I’m interested in the TV series. The book is good but the next issue won’t be at the top of my list. There are too many other books that do the same concept only better.
Score: 3/5
Wynonna Earp #1 Writer: Beau Smith Artist: Lora Innes Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/24/16 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital