3 Devils #1

3 Devils, Issue #1 is an Old West comic set in Utah.  A Gypsy family is set upon by the pale-faced man and his two soldiers.  They kill the father.  They kill the son.  They kill the mother... eventually.  They take everything possibly of value from the wagon except the daughter, who hides beneath the floorboards with the family's treasure box.  A black man, a former slave, comes across the massacre once the pale-faced man and his men are gone.  He takes care of the girl until more trouble comes, with supernatural consequences.

3 Devils got on my shopping list because I love Old West stories.  This IDW publication is on quality stock, I must say.  It's 32 pages, including the cover and no real "bonus" material at all.  It just feels like a heavy comic.  I hadn't heard of Bo Hampton, who writes, letters and illustrates this comic, or Jeremy Mohler, the colorist, but I'm always impressed by creators who can write and illustrate at a high level.  Even his letters are more than competent.  The coloring is just as detailed as the art.  In particular, I liked the purple curtain in the front of the wagon.

I noticed a couple of things about this comic I'd like to touch upon.  The Antonescu family is gypsy, but the last name is Romanian.  I spent a week or two in Romania.  In particular, I stayed in one Romanian town where I befriended a long-haired drug addict and his girlfriend.  He was the son of a famous TV star, to the point where he was on TV.  Romanian kids would point at him, like, "there he is!"  And then they'd point at me, like, "there's another one!"  They seemed like nice people, but one time, when I gave my leftover French fries to a couple of Gypsy kids, he chided me, saying, "we have a gypsy problem in Romania."  This was over 20 years ago, but we're seeing the same verbiage in regards to illegal immigration and Muslims.  "We have an illegal immigration problem in America," the Presidential candidate says, "we have a Muslim problem in America."  How either of these groups is a "problem" is beyond me.

I'll continue reading this title.  I like the old black man and the young Gypsy girl.  The supernatural nature of the comic I didn't see coming, but I'll take it.  The next issue promises zuvembies and bar-room brawls.  There is also a teaser of Taralyn dressed to the nines with a pair of throwing knives.  Cool.