Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art by: Brian Hurtt and Bill Crabtree
Publisher: Oni Press
The Sixth Gun—and all of its branching stories—has been one of the most intriguing comic series released in the past few years. The Old West style combined with supernatural elements and pure weirdness has differentiated The Sixth Gun from other comic series and become the best example of this newer genre. Book Eight of The Sixth Gun is an action-packed story that resolves a lot of issues before narrowing its focus to one key plot.
Hell or High Water, aka Book Eight, is the culmination of so many storylines in The Sixth Gun universe, but don’t be overwhelmed. The myriad storylines all come together in a smooth fashion in order to focus on a few key characters. Drake Sinclair and Becky Montcrief are on one side of the approaching war having previously held some of the Six Guns, but they are faced with the tall task of preventing the world’s destruction. Jesup Sutter, a Knight of Solomon, is Sinclair and Montcrief’s main antagonist. Sutter started out with good intentions in earlier stories, but a terrible tragedy caused him to completely change and become more evil. Sutter is the man in possession of all six guns, but he is trying to help the Grey Witch as she looks to destroy the world and create a new version in her image.
In order to defeat Griselda (the Grey Witch), Sinclair and Montcrief need to enlist the help of as many former friends as possible. Unfortunately for the heroic duo, the Knights of Solomon are on a revenge-fueled quest to destroy the Sword of Abraham and any other possible allies. The impending apocalypse seems like a strange time to begin a killing spree, but the King of Secrets (the Knights of Solomon’s leader) has his reasons. This drastic change of events leads to bloody run-ins and narrows the list of allies down to one “person”—the huntress Nidawi who happens to be possessed by Screaming Crow’s spirit.
Unlike many other issues, Hell or High Water is one of the more action-packed books in The Sixth Gun. Sinclair and Montcrief find their way to a small town in hopes of preventing horrible events, but they only arrive in time to start a gigantic battle. This battle includes snakes, humans, gigantic birds of thunder, and a lot of water. All of these elements make the battle extremely hectic, but very fun at the same time. Of course, this battle is a crucial part of the issue in that it shows how far the story’s heroes are willing to go to stop the impending apocalypse. Plus, this battle also explains why all of the villains are bipedal snakes that talk like normal humans. Look, there is nothing wrong with bipedal snakes, but it is nice to have an explanation.
Normally, a lot of action in a comic would take away from the dialogue, but the creative duo of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt find a helpful way to avoid this issue. Instead of having characters constantly yell at each other or spout random dialogue, Bunn and Hurtt add in narration boxes on each panel that are a more subtle explanation for events. This method is actually preferable during big action sequences because the narration can explain some of the other details instead of constantly focusing on who is shooting at something.
Hell or High Water may start slowly, but this book quickly grabs hold and doesn’t let go. It’s virtually impossible to stop reading this latest release in The Sixth Gun because the characters and story are just so interesting. More importantly, Hell or High Water also brings back some of The Sixth Gun’s better characters in an effort to bring some closure to certain stories. Honestly, it’s a little sad now that The Sixth Gun seems to be nearing completion, simply because the universe is so interesting. If Book Nine is indeed the end of this story, hopefully Bunn and Hurtt will find a way to continue their time in this interesting universe.
