Review: Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike

Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike by Kelly Sue DeConnick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DeConnick and Rios's Pretty deadly is an Old West fairy tale about Death, as told by a dead rabbit to a butterfly (that, I think, isn't dead. Yet. Probably). A long time ago, or so the story goes, there was a man who loved a woman more than anyone in the world, but let his jealousy get the better of him. He locked her away from the eyes of other men, and she slowly died inside. When, at last, she could take no more, she sought the final sleep of death. But, alas, when Death came to her, he coveted her beauty as well, and he took her deep into his kingdom, never to see the light of day.



Eventually, she bore death's child. Death's child resented the man who loved her mother so much that he locked her away, and sought revenge on the man. Death, who knew her rage would be mighty, sought to use her as a pawn in an audacious scheme.

And so the story starts...

As you can see, there's a lot going on in Pretty Deadly. I haven't even touched on some of the subplots or minor characters, yet. For the most part, the plot focuses on death faced Ginny, the daughter of Death, and a young girl in a vulture cloak. DeConnick clearly has a love of fairy tales and myths, and I like the way that she's crafted a new mythology that feels true to the traditions that came before. The characters are larger than life and have an intensity to match the high stakes of the story. If anything, the story moves too fast in spots; this feels like it wants to be at least an issue or two longer. There are several characters who aren't given enough time to breathe, and there are a couple of plot points that are passed over without enough explanation. If you're like me, these points won't distract overly much during the initial read-through, but will nag a bit later.



I really like Rios' work, here. The color palate is perfect for the book, and she's created a visually compelling cast of characters. Her depiction of death is particularly well done, and the strange and surreal way that his lair is depicted fits the mythology of the story. There are a number of really cleverly done splash pages, too. I don't have a bad thing to say about the visuals, in fact. They're exactly right for this story; Rios has a good eye for the dramatic touches.



I hope that DeConnick is able to unpack future stories a little more and to tighten the plot up in future volumes, but for anyone who likes myths and Westerns, I wholeheartedly recommend taking a peak at this. This book does contain some graphic violence and has strong sexual themes and some brief nudity, so it's probably not a great selection for younger readers.



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