Cave Grave: Wild West Tales
by Shawn Kuruneru
Many thanks to Oni
Press and NetGalley for allowing me to preview Cave Grace: Wild West Tales
by Shawn Kuruneru. I was not familiar with Kuruneru’s work, but according to
his biography and commentary at the end of this collection, he is a comic
artist from Canada who independently published these stories, but Oni Press has
now compiled them into one collection for distribution to a larger audience.
I’m glad that they did because these were cool stories with creative and
atmospheric artwork. When I initially saw that these were Wild West tales, I
assumed that they were stories about gun fights and double crossing; while
there are those elements to these stories, they also have a kind of
supernatural or spectral feel to them. Furthermore, the simple color-scheme of
browns, orange, black and white creates adds to the focus on the characters and
their actions while also highlighting the desolate and lonely environment that
these characters stalk through, both seeking fortune and escaping danger. The
first story is “Cave Grave,” and it is a great story of deceit and trickery,
but also with a clever twist. The dialogue is simple and not complicated, and I
especially loved the scenery images that are interspersed between the different
scenes. I think those images help to not only communicate the change of
scenery, but also emphasize the kind of isolation and loneliness of these
characters. I won’t get into the twist in the story, but it was unexpected, and
yet it shifted not just the story, but also the genre conventions, moving the
story more towards and supernatural story. It was great, but I felt that it
ended somewhat suddenly and wished it went on longer. The second story is “Poor
Moon,” and while it is more of a traditional western story about a bounty
hunter, there’s also a kind of spectral element to the story where the
characters are all hunted in some ways by their pasts. The story moves quickly,
starting with the ending, and then allowing the main character, Held, to tell
us how he ended up chasing Cassie the Killer for the large bounty on her head. Held
is a veteran of the war, although his crescent moon tattoo indicates he fought
for the East, as we later learn. He becomes lost after the war, but finds
bounty hunting a way to make money so he can enjoy the pleasures of life. While
out pursuing one bounty, he encounters another ruthless bounty hunter named
Algar who eventually takes Held’s eye. Held recovers, but vows vengeance on
Algar, and through his pursuit of Cassie, it leads Held to one more fateful
encounter with Algar. The story is tense, and like “Cave Grave,” I loved the
atmospheric art between scenes. Although there is great scenery art that
captures the mood and tone of the story, there’s one scene where Held is
recuperating from losing his eye that truly captures “the dark places of his
mind.” These few panels really stuck out to me as I was reading. Both stories
move quickly and are hard to put down once you start reading them. Furthermore,
the art work helps to convey the emotions and tones of the stories. Don’t let
the simple color-scheme fool you; it adds to the themes of loneliness and
isolation, and helps to simplify the outlook on the characters’ intense focus
on money, greed, or revenge. This is a great collection of stories, and it made
me want to check out more of Shawn Kuruneru’s work. I hope that Oni Press
decides to publish more of his work. Highly recommended!
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