Why The Few and Cursed Should Be on Everyone’s Radar
I stumbled upon Felipe Cagno’s Kickstarter for The Few and Cursed’s when they were raising funds for Part V. The incredible art in the in thumbnail caught my eye and wow, did these guys deliver. Fabiano Neves is the illustrator behind the gorgeous aesthetic, but major props need to be given to their team of colorists. Nope, not just them. I’ve decided everyone gets applause here.
It's described as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Old West.” I’m a huge fan of Buffy so I was sold. I bought up every issue I needed to catch up on, plus the TPB of The Few and Cursed: Chronicles for bonus short stories. What’s funny is I even backed their next two campaigns for Part VI and the spin-off Shadow Nation before I had a catch to read the original bundle I bought. Well, I finally did and if you couldn’t tell—I really loved it.
In a world where most of the world’s water disappears overnight in a mysterious apocalyptic event in 1840. What water remains has become currency. The world has become a wicked wasteland where it’s either kill or be killed. People turned to the occult to gain an edge over others, cursing themselves to survive, but at what cost? That’s where the Redhead comes in, she’s a Curse Chaser. There are all sorts of monsters, legends, demons, and more in these comics.
Part I gives the reader a glimpse into what Red, our protagonist, is capable of. Frankly, she’s a badass. I’m honestly glad I waited to read it until now just so I didn’t have to wait for the next issue. I poured over the details on every page. The decisions made in what to include each panel were very cinematic and well-executed.
For Part II and on, we’re pursuing The Crows of Mana’Olana with Red. As more of the world is revealed to us, I’m reminded more of Mad Max and Tombstone, but Buffy is an easy comparison with a solitary female warrior at the helm. This is just such a neat twist on the normally male-led Western stories. The accents are THICK in this universe, but it’s still pretty easy to keep track of what people are saying. I appreciate the commitment to the Western drawl.
An “oh shit” moment had me running upstairs for Part VI that I intended on reading the next day, but nope, needed to find out what happened. Those last two issues put my experience over the top. I loved the last page, it’s such an homage to the Western genre. I ate it up. Of course, I'm not sharing because you should experience yourself. ;)
The next morning I read The Few and Cursed: Chronicles. The short stories are very quick glimpses into other parts of the world that I’m sure will come full circle at some point in the story (Red does make an appearance in one, which I enjoyed). After being thoroughly impressed, I went and backed their current Kickstarter to get the TPB of all six parts in one to have a more shelf-friendly version to read again.
I love supporting indie writers and artists. Felipe and team do such a great job with these Kickstarters, there’s so much cool swag. From collectible coins, trading cards, “ashcan” editions of the comics, prints, stickers, the list goes on, you get what you pay for with a quality comic and lots of fan service. I highly encourage everyone to check out their Kickstarter, it was funded in two hours, and they have a bunch of stretch goals they’re unlocking. If you love horror, supernatural, Old West, shoot ‘em up, with a mysterious kickass female lead—this is the book for you!
Note: This is not a sponsored post. I just genuinely loved this comic and wanted to share the experience with more people. I cannot wait to read more of Red's curse chasing.
