Harpy of the West #3 is a comic written by Rob Burton with art by Rio Burton and letters by Jim Campbell. This adventurous trio put into action a plan they hope will give this harpy rest. This is a supernatural story taking place in the Wild West with spoonfuls of both the creepy and eerie. Our leading ladies for this story are Sam, a rough no-nonsense bounty hunter and Kelly, a determined woman who loves Greek mythology. Rounding out the trio is Michael, Kelly’s partner who isn’t as excited as she is. The plot continues right where the last one last issue left off and we see our group in town. There are some choice interactions and questions raised that’ll expand on the mystery of the harpy. The action here is of the western variety with guns used but no blood or gore. The pace is steady as the story hits every beat and the tone is uneasy throughout. Moments can get intense wand they hit harder when contrasted with the calmer sections. The dialogue is true to the Wild West and there are no wordy pages, in fact there are more than a few one sentence or less pages. This issue has plenty of mystery paired with some unexpected excitement while also setting the scene for the next installment.
The art here is mostly in black-and-white with the occasional flash and splash or red. I’m not an expert in this subject but I’d say this has gothic influences. The scenery is a bit empty but that is because the area they are in has some wide open spaces with little in the way of greenery. The atmosphere is palpably unsettling and you can feel the chilliness. The story begins in a saloon but a good chunk of it takes place outdoors. The backgrounds on some panels tend to be fuzzy or faded colors but most of time there is part of the scene behind the characters. The expression level here is above-average as some of these characters have trouble hiding what they are feeling. The range here goes from sadness to anger with some terror and horror thrown in. The faces are drawn well with details down to the pupils so every look is easy to decipher. The action here isn’t bloody and involves guns but the scenes aren’t too long and there is no gore.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like supernatural tales starring a team of mostly women taking place in the Wild West with a general unsettling air and gothic vibes then this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Nudity.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“Nothing, just tired of your whining.”
Digital Link: https://rioburton.gumroad.com/l/Harpy3?layout=profile
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/harpy/harpy-of-the-west-issue-3/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24
Violent Pages: 2, for 8% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 2
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 1
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 1
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 2
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
