BUZZARD & BONE #1, from Source Point Press on April 26th, 2022, follows a blood feud between two families of wizards in the Antebellum South.
The Details
- Written By: Nick Philpott
- Art By: Ryan Gutierrez
- Colors By: Ryan Gutierrez
- Letters By: LetterSquids
- Cover Art By: Ryan Gutierrez
- Cover Price: $1.99
- Release Date: April 26, 2022
Was It Good?
BUZZARD & BONE #1 takes the concept of the famous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys, tosses in a heavy dose of Harry Potter, a pinch of Romeo & Juliet, and shakes it all up for good measure. I like how this story starts and where it’s going so far.
Philpott lays out a story of a generational conflict between two families – the Thistledowns and the Bezoars. Each patriarch clearly has a bone to pick with the other. The bones are sometimes small, and others are deadly, but you can see how grudges and petty slights quickly escalate with each passing year. Philpott does a fine job setting a stage that feels like a powder keg ready to blow at any minute, and that raw tension is palpable.
The magical components of the story are elemental in nature. Beyond the typical spells and incantations, the families are able to use the wind and trees in powerful ways in battle. The magic isn’t whimsical so much as it’s practical and a bit scary. The magic here is typically used as a type of weapon or force, and it plays well into the borrowed concept of warring families who want to hurt each other when they get the chance.
The down point of the story is the volume of characters and the changes they go through in quick succession over the passage of several decades. It’s sometimes difficult to keep track of who’s who, especially when a forbidden romance crosses family lines and you have to keep track of who hates who and for what reason. The lineup of characters isn’t overwhelming, but a lot happens very quickly without the benefit of letting the relationships bake in.
Gutierrez’s art hits the head on the nail for this time period. The costumes and settings feel authentic to the period, and LetterSquids use of calligraphy and parchment for narration is a brilliant choice.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin in 1887 when a young man is burning down his family estate in this alt-history version of Earth. He starts with fire but quickly starts recounting how the feud between the two families, the Thistledowns and the Bezoars, began.
It begins with an argument over a pig purchase. Soon, the argument escalates into a wand-wielding magic duel where the head of each family survives but harbors a grudge towards the other that will last for generations. Later, a Thistledown son and a Bezoar daughter fall in love. The son is called away to war while the daughter waits at home, pregnant with his child. The Bezoar daughter waits patiently for her beloved to come home until she receives word he was struck down by magic. The killers are later revealed to be her own uncles who objected to their kin in consort with their family’s enemy.
We conclude the issue with a borderline birth, a grudging peace, and retribution.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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BUZZARD & BONE #1 is an imaginative and interesting first issue. The world feels expansive and lived-in, the character and setting designs look authentic for the period, and the drama keeps the pot of tension boiling all the way through. That said, several characters and their relationships are introduced and changed very quickly, so it was sometimes difficult to keep track.
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