By Clyde Hall — Western horror is often approached with reservation in the wakes of such b-movie offerings as ‘Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter’ and ‘Billy the Kid vs. Dracula’, or the planned Ed Wood project, ‘The Ghoul Goes West’. But what if the themes of such late night movie fare were fused with a more subtle horrific approach, a supernatural sensibility of ‘High Plains Drifter’ or even ‘Bone Tomahawk’? Then you’d have something more akin to West of Sundown #1.  

The sound of a safety coffin bell in 1861, a device to prevent premature burial, brings together Irish immigrant and Civil War soldier Dooley O’Shaughnessy and vampire Constance Der Abend for a partnership spanning the next decade. Theirs is less a Dracula and Renfield pairing and more a talent scout and agent arrangement. Disillusioned by war, Dooley finds succor in locating robber barons or criminals the world would be better off without and aiming the force of unnatural fury that is the undead Constance at them. 

She must feed, after all, and while it seems she’d do whatever’s necessary to endure, she takes pleasure from stealing the lifeblood from those normally doing the same for their employees or victims. The pair become part of the 1870s New York City social scene, Constance enjoying high society and holding court with the powerbrokers of Tammany Hall, Dooley dutifully seeing to her needs. 

But then, hunters come, the kind who make predators like Constance their prey. As a result of their efforts, she and Dooley must travel west into the American frontier and find her original resting place, the site where she rose to her vampiric un-life. 

Writers Tim Seeley and Aaron Campbell weave the start of this journey well and avoid many of the tropes one would expect from a Western horror tale. Constance isn’t an unfeeling monster, at least not when given a choice, and revels in pleasant pursuits. She sings at the grand parties they attend, enjoys the gossip, basks in the attention she commands and in the elevation of her status. And while she isn’t troubled by the bloody cost of her longevity, neither does she revel in it unless the victim is morally worthy of an abbreviated lifespan. 

Dooley’s haunted by his wartime experiences, but he carries responsibility in the aftermath. Finding worthy victims for his matron provides a sense of balance for his own past regrets. He not only looks after Constance, but he also protects those around her. When they are confined on an ocean journey, he helps prevent a bloodletting at sea of the sort Dracula conducts on his way to England in plays and film. 

Seeley and Campbell’s framing of 19th century American society is realistic, with the setting so far less mood-inducing and more historically accurate. Characters may be preternatural, but they are surrounded by a very young, natural, and harsh United States during the Second Industrial Revolution. 

There are a few times when the narrative flow isn’t as straightforward as it could be. In particular a joined two-page progression with panel order required rethinks and re-reads. But these pass quickly, and the scripters leave some enticing questions regarding just how many monstrous beings their version of the Old West may be hosting.  

There’s a wealth of ballroom splendor in artist Jim Terry’s scenes of New York, as well as attention to architecture and the period. Later, his ocean scenes have the weight of sea spray, his Old West town the look of untreated lumber worked into the overall impression it’s temporary, unfinished, a ghost town in the making.

Terry leaves the monsters looking largely human, and the wicked humans appearing more monstrous when compared side-by-side. I appreciate the memories Dooley sees in his cups, the spirits of victims from the war watching him drown his misery in spirits of another sort. There are other scenes which, in a horror film adaptation, could be presented in gory grandeur. Yet, he keeps those toned down in issue #1, even when depicting horrible injuries or a famished vampire tucking into multiple necks. 

Triona Farrell’s colors add to the understated appearances. Even the crimsons blend into the pale scarlet of Western skies, and the dessert terrain is mostly neutrals. The ballroom trappings of earlier scenes are brighter, but still seem viewed through a softening haze of centuries. 

Emphasis in the first issue is on characters and the relationship of Dooley and Constance, and while there are some monstrous moments, these aren’t designed to shock deeply. It’s more putting groundwork into place, showing a ‘monster’ and a friend she considers like a son, both of whom would be mostly harmless unless tested. Except, that is, for making necessary refreshment out of people doing worse damage by preying on others. To paraphrase Ellen Ripley, we see our protagonists making their own association, their own small family together. They’re loyal to each other, and at least they aren’t trying to crush everyone beneath them for the sake of a larger profit margin.

Overall: What that leaves is a satisfying setup for seeing just how monstrous Constance and Dooley become when confronted by those hunting them. When their small, chosen family is threatened by different kinds of monsters, including the human sort pursuing their American Dream making an American Nightmare for others.   8/10

West of Sundown #1

West of Sundown #1
Writer: Tim Seeley and Aaron Campbell
Artist: Jim Terry
Colors: Triona Farrell
Letterer: Crank!
Publisher: Vault Comics
A beautiful vampire must flee monster slayers in New York City and reclaim the ancestral soil that restores her undead flesh. But the world has changed since she was reborn in the New Mexico desert, and now Constance der Abend and her loyal assistant Dooley must adapt to life in the rough frontier town of Sangre de Moro, where all sorts of monsters have settled.
A western tale of survival starring a cast of literary horrors from the diabolical minds of Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell, and Jim Terry.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Digital

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Clyde Hall (He/Him) lives in Southern Illinois. He’s an Elder Statesman of Geekery, an indie author, a comics fan/reviewer, and a contributing writer at Stormgate Press. He’s on twitter at: (@CJHall1984)