Redemption #1: Get Off My Property

“Everyone knows the story about the twenty-five miners…

That’s where she got the nickname: The Butcher”

AWA Studios delivers a badass post-apocalyptic western in Redemption #1 with a creative team that isn’t holding anything back. Christa Faust’s script gives readers something that isn’t seen nearly often enough with an older queer woman gunslinger who is every bit as tough and ruthless as some of the most iconic cowboys in the genre. It’s sometimes said that westerns are inherently one of the most political genres around due to the prominence and even reliance on harmful notions like misogyny, but Redemption #1 shows the undying promise of what the genre can do by flipping those expectations on their head to establish a premise that pulls you in immediately.

Redemption doesn’t just rely on this clever approach to storytelling though, as Mike Deodato, Jr.’s always spectacular artwork elevates the first issue with a classic western aesthetic mixed with all the right Mad Max apocalypse influences. The visuals are moody and even sometimes grim, which does great things in setting the stage for a character like The Butcher to stand out as the badass that she truly is. Lee Loughridge helps to bring another edge with a color palette that strikes an engaging familiarity to spaghetti westerns while still maintaining the dark edge the story needs. Even Wands lettering adds to the world of Redemption helping to make every single page memorable.

The Butcher isn’t just a badass character bringing much needed representation to a genre that is primed for exactly this type of upheaval, she, as well as the rebellion unfolding in the town of Redemption, are a direct meta commentary on how much these types of stories have so often tried to dismiss women outside of the male gaze and reduce them as insignificant. The men of Redemption are facing a women-led rebellion and the rumors The Butcher might be just enough to turn the tide against their faith-based patriarchal oppression, setting the stage for a story that feels like it truly has something important to say. I hope we as readers are ready to listen because Redemption isn’t just the name of the town where women are rebelling in seek of vindication and honest freedom, it’s also a nod to what this type of story adds to the western genre as a whole.

It’s always exciting to read a comic that does more than entertain you for a few minutes. The ones that stick with you long after putting it down, provoking you to think about a certain angle differently than you would have before. The unflinching dedication to bringing not just a post-apocalyptic western story featuring an older queer woman character as the lead, but taking on our own expectations of what these characters can do and even our misconceptions on what the genre brings to the table makes Redemption #1 not just a good comic, but a great one.

Redemption #1 has all the outstanding landscape, action and character drama artwork you could want while balancing insightful commentary with highly enjoyable pacing to make for a first issue that will have you going back to add the series on your pull list. It’s got everything you could want in a first issue and shows promise of only getting better.

Go buy this comic, today.