REVIEW: The Undertaker Volume One
The Undertaker Volume One
By Xavier Dorison and Ralph Meyer
112 pages/Abrams ComicArts/$25.99
While the Western has risen and fallen in favor here in America, it has continued to fascinate European creators, who have produced works set in an era they know only from history and movies. Among the more interesting offerings has been the Undertaker series from French-born Xavier Dorison and Ralph Meyer. They have been producing multiple story cycles since 2015, and last week their English-translated stories (by Tom Imber) finally reached us.
“The Gold Eater” cycle introduces us to Jonas Crow, who is, in 1868, an itinerant undertaker, arriving in Anoki City to collect the body of mining tycoon and grade-A asshole Joe Cusco. Rather than bequeath his wealth, he has decided to take it with him, swallowing gold nuggets. He has contracted with Crow to bring his corpse to the spot of his first gold strike and bury him there. His faithful assistant, Rose Prairie, is blackmailed into assisting him because if she doesn’t, some unknown innocent will be killed in three days’ time.
As they set out, they collect the Chinese governess Miss Lin, and the three are beset by Cusco’s former employees, led by McKullen, the town’s sheriff, who learn of the gold and want it. Add in American soldiers seeking Crow, wanted for murder and known as the Butcher of Skullhill, and we’re off to the races.
Meyer wanted to write a Western, and Meyer conceived of the Crow to subvert the traditional notion of the Western hero. Here, he’s closer to Jonah Hex than John Wayne, cynical and solitary, uncomfortable with sharing the hearse wagon with the women. He is accompanied by the injured vulture Jed, whom he speaks to more than the women.
Once we’re off, the action is fast-paced as Crow and company have to contend with a harsh environment and with men willing to risk everything to get the gold their families need. There’s desperation to spread around, along with violence.
Working within the tried-and-true Western conventions, the story also addresses universal themes of loyalty, responsibility, and, of course, greed. Justice and morality are examined in the actions the Undertaker takes to protect the women and fend off the men, as he tries to honor his obligation.
Meyer’s Franco-Belgian art is rich in period detail and paces the action sequences quite well. He colored the work with Caroline Delabie in subtle tones, subduing the harsh glare of the sun and desert.
Each cycle is in two parts, so we can hope this does well enough for the remainder of the series to come to the States.
