Erica Slaughter walks out of the woods covered in blood
It’s not JUST because of the skill of the creators in navigating the minefield of prestige TV, it’s also got an excellent protagonist.
The first time we see Erica, she’s walking out of a forest with two bloody machetes, looking like a villain, but when she plops herself down next to her young pal, it’s clear that she’s not about to hack the poor girl to pieces.
A call interrupts Erica’s well-earned drink. She writes the name of a town on her arm, and has just enough time to shower before she sets off to soil her machetes again.
A few things from this four-page-long sequence.
She’s capable, but vulnerable
Erica barely has time to take a breath before she receives new orders and a new monster to kill. A new town to defend. She leaves the forest covered in blood, but is friendly and familiar with the little girl. I hate to use this word, but she is what executives call “likeable.”
She’s part of something bigger
Who is it who called her? They’re obviously familiar with the threat that Erica has just dealt with. They have infrastructure to detect threats and administrate killers of killers.
There’s more to her
In a short time, Tynion and Dell’Edera establish a terrific viewpoint character. With a few enigmatic lines of dialogue, we know that she has history with the monsters, and she seeks to save the kids of Archer’s Peak. Her design lends her this titanic contrast between her experience-ruined innocence.
All of this in just issue #1
I’m only a few issues ahead in my reading, but I can see a lot of mileage in the world. Don’t spoil me!
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