Greenhorns is one piece of Keenspot’s newest request. Do you know what people like about the Weird West? It’s not the supernatural stuff, it’s about adjusting to changes and coming to terms with the past.
Greenhorns: Double Checking The West
Taking place somewhere in the last quarter of the 19th century, three recently orphaned kids have to stay with their uncle. But their new home is going to take some getting used to. Through the oldest sibling Isadora, Mike Rosenzweig makes readers experience how frustrating this new life is going to be. Uncle Alva doesn’t make the best impressions, especially when it comes to scheduling like picking his niblings up. He also seems a bit crass with some of the local adults. But with a school headmistress who hates her job, that’s understandable. Although Alva does rub off on Isadora in a bad way with how suspicious she is of Alva’s friendly farmhand Claude.
So it’s a good thing that Alva is transparent about the family secret, even if nobody was ready for it. At least the reader feels a connection to every character’s reluctance to push forward. This along with the supernatural elements in the background both surprise and intrigue people. Having a payoff that answers the big questions satisfies the reader while also leaving them wanting more. There are plenty of things to latch onto including what drove Alva and the children’s father apart.
Appreciate The Little Breakthroughs
Áthila Fabbio tells the story by showing each major transition. Blank backgrounds usually play the biggest roles like when Alva rolls in on a wagon to meet his niblings. He stands up unevenly, his clothes are wrinkled, and he’s chewing on farmer’s gum (wheat straw) to reduce stress. The amount of browns on the page by Macarena Cortez give the kids an idea of what they’re in for, a seemingly dull place to live on a grind. Although Rosenzweig had to give better context through captions on how bad a first impression this is.
Personally my favorite part is a totally blank space featuring conjoined twins showing a crying face they drew. In the pages before this, their classmates are going on about how another kid went missing, the sheriff’s explanation for it, and the teacher shouting to keep everything in place. For twins who naturally can’t fit in and exposed to stresses, they have to work around how to express themselves without inciting the teacher’s wrath.
Greenhorns Ripen
Greenhorns is off to a good but not great start with how much potential it has. To be honest, we’re supposed to feel like we’re going through a transition. We’ve only just started this series and the visual storytelling alone makes it worth checking it out. With a little more time and releases, this series can feel like fine wine. So here’s the score: 8/10.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.