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Pretty Deadly #1
Pretty Deadly #1
KELLY SUE DECONNICK (Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel) & EMMA RÍOS (Dr. Strange, Osborn) reunite to bring you an all-new ongoing series that marries the magical realism of Sandman with the western brutality of Preacher. Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her tale of retribution is as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage.
40 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
18 people are currently reading
3168 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Sue DeConnick
365 books2,231 followersKelly Sue DeConnick’s work spans stage, comics, film and television. Ms. DeConnick first came to prominence as a comics writer, where she is best known for reinventing the Carol Danvers as “Captain Marvel” at Marvel and for the Black Label standard-setting Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons at DC. Her independent comics Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly (both from Image Comics) have ranked as New York Times best-sellers and been honored with Eisner Awards, British Fantasy Awards and Hugo nominations.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
August 22, 2015
This lists as volume 1, but it doesn't feel like it. I'm fine with stories starting in medias res, but at some point the author has to sort things so I know what happened. DeConnick sort of does that here, in that I eventually figured out what was going on, but it still felt like a fragment of a larger story that I had missed the start of. How did Fox meet Sissy and why is Sissy's drawing important? What's the story with Johnny Coyote and Molly Raven? Why is this narrated by a skeleton of a bunny to a butterfly, who are in a totally different scene-set the entire time? The white-haired killer lady, what's her story? It felt overstuffed; there are excellent aspects but instead of being able to enjoy them they rushed past like landscape viewed from a train. A low 4 stars.
July 8, 2016
I have no idea what I just read. There was a Western type story, nudity, and brutality. It felt like I was reading the fifth issue in a series rather than the first.
December 18, 2015
Even when I was confused about what was happening in the story, the art (and colors which matched/charged the emotion and atmosphere) kept me going and drew me into Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios’s mystical world of the Old West (even if Abby wouldn’t give me any spoilers). I liked the dead bunny and butterfly storytellers which we return to as touchstones throughout the five sections. That gave it a nice fable-like quality I appreciated. I’m still not positive how I feel about the story going forward but I’m happy to have read this. I’m rating this 3.5 (and upping it to a 4 because of how well the art worked).
September 7, 2020
No idea. A weird Western. After 20 pages still absolutely no idea what is going on. Revenge? Absolutely no interest to continue. DNF.
October 31, 2013
An amazing, dreamlike, nightmarish, atmospheric fantasy/horror Western. This first issue doesn't so much build as gather up different strands of story in a single hand: you can tell they'll weave together, but not yet how. Images linger: a dead rabbit, a butterfly, a blood-streaked girl holding a gun; gorgeous pink and yellow skies; Death's daughter, with scars or stitches creasing her mouth. In a theatre made up of an open-air stage in the town square (probably they use it for hangings), tramps tell the story of Death's daughter with illustrated banners and Tarot cards. The entertainers are an old, blind white man and a young Indian girl in a vulture cloak; black homesteaders offer the man and the girl shelter; a white woman gunslinger hunts them down. Death's daughter rides through stories, coming when she's called to avenge your wrongs.
A single issue is hard to judge, but Pretty Deadly reminds me of Jeremy Love's Bayou, which rewrites American mythology and Alice in Wonderland to center on a black girl adventuring in the Jim Crow South and a fantastical and horrific underworld.
A single issue is hard to judge, but Pretty Deadly reminds me of Jeremy Love's Bayou, which rewrites American mythology and Alice in Wonderland to center on a black girl adventuring in the Jim Crow South and a fantastical and horrific underworld.
October 24, 2013
The Old West and magic – Kelly Sue DeConnick rustles up a Dark Tower-flavoured tale of humans, animals, and elementals in a sweeping, lyrical tale of desperate men, vulture girls, and a blind gunslinger called Fox. The first issue is very atmospheric and Emma Rios’ art is unbelievable, made all the more impressive by Jordie Bellaire’s colours. One hell of an intriguing comic to kick things off. Read the full review here!
July 29, 2016
Pretty Deadly: Vol 1 is my first adventure into the "Weird Western" genre. I'll be honest, I'd never heard of this before I stumbled upon this book. It's apparently the combination of Western elements with another genre. In this case, that genre would probably be described as Fantasy. Something new for this bookworm, and I was definitely looking forward to seeing how it panned out.
The story is told in a fable format, through two narrators who are not quite what you'd expect. A lone butterfly, and his dead bunny friend, lead us through the tale of "Deathface Ginny", the daughter of death. Apparently she's the bringer of redemption. If you've been wronged, sing her song, and justice will come swiftly. Beautiful, isn't it? Poetic, in a way. Just like the words that tell the story.
If that had been all this novel was about, if Ginny had been the focus, I would have happily lost myself inside the pages. The problem was, that this volume is overstuffed with much more than just Ginny's story. The story arcs are all over the place, and I found myself more than once pausing on a page with the only thought in my head being "What on EARTH is going on right now?". So many people are introduced so quickly, that there wasn't much for me to cling to. I was just lost.
In truth, the rating for this graphic novel mainly comes from the illustrations. Let me tell you, they are just too gorgeous for words. The illustrators definitely brought their A-game to this story. With sweeping plains, crimson red blood, and a beautifully rendered Underworld, the panels beg you to keep reading on. No matter how confused I was, I still wanted to see what happened next. To turn the page to find out what breathtaking panel would be presented to me next. Massive amounts of love to you, illustrators. You bring this story to life.
Sadly, the illustrations can't carry the whole book. So I can only grant Pretty Deadly: Vol 1 two stars. I don't see myself continuing on with this series. I am, however, glad I dove into the "Weird Western" genre. I'll have to seek my next fix elsewhere.
The story is told in a fable format, through two narrators who are not quite what you'd expect. A lone butterfly, and his dead bunny friend, lead us through the tale of "Deathface Ginny", the daughter of death. Apparently she's the bringer of redemption. If you've been wronged, sing her song, and justice will come swiftly. Beautiful, isn't it? Poetic, in a way. Just like the words that tell the story.
If that had been all this novel was about, if Ginny had been the focus, I would have happily lost myself inside the pages. The problem was, that this volume is overstuffed with much more than just Ginny's story. The story arcs are all over the place, and I found myself more than once pausing on a page with the only thought in my head being "What on EARTH is going on right now?". So many people are introduced so quickly, that there wasn't much for me to cling to. I was just lost.
In truth, the rating for this graphic novel mainly comes from the illustrations. Let me tell you, they are just too gorgeous for words. The illustrators definitely brought their A-game to this story. With sweeping plains, crimson red blood, and a beautifully rendered Underworld, the panels beg you to keep reading on. No matter how confused I was, I still wanted to see what happened next. To turn the page to find out what breathtaking panel would be presented to me next. Massive amounts of love to you, illustrators. You bring this story to life.
Sadly, the illustrations can't carry the whole book. So I can only grant Pretty Deadly: Vol 1 two stars. I don't see myself continuing on with this series. I am, however, glad I dove into the "Weird Western" genre. I'll have to seek my next fix elsewhere.
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October 20, 2014I liked this! Super atmospheric and GORGEOUSLY illustrated and colored.
October 22, 2022
The first of the Pretty Deadly comics, which I first read a couple of years back and have since bought for myself, because they're awesome. At this point the series is a weird western, which is not my preferred genre but which really works here: Deathface Ginny, the daughter of Death, can be summoned by singing a rhyming song which calls her forth in her role as the Reaper of Vengeance. Westerns are generally pretty good at vengeance, and the art reflects this: a mix of fantasy and reality that I find enormously appealing.
It honestly can take a while to sort out what's going on in these comics, as the storyline is fairly complex. The first real hint to that is that the whole is being narrated by a dead rabbit, after half its face has been shot off. The rabbit's talking to a butterfly, and I remember when I first picked this up wondering what the hell I'd stumbled across. The whole thing is just plain strange, but it's also original and weirdly - and I use that term deliberately - compelling.
It honestly can take a while to sort out what's going on in these comics, as the storyline is fairly complex. The first real hint to that is that the whole is being narrated by a dead rabbit, after half its face has been shot off. The rabbit's talking to a butterfly, and I remember when I first picked this up wondering what the hell I'd stumbled across. The whole thing is just plain strange, but it's also original and weirdly - and I use that term deliberately - compelling.
May 30, 2016
"For a moment I feared her like the bud about to blossom fears the sun"
Received at BEA Chicago!!!
A dead bunny and a butterfly tell the sordid tale of Ginny. She was in the hunt, but for what?
The end of the world began when death fell in love.
Confused on where this was going to take you. A female death bringer whos going to hell for theft. Think thats the least of her problems.
Still undecided on if I want to read any more of this, but then again it could leave to big answers that I'm not ready for.
Received at BEA Chicago!!!
A dead bunny and a butterfly tell the sordid tale of Ginny. She was in the hunt, but for what?
The end of the world began when death fell in love.
Confused on where this was going to take you. A female death bringer whos going to hell for theft. Think thats the least of her problems.
Still undecided on if I want to read any more of this, but then again it could leave to big answers that I'm not ready for.
November 2, 2016
Jag drogs först till denna grafic novel pga det snygga omslaget, men oj vad mycket mer detta var!
Denna våldsamma hämndhistoria utspelar sig i en karg westernmiljö med dödens dotter som huvudfigur, och osökt förs tankarna till fantastiska Sandman (Gaiman). En skön blandning av multikulturella kvinnliga karaktärer och vi hittar lite otippat kvinnor bakom såväl story som illustrationer - oerhört upplyftande! Ett lysnade bevis på att kvinnor är minst lika duktiga som män inom den annars väldigt mansdominerade genre som graphic novels utgör.
Lånat på Umeå Stadsbibliotek.
Denna våldsamma hämndhistoria utspelar sig i en karg westernmiljö med dödens dotter som huvudfigur, och osökt förs tankarna till fantastiska Sandman (Gaiman). En skön blandning av multikulturella kvinnliga karaktärer och vi hittar lite otippat kvinnor bakom såväl story som illustrationer - oerhört upplyftande! Ett lysnade bevis på att kvinnor är minst lika duktiga som män inom den annars väldigt mansdominerade genre som graphic novels utgör.
Lånat på Umeå Stadsbibliotek.
March 2, 2014
I found the first issue a bit confusing. It was like starting to read in the middle of a book and you got no clue to who all these characters are and what they are doing. But it all gets a lot better when you get to the next issue and the next, it's like a puzzle, first you have some pieces that fits together and slowly you are getting to see the image as more bits are fitting in.
October 29, 2021
I like the illustrations here and the color selection and image details are okay in my opinion.
The story, if you think about it, is quite dark and has a little touch of action-fantasy.
You can read it on Google Play Books for free (at that time I got it for free).
The story, if you think about it, is quite dark and has a little touch of action-fantasy.
You can read it on Google Play Books for free (at that time I got it for free).
December 23, 2024
As far as I am concerned death is a woman. That being said I loved the song. No idea what's going on but I am interested.
April 2, 2014
First thing I did after completing the first issue of Pretty Deadly is read reviews of others to see what they thought.
I often feel like I need to compare my own impression to others' just in order to place myself somewhere in the taste-section of comics and mangas. So where did that get me? I realize I'm not a fan of western, gunslinger stories. It's a matter of taste (de gustibus non est disputandum), not a matter of objective judgment.
So, I'm giving this a 3* not because I think it low quality but because it's not my thing.
However, I'd like to spend a moment to point out the impressive things about Pretty Deadly #1 and why you should give it a chance whether gunslinger is your thing or not:
Amazing art
please click for full size
Interesting characters
Vulture cloaked girl with mismatched eyes? Blind gunslinger named Fox? Vengeful Death's daughter? Yup, yup and yup!
Atmosphere, story
It's an interesting mix of western, dark magic and animal rituals (something like True Detective, if you've seen it). The first issue might be confusing if you're not going to read on immediately and leave it at this, because there's only hints of what the story is going to be.
Either way, it's quite promising. Imma read on.
I often feel like I need to compare my own impression to others' just in order to place myself somewhere in the taste-section of comics and mangas. So where did that get me? I realize I'm not a fan of western, gunslinger stories. It's a matter of taste (de gustibus non est disputandum), not a matter of objective judgment.
So, I'm giving this a 3* not because I think it low quality but because it's not my thing.
However, I'd like to spend a moment to point out the impressive things about Pretty Deadly #1 and why you should give it a chance whether gunslinger is your thing or not:
Amazing art
please click for full size
Interesting characters
Vulture cloaked girl with mismatched eyes? Blind gunslinger named Fox? Vengeful Death's daughter? Yup, yup and yup!
Atmosphere, story
It's an interesting mix of western, dark magic and animal rituals (something like True Detective, if you've seen it). The first issue might be confusing if you're not going to read on immediately and leave it at this, because there's only hints of what the story is going to be.
Either way, it's quite promising. Imma read on.
December 27, 2014
I feel like a lot of comics just rush right into introducing as many characters as possible as quickly as possible and that can get a little frustrating. Still, this story is cool if you're into spooky ladies seeking revenge and dead things telling stories. A spooky fantastical western where deaths time is almost up and he has a human daughter who likes to kill. I blew through the first five books and really want to continue it.
August 5, 2015
Een beetje een verwarrend eerste deel. Ik vond de personages en de mythologie op zich wel interessant, maar alles leek een beetje snel snel en rommelig. Ik miste een beetje een duidelijke rode draad. Langs de andere kant creëert dit eerste deel wel veel mogelijkheden qua verhaal en ontwikkeling. Dus nu ben ik aan het twijfelen of ik tijd en geld wil investeren in deel 2. De vragen des levens.
November 14, 2014
I get it that the book is Edgy and Clever. Very Now. Very Happening. All the bells and whistles and envelope pushing and Inclusive and Progressive.
It just doesn’t have a story to hang all that on.
All sizzle and no steak.
December 16, 2014
Gorgeous and confusing. Or maybe I'm just feverish. I saw Kelly Sue DeConnick a few years back and she said that she had this kicking around in the back of her head for a while but kept putting it of because she didn't think illustrators liked to draw horses.
March 28, 2015
I stumbled on this book at the library knowing nothing of it's story or art work. Both are superb. Mystical, supernatural horrific and beautiful... tell us more bunny and butterfly... tell me more. I can't wait to continue with this series.. instantly smitten!!!
June 11, 2015
Only read the first issue...
Looks intriguing. The first issue alludes to the origin story of death's daughter, told by two mysterious travelling companions--a girl who wears a vulture cloak and an older man who appears blind but isn't. The story features a classic Western setting.
Looks intriguing. The first issue alludes to the origin story of death's daughter, told by two mysterious travelling companions--a girl who wears a vulture cloak and an older man who appears blind but isn't. The story features a classic Western setting.
October 28, 2013
Un primer paso un poco confuso para mi, puestos a decirlo todo, pero que pinta muy bien para echarle un ojo a futuro a esta serie de western sobrenatural con dibujo de la gallega Emma Rios.
August 15, 2014
La muerte cabalga en el viento.
March 28, 2015
I get why people love this series, but it just wasn't my thing. I've never been into the Western genre even with a supernatural twist.
March 31, 2015
Magic West, Death as a parent - good stuff.
November 9, 2016
I loved the art and the story set up. This one was a huge surprise. I wasn't really sure I would like it and I just thought it was beautiful and a wonderful beginning to volume.
October 1, 2015
The artwork is gorgeous, and I found the mix of horror/fantasy and Old West setting engaging and different (probably because I don't usually read or watch Westerns all that often).
June 23, 2017
A história se perde um pouco no segundo volume, mas em compensação a arte com layouts do página fantásticos só melhora.
June 15, 2020
This was pretty fun. The framing device is pretty neat, and there is a nice feel to the setting and story telling.
October 28, 2018
It's weird and it's beautiful in long passages: I liked this one very much. DeConnick crafts a mythological structure of death's cyclical replacement and narrates the complex relationships among mortals, gods, and ascendants who are each attempting to help or hinder this cyclical process. Along the way she uses a folksy narrative frame suitably warped for her purposes: a skeletal rabbit and a gentle butterfly, each of which corresponds to a major character within the tale. With dusky greys and purples, the world of Pretty Deadly reveals its violence and its affections. I couldn't read the second volume fast enough!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews