Shadow Roads Vol. 1

Shadow Roads

by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, A.C. Zamudio (Illustrator)

Collects the first arc, issues 1-5.

The world is thinnest at The Crossroads, a mythical plane that serves as a doorway throughout the universe. It is here that a band of adventurers throughout the Wild West gather, brought together by Gord Cantrell and Abigail Redmayne with a singular purpose: to fight back against the creatures that would endanger the sanctity of all creation.

SHADOW ROADS, a stand-alone story, is the set in the world that remains after the conclusion of Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, and Bill Crabtree's critically-acclaimed series, The Sixth Gun.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Horror, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Westerns

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 19, 2019

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Craig]

I was big fan of The Sixth Gun, so it's nice to have a new story set in that universe (or what was left of it) again. That said, this is a bit of a mishmash and the artwork by A. C. Zamudio doesn't quite live up to Brian Hurtt's clean, simple lines (though it does come close). Still, if there's more to come, I'll be there, pardner.

[Philip James Ahlschlager]

All the hype around the Kickstarter for The Sixth Gun reminded me I haven’t read the spin-off yet. While not drawn by Hurtt, still same vibe as the OG series.

[Paxton Holley]

Back into the world of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The 6th Gun. But it’s after the final issue of the series. Some characters from the mini series Days of the Dead are here; namely Abigail Redmayne. And she and some friends are fighting a supernatural monster called The Hunter who is feeding off magic users.

This had a lot of the look and feel of the main series. It was full of dark magic and monsters. Lots of fun.

[David]

Excellent sequel to The Sixth Gun!

[Sud666]

I tend to like most of Cullen Bunn's comics. "Shadow Roads" is set in the same world as the "Sixth Gun" series, of which this is an offshoot.

The world is thinnest at the Crossroads, a mystical place where one can cross through a doorway throughout the universe. Abigail Rednay and Kalfu, both protectors of this doorway, recruit a group to help them fight a great evil that seeks to destroy this world by using this gateway.

The story and the art are both good. Nothing amazing, it didn't blow my socks off, and is, IMHO, not to the caliber of his other works. Is it bad? By no means. Hence the three stars. It's good. But nothing amazing. Will I read the second volume? Possibly, but there is no burning rush.

[Niche]

Set in the same universe as The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1: Cold Dead Fingers, this follows a collection of unlikely strangers drawn together to face a mutual supernatural threat. It was a fun historical fiction supernatural adventure-horror story with enjoyable character interactions. The world-building felt kind of underdeveloped in that your kind of just plonked down into monsters threatening the world and hunting people with magic in them but not much in the way of mythology or lore established.

[Cory S]

4.5 for me. Great follow-up to The Sixth Gun, just as interesting and engaging. Like most comics by Cullen Bunn, the characters instantly stand out and have a voice and make you care about them, something I find to be fairly rare in comics, at least to this degree. I love the artwork. While a bit different from Hurtt's work on TSG it is similar enough that this still feels like the same world and it fits the story perfectly for me. It is vivid, gorgeous and communicates well what is going on.

My only concern is after reading 1-5 I have doubts that I will be satisfied with this ending after only 10 issues, but I hope I am wrong.

[Andy Hickman]

Shadow Roads, Cullen Bunn, volume 1
Engaging story. I haven’t read the original backstory volumes, but I picked this up and ran with it. ****
#1 - "The train tunnel we passed through was a Crossroads."
#2 - "What do you think? .. Maybe Grendel's mother? Which do you think we'll find down here?"
#3 - "You must tap into your feelings, Henry! Let your spirit guide you!"
#4 - "You're a damn fool. You see how he treats strangers on his DOORSTEP.. How you think he'll react when he finds US in his DEN?"
#5 - "They're only MORTAL, after all. But they're SPECIAL... not because of their talents or abilities.. but because when they looked the Hunter in the eyes.. they didn't blink."

[Marisa Carpico]

Didn’t even realize this existed until I saw this as part of the Kickstarter for the original series’ new hardcover set. Thank God the library had these so I could read them immediately.

Thrilled to hang out in this world again characters are well drawn even if there are a lot of them. Art is strong even if it’s not the look I fell in love with. Still, pretty close. Character design strong as always. Colors are GORGEOUS.

I’d say I doubt Bunn and Hurtt could wrap this up in 5 more, but what they do in just this first volume is masterful.

[Raven Black]

One screwy ride! Realism and science fiction mixed, bleeding together. Reminiscent of old school "dimension jumping" and modern. Ties story up, but the ribbon comes undone: there is a closed-but-open ending. Interested in reading THE SIXTH GUN prequel/companion series. Want to find future volumes of this series & if something happens after.

[Chad]

The successor to The Sixth Gun. Picking up the pieces after the end of that, a new group of supernaturalists go after a monster stealing and eating the power of any powerful being it can find, not just in the Old West but anywhere in the world. I prefer Brian Hurtt's art, but the Zamudio's aren't bad.

[Elizabeth]

A fast paced, scary weird west tale with a lovable cast and amazing art. A must read for comic book fans and fans of great story telling

[Sarospice]

I absolutely loved the entire run of The Sixth Gun and this was a great glimpse back into that world. A fun mix of western and monsters and time traveling....

[Sheldon Wiebe]

Well executed supernatural western. What's not to like?

[Al Capwned]

This is the best of the spin-off volumes (I haven't really read the second volume though).

[Sav Rose]

i like this series, i gotta get volume 2

[Robert]

The world-building is ok, but it feels...light compared to Bunn's other works.

[Nathaniel]

I’m quite bummed about not liking this. The art is beautiful and the story sounded really good. It lost me, though…it was just too all over the place.