Above Snakes

by Sean Lewis, Hayden Sherman (Artist)

A supernatural western about DIRT, a man out to avenge his wife's death, with nothing but a blood thirsty vulture to guide his way. What happens when the story of Dirt's pain gets stolen by others and the world he thinks he understands is turned upside down? Featuring the incredible work of the team behind THUMBS and THE FEW.

Collects ABOVE SNAKES #1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Weird West, Fiction, Westerns

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up on recommendation from a guy I was talking to at a local comic shop and I’m very glad that I did. This story really brings the WILD in Wild West and tells the classic revenge story of a man searching for vengeance after his wife is murdered. This is stylized uniquely and the story is told in a self-aware and almost satirizing way that works very well. Enjoyable read for sure!

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dirt is your conventional revenge seeking gunslinger - he's out to hunt down members of the Above Snakes gang who are responsible for his wife's murder. He's accompanied by a spirit bird who eggs on his desire for vengeance. It's a pretty simple and predictable story overall, but I really think the main selling point is Hayden Sherman's frenetic and lush artwork. The comic oozes with style from Sherman's loose linework and is flush with vibrant colors. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's lettering deserves a lot of credit too - he's really on top of his game of late. While the ending does feel a bit predictable, I still think this is a comic worth seeking out due to the sheer artistic strength that went into it.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turns out the Above Snakes gang have left a lot of people seeking vengeance on them. One such is a man called Dirt, whose wife he's buried because of them and their evil ways. Lumbered with or justified by a yellow vulture talking to him from reality or just his conscience, he is on his way to right wrongs and put out the fire with more fire, in traditional Western manner. That's the shtick here – this knows it's a standard Western, but because it gets a bit meta, because it has some oddball character topping and tailing each chapter by talking to us, because it features a speaking vulture fer cryin' out loud, it thinks it's doing something extraordinary and new. It isn't, really – but it's more than serviceable all the same. Wanting to focus on the hardships, morals and primal urges behind revenge, it does still make for a readable, interesting effort, and one I took to more than some Western genre comics I could mention. But is it the best thing since sliced cold-served vengeance? Probably not. Three and a half stars, I think.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating for this book is more like 2.5 stars. When my book club selected this as the independent selection for the month, my initial shots were "I HATE SNAKES!" Well, talk about the biggest facepalm in the world! When I started reading it, there were zero snakes in the story, and the title referred to the gang in the story. This was a fun, cheeky story with grotesque humor and a Wild West theme. The supernatural vulture that followed the main character, Dirt, was a great sidekick and made the story entertaining. Overall, it was not my favorite and by book club terms, I am aiming towards a 6 or a 7 out of 10 scale.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Above Snakes, by Lewis Sherman
Made me laugh at times. An original supernatural western biography of a gunslinger’s personal revenge. Intense Warhol-type vibrant colours. ***
#1 – “Justice. I don’t know anyone who’s gotten it yet.”
#2 – “If you ain’t got Aces, that fancy hat is mine.”
#3 – “Wanting that blood. He [vulture spirit bird] drinks it. But I need to spill it.”
#4 – “This is Snakes’ den right here. The whole cabal. Every last one I came for.”
#5 – “That’s how vengeance works. .. I don’t feel better.”

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revenge Western comic series which isn't bad but ...

This comic series revolves around a character called Dirt, looking for revenge against the Above Snakes Gang for the death of his wife. There are other violent encounters with a fistful of other characters. It's OK but nothing particularly special. The artwork is a bit clumsy and certainly too colourful. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

A terrible revenge Western about a man whose wife was murdered by the Above Snakes gang and now he plans on killing all of them. Along for the ride is some kind of spirit bird that he converses with. The story meandered and was really hard to follow. Sherman's artwork is terrible and his colors are worse. It looks like a child drew and colored this comic. Just all around terrible.

[Michael Kocinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art, colors, lettering, dialog all get five stars. Four stars for the whole story as I really wish one or two characters had been more fleshed out, and that more (not a ton more, a page or so) had been said about the war that took Dirt away from his wife in the first place. But I loved so many of the other storytelling devices and choices. Great genre story. Recommend.

[Mee Too · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly gave it four stars cause there was a little bit of hate in the reviews section. (And I’m like that)

I literally LoL’ed twice while reading this silly little gem. No it wasn’t marvel with muscle butts and big boobs. It was silly and crass with fairly weak and common morals about revenge, and I liked it😂

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

AS is a pretty good neo-western with beautiful artwork and a fun, bloody and dirty talk story. It is a simple story about the revenge of a once devoted loving husband, who is accompanied on his journey by a bloodthirsty vulture. I would recommend the comic especially to fans of blood, revenge, trash talk and colorful unconventional slightly rough artwork.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lettering is questionable at times, bubble is a odd choice for the tone. The first issue was alright but it feels way too rushed and never any danger for the main character, Dirt.

[Reagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not perfect, but many choices are unexpected and cool, plus the colors are gorgeous and the layouts are interesting

[Rorscharch71 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 Classic revenge story told in a original way
Art 4 Weird angles and coloring

Spécial mention to the letterer

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of revenge. It was not spectacular, but it was compelling. Maybe more of a 3.5. The artwork was a little weird, but that added to the atmosphere of the stories here. Can't sayI enjoyed this book, it wasn't that type of book, but it did draw me in.