You know when you pick a book up thinking it’ll go one way and it goes the opposite way? That’s how I felt with this.

In the beginning, I thought it was imply going to be about a murder investigation. But it wasn’t.

This is about a whole string of murders, but it’s also about an underlying tale of hatred and more blood than we could possibly imagine.

The fact that not everything is answered and the characters, although somewhat simple, are interesting, only made it all the more enjoyable.

Rating: 4 stars

This graphic novel is about Stern, an Undertaker in Kansas. One day, he’s called to collect the body of a man who died in a brothel and, upon performing an autopsy, he discovers that the man was, in fact, murdered.
The characters of the story were quite interesting. The main character was quiet and mysterious which made him a very intriguing character.
The story was okay. It wasn’t mind-blowing but I still enjoyed it.

Very enjoyable old west murder mystery with very nice artwork.
Stern is the town undertaker and basically likes to keep to himself. Then one day a town drunk dies while visiting the local whorehouse. His wife, leader of the local temperance movement offers Stern $50 (two and a half month's pay) to cut out his stomach, liver and heart so she can display them, to show other drunks what alcohol does to a body.
It's during this illegal autopsy that Stern realizes the man was actually suffocated, and there's a murderer on the loose. An African-American prostitute who is addicted to Laudanum is blamed for the crime, but Stern doesn't buy it, and sets out to investigate... but bodies start to pile up and Stern doesn't know who to trust.
I think I will definitely be looking for others in this series. A good read.

I loved this story about a solitary undertaker who is asked to perform an autopsy and discovers all is not as it seems. This is an intriguing character I want to get to know better.

I liked the originality of this story. I liked that I was pulled in from the beginning which doesn't always happen for me with a graphic novel. The art work was just as captivating as the story and I felt that the two worked perfectly together. There was no fighting for dominance. I am intrigued to see what else these two are capable of together.

I like the overall premise of this story but some of it just fell flat. The drawing is nice and is what initially drew me in. I just wish the story could have been better done and that it had more interesting characters.

Stern was....
Not bad. But it didn't hold my attention quite as much as I had hoped. The artwork was lovely, the writing wasn't bad, the plot just wasn't for me.

The art style was the main aspect that drew me into this book initially and it kept my attention throughout but that is really all this book has to offer. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and the mystery element was lost with a reveal that didn’t really play to any of the previously given clues.

3.5 stars

I really like the premise of this comic. The main character is no John Wayne or Ricky Nelson - he's a quiet, reserved undertaker and extremely complex individual shrouded in mystery.

This comic reminds me very much of the anime Cowboy Bebop - not only because of the style, but because regret and being stuck in the past play such a big role in enriching the narrative.

I enjoyed the style immensely. It's unlike anything I've seen before. Simple rounded lens shots make the style quite unique.

I've yet to be blown away by this comic, but it has so much promise. I encourage the authors to keep going with this. I think something very special can come of it. I urge others to read this comic and give it a chance.

"The Undertaker, The Vagrant & The Assassin (Stern, #1)" by Frédéric Maffre with art by Julien Maffre is a Western story that had some interesting character twists during the course of the story.

The story begins with a bushwacker raid in Lawrence, Kansas in 1863 where we witness a small boy standing over the dead body of his mother. We then move to Morrison, Kansas and the present, 1882. Stern is an undertaker in a small town who wears black and reads literature. He goes to the local madam's house to retrieve a body. The widow asks Stern to do an autopsy to give her teetotaling crusade proof of the ravages of alcohol. What he finds instead sets off a series of investigations into this death.

There is a vagrant who moves in with Stern who is more than he seems. There are a few characters that seem to be stereotypes or caricatures, but end up having more depth than I expected.

This is well written and I liked the art. I liked the grim mood of the story and the main character. I would read more of this series if it were available.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Originally written in French, The Undertaker, The Vagrant & The Assassin takes on a small town with a murder problem. The sombre story unwraps itself through the eyes of a lonely undertaker. It is he who we follow through the heartbreak of war, loss and prejudice. He's an advocate for truth. Due to the time period, racism is present throughout the graphic novel and it would be wise going into this with that in mind.

Surprisingly, the main character suffers from the 'people are dying but I have it worse' syndrome'. Nothing bad ever truly happens to him. He's plagued with emotional guilt and languishes in it while others get murdered. For someone who's trying to figure out who the murderer is, the undertaker is always a little too slow and a little too eager to walk away. His true aim appears to be to absolve himself of guilt without truly having any empathy for those with whom he tries to find resolution with.

SPOILER/ Maffre manifests his character's guilt in the form of a child victim whom he wasn't able to help. In a cheap shot, the author makes the victim a one-time murderer of vengeance and the undertaker takes his way out in a heartbeat. He walks away without any guilt whatsoever. There is no mention that it is the undertaker's fault that the victim turned out the way he did. For a character who is supposed to be brooding and thoughtful, this damages the reliability of the writing. /SPOILER

The dour atmosphere is captured quite well with Maffre's art style. The scenes are full of sharp lines and dreary colours which heighten the depressing mood. However, Maffre does appear to struggle with drawing unique women as it can sometimes be difficult to tell them apart. He is able to draw men quite well. Overall, the art style will not be for everyone but it effectively gets the story across.

I'm quite new to graphic novels and this was quite an interesting one. It was a more or less simple murder mystery revolving around an unique main character. The Undertaker is a man people tend to overlook, a man people hardly register as a person who's more than the work he does. I liked how he reads books and has deep discussions about Shakespeare, poetry and more. The art was quite beautiful but the font used was a little hard to make out at times.

I really liked this one. Honestly, I've never been a fan of westerns but I do love mysteries and suspense. While this didn't feel like a suspense, there definitely was intrigue and some mystery. I loved the art style and thought it matched the story really well. Both are sort of quirky and I really enjoyed that. Obviously with it being a murder mystery, there is violence in here but, even though it's a graphic novel, the violence wasn't that graphic. If you're really quite squeamish it might bother you since he does dissect a body but it only shows organs and they are, afterall, illustrations and not super lifelike. Other than that, this is pretty clean. There's a scene inside of a brothel but it shows a dead body, not any sexual acts. There is also some drug and alcohol use but both are portrayed in a pretty negative light. Definitely this is for teens at the youngest and probably middle to older teens at that. Overall, I'll be following this series in the future and would definitely recommend it to those who aren't squeamish and want a good mystery.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was provided a free copy of this novel from NetGalley.com for an honest review.
This is a great graphic novel, albeit slow paced. It isn't plodding or lazy but instead the text meanders from one frame to the next.  Much how I would think a cowboy of the old west would mosey. I don't know if that is a stylistic choice by the authors, or just how the authors write, but it is effective.

I think there is a great need for graphic novels set in the old west. It was an interesting era and it is rife with historical misinterpretation. Really, the past is interesting and exciting enough without having to dress it up in silver spurs and the OK coral. The authors really did justice to the time frame. Plus the lead character is likable without being annoying, and flawed enough to seem realistic. All and all a great read and I am looking forward to reading more from this author duo.

An Interesting, Well-Written, Character Driven Story

When it comes to graphic novels sometimes you forget that it's not all about superheroes, aliens, monsters, and the occult. Here, we get a Western murder tale with a mysterious central character, a twisty plot, and loads of atmosphere, mostly of the dust and grit sort.

The drawing is understated, with detailed pen and ink and lots of soft washes. Backgrounds have gotten a lot of attention so the scenes seem to be bigger and grander than you might expect for a "small" and character and detail driven story. The effect is cinematic and the book feels almost like a shot by shot storyboard for a film treatment. That was fine by me because the tale has that kind of focus, pacing, and careful development.

Our hero, Stern, is the town undertaker, and a loner and outsider by choice. When he is pressed into service to perform an autopsy he learns that the death of an aged alcoholic was not death from natural causes but murder. Well, what's such an outsider/loner to do but dig into and uncover all of his town's nasty little secrets. And it turns out that there are plenty of suspects, motives, and angles to go around.

I like a Western that feels legit. This is dry, dusty Kansas in 1880, not some Rhinestone Cowboy fantasy of rootin' tootin' and shootin'. Our solitary noir detective with a shovel and no snappy patter is ironic and weary and stubborn and dogged, in a good old-school way. Plenty of interesting characters with surprising sides to their personalities keep the plot wheels spinning.

So, this has all the ingredients for a good tale, it is well served by its graphic treatment, and it was an enjoyable read. A nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

A fantastic adult graphic novel. Not a huge fan of Westerns, but this one is an exception.

An interesting comic about the wild west. There were a few golden moments in it but I found a majority of the graphic novel was just okay. At times the font used was difficult to read on the screen but on the whole the presentation of the comic was good.

I suppose this book is somewhere north of the average three stars - certainly it is when judged on the artwork - but I was a little disappointed that it boiled down to the American Civil War. Other than that it was a fairly intriguing cycle of death and revenge.

A well written graphic novel, with great artwork and an excellent story set in the wild west.

Stern is the town undertaker. He has no friends, family or associates and exists on the margins of life in his town. He maintains the grave yard, holds funerals and reads his books. His life takes an interesting turn when he is asked to perform an autopsy on a man who dropped dead in the local brothel. Stern does the autopsy only to find out that the deceased man was actually murdered.

When a young girl from the local brothel is arrested, Stern decides to get to the truth but the town is one of dark secrets, dark history, historical resentment and ingrained injustice.

As Stern seeks the truth his actions draw him into the centre of town life, but they also mean that he may stay on the margins for good.

This is a gritty and engrossing graphic novel set in the wild west. The civil war had been fought and some families still feel repercussion. The town has a history of death and darkness but is Stern able to wade through it and solve the crime?

Copy provided by publishers via Netgalley in exhange for an unbiased review.

Set in 1882 in the little town of Morrison, Kansas, Elijah Stern is the town's undertaker who enjoys a solitary life. One day, this well-read man who also dabbles in forensic pathology was asked to perform an autopsy on Charles Bening. His findings led him to believe that Charles did not die from natural causes but was murdered instead. Another body showed up a few days later and again evidence pointed to a murder. Not only that these murders may be connected, they may also share a connection with Stern's past.

A good plot albeit slow-paced. But the good story build-up is worthy of your patience! There was definitely a mystery element in the story but not too much. Generally clean language used and I appreciate that. Characters are developed quite well and there is connection with Stern's character. The illustrations are actually quite good where the right colors and characters' expressions definitely set the mood for this story and complement the smooth flow of the story.

Overall, this is quite an enjoyable read. I am not a Western story fan but I would definitely read the next volume as the plot was intriguing for this first volume.