Many thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for allowing me to preview Cave Grace: Wild West Tales by Shawn Kuruneru. I was not familiar with Kuruneru’s work, but according to his biography and commentary at the end of this collection, he is a comic artist from Canada who independently published these stories, but Oni Press has now compiled them into one collection for distribution to a larger audience. I’m glad that they did because these were cool stories with creative and atmospheric artwork. When I initially saw that these were Wild West tales, I assumed that they were stories about gun fights and double crossing; while there are those elements to these stories, they also have a kind of supernatural or spectral feel to them. Furthermore, the simple color-scheme of browns, orange, black and white creates adds to the focus on the characters and their actions while also highlighting the desolate and lonely environment that these characters stalk through, both seeking fortune and escaping danger. The first story is “Cave Grave,” and it is a great story of deceit and trickery, but also with a clever twist. The dialogue is simple and not complicated, and I especially loved the scenery images that are interspersed between the different scenes. I think those images help to not only communicate the change of scenery, but also emphasize the kind of isolation and loneliness of these characters. I won’t get into the twist in the story, but it was unexpected, and yet it shifted not just the story, but also the genre conventions, moving the story more towards and supernatural story. It was great, but I felt that it ended somewhat suddenly and wished it went on longer. The second story is “Poor Moon,” and while it is more of a traditional western story about a bounty hunter, there’s also a kind of spectral element to the story where the characters are all hunted in some ways by their pasts. The story moves quickly, starting with the ending, and then allowing the main character, Held, to tell us how he ended up chasing Cassie the Killer for the large bounty on her head. Held is a veteran of the war, although his crescent moon tattoo indicates he fought for the East, as we later learn. He becomes lost after the war, but finds bounty hunting a way to make money so he can enjoy the pleasures of life. While out pursuing one bounty, he encounters another ruthless bounty hunter named Algar who eventually takes Held’s eye. Held recovers, but vows vengeance on Algar, and through his pursuit of Cassie, it leads Held to one more fateful encounter with Algar. The story is tense, and like “Cave Grave,” I loved the atmospheric art between scenes. Although there is great scenery art that captures the mood and tone of the story, there’s one scene where Held is recuperating from losing his eye that truly captures “the dark places of his mind.” These few panels really stuck out to me as I was reading. Both stories move quickly and are hard to put down once you start reading them. Furthermore, the art work helps to convey the emotions and tones of the stories. Don’t let the simple color-scheme fool you; it adds to the themes of loneliness and isolation, and helps to simplify the outlook on the characters’ intense focus on money, greed, or revenge. This is a great collection of stories, and it made me want to check out more of Shawn Kuruneru’s work. I hope that Oni Press decides to publish more of his work. Highly recommended!