Review by Frank Plowright
William Heron lives a solitary existence in the hills above a small American town in 19th century USA sometime after the Civil War. He’s surly with folk in the local town, but as seen in the opening chapter he has a past.
That opening chapter is a statement on Conor Fenner-Toora’s part. It’s sparse, keeping colour and dialogue minimal while the art prioritises graphic design, yet still manages to tell a simple story stylishly and efficiently. It was originally a standalone comic, but Fenner-Toora obviously enjoyed messing around with the Western mileu, and subsequently continued by jumping forward a number years, allowing for the introduction of a broad cast in a small town. They’re well drawn in both senses, conveying their personalities whether good, bad or plain eccentric, largely with motivations easily understood. The Sheriff seems to be hiding something, the killer in his cell is conniving, the local pregnant girl and her partner seemingly innocent and there’s a bunch of killers heading in their direction. Heron is the most complicated, though, haunted by his past. He’s delivered in small details. His seeing a ghost is obvious, but whittling away while talking with it isn’t until later highlighted.
Starting with the design being the most important aspect of storytelling for Fenner-Toora, the art gradually broadens into other areas such as classic Western compositions, but never loses the penchant for page design. The cast aren’t greatly fond of opening their eyes, but perhaps that’s a Clint Eastwood influence.
Heron’s much like Eastwood’s Western characters in many ways. He’s a man of relatively few words, and appearances to the contrary, extremely dangerous when need be. Fenner-Toora plays with that image, but twists it a little to fit a man who has a reckoning a long time in coming. The only real weakness is toward the end when Heron begins explaining himself at length. It’s unnecessary because we can guess at the parts of his background not revealed, and they add nothing to the whole. Someone else revealing a secret has greater meaning.
A few typos blight the lettering, in one case making it difficult to know what’s being said, but overall it’s great to see a creator enthusiastic about a genre that died before their birth. The Settler is a slow building treat for anyone who enjoys a Western, but not available through most online booksellers. Buy direct from Fenner-Toora here.
