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I gave the first volume of Coyotes a perfect 10/10. Obviously I loved it, but I was quite worried the series wouldn’t continue. Well, I was wrong. Coyotes is back, and it has brought its awesome southwestern folklore storytelling and breathtaking art back with it. Continuing on from the end of the first volume, where Red finds the abuelas of the southwest guarding one of the giant wolves that killed her sister, Coyotes #5 continues the stellar graphic storytelling that the first volume boasted.
The issue starts with one of the abuelas introduced in the end of the last arc traveling with Red to the north to find survivors of the coyote attacks and bring them back to their home city. Granny tells Red a story essentially detailing why the giant wolf was being guarded by the old women, and she says that there are others out there doing the same. This also adds an understanding to the series about why the men wearing the pelts have been attacking the women of the city. It’s all coming together, and I for one cannot wait to see what this tapestry that Lewis is weaving ends up becoming.
Later in the issue, Red and Granny arrive at a colony of women who, instead of killing the men who rape and murder their women, enslave them. It’s an interesting counter to the Victorias, who are more no-mercy kind of gals. In the colony, Red finds the man who killed her sister and is narrowly stopped from killing him herself. I loved the differences of ideology and how Lewis used them to show this dichotomy of killing not being the best revenge. This sequence was heartbreaking and beautiful in all the right ways, and really shows Lewis’ talent for important character beats without losing sight of plot progression.
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I mentioned in my review for the first volume that Yarsky has a stellar knack for creating symbolic visuals that tell stories on two fronts: one within what’s going on in the scene and another within what the folklore and character interactions are creating. The first scene where Grandma tells Red the story was so gorgeous that I wanted to look at every little detail very closely. Yarsky also has an extreme talent for visceral facial expressions which is better detailed by scenes later on in the issue. I’m becoming so impressed with Yarsky’s work on this series and am so excited to see where she can go from here, not only on Coyotes, but in the comics world in general.
Coyotes is fast becoming one of my favorite series Image is putting out right now. Filled with love for folklore, women, visuals, and respect for the reader, this comic is stunning from beginning to end. Yarksy and Lewis pour so much love and creative energy into every page of this comic. Frankly, if you’re not reading it, you’re missing out on too much pure awesome comic goodness, and I feel painfully sorry for you. If my gushing hasn’t convinced you to pick up this comic yet, then bask in that 10/10 score and add Coyotes to your pull RIGHT NOW!!
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