The current political climate in the United States has given many people pause and has driven our divisions deeper. More often than not, your political leanings have either gained you or lost you friends, often in the same breath. It makes you wonder if a simple difference as political allegiance can divide friends, what can divide families? This was the reality of the American Civil War, where families divided by geography were divided because of war.

Depending on who you talk to, the war was fought because of states rights, which is a common explanation especially for anyone who lives in the South. If you live up North or as the world saw it, the war was fought because the southern states disagreed with the Federal government over slavery. Needless to say, whichever you believe, one can connect dotted lines to what is going on right now to some of those same tensions that existed before. In the debut issue of Among The Willows, we’re taken to the Reconstructionist America where the country is still healing from the Civil War and where we find two childhood friends who protect a town from outsiders.

It’s 1886 and a small town in Southern Texas where a friendly card game turns damn deadly as a cheater is ousted by two men, Sam, and Adam, who the reader soon finds out, run the town. We’re taken to 25 years prior in Virginia where we meet a younger Sam as his father has his final heart to heart with son before going to war. Knowing this may be the final time he gets to and we find out how close the bond is between these two. Just as they emerge from the card game at the saloon, a troublemaker from out of town calls both men to the middle of the town square where he foolishly underestimates both men. By issue’s end, Sam and Adam eviscerate the man and his posse and one of our protagonists is happily reunited with someone he had not seen in a very long time.

Overall, a stunning debut issue that culminates in one of the best western comics ever written. It takes what we love about Westerns and what we love about action movies and puts it in a gorgeous gumbo. The story by Adam Meadors and Sam Romesburg is evenly paced, action-packed, and well characterized. The art by the creative team of Bruno Chiroleu and Renzo Podesta is more than breathtaking. Altogether, a story that feels both modern and of its time,  making this an instant classic.

Story: Adam Meadors and Sam Romesburg
Art: Bruno Chiroleu and Renzo Podesta
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy