At the height of the Dust Bowl, a small town in Oklahoma is dying, and the local sheriff does what he can to keep those still alive and civil. Your Major Spoilers review of Dust to Dust from Image Comics awaits!

DUST TO DUST #1

Writers: JG Jones and Phil Bram
Artist: JG Jones
Letterer: Jackie Marzan
Editor: Harper Jaten
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 25th, 2024

Previously in Dust to Dust: In the darkest days of the Great Depression, death stalks the Dust Bowl. As towering dust storms blast the parched Oklahoma panhandle, farmers try to flee the failing town of New Hope, but no one gets far.

JOBLESS MEN KEEP GOING

Dust to Dust #1 starts on a farm in New Hope, Oklahoma, as the family there packs up and prepares to head west to California.  The local sheriff stops by to send them on their way and to collect the keys to the place, but not before slipping the young boy a book to read on the trip.  Back in town, he meets a photographer from Chicago, Miss Grange, who’s come to document the effects of the dust bowl on the area.  They’re interrupted when a pair of jerks throw firecrackers at a World War One vet, sending him into a state. The sheriff fights off the two men and sends them running.  Later on, the sheriff meets a local landlord who isn’t happy with the state of things in the town and gives the sheriff a veiled threat.  The sheriff then heads out to a land auction that promises to stir up trouble.

AN ATMOSPHERIC SLOW START

Dust to Dust #1 seems to be more concerned about setting the tone and establishing a palatable sense of bleakness than it is about kicking the main plot into gear.  We get some introductions to characters I can only assume will matter more later on, but for the most part, each panel is designed to express just how much this time period sucked.  Thankfully, it accomplishes this exceptionally well.  Each line of dialog is brimming with that sort of rural eloquence that masks the true severity of a situation while also coming across like gallows poetry.  Sometimes, though, it gets laid on a bit thick, making it sound like someone trying to remember what Grapes of Wrath was all about but only remembering the densest parts of the prose. The interactions between characters mostly work, but there are a few moments where they border on caricatures, like the heroic, well-spoken sheriff, the plucky photographer who can take care of herself, the money-obsessed landlord thinking he can control the town, etc.  The solicitations of this issue make it clear that there is something more going on here in New Hope, but this issue doesn’t really have anything alluding to this other than some heavy-handed teasing language towards the end.

GORGEOUS OPPRESSION

The art in Dust to Dust #1 is nothing short of stunning.  The hand-painted lines on a blindingly white backdrop are majestic and steeped in Americana, conveying an unmistakable oppression from every angle.  The whole world comes off as being sun-bleached; the characters look like their skin has already become leather, and even the clouds look like they don’t have a single drop of water in them.  There are moments, though, when the issue lacks a sense of motion, where everything looks like a series of Dorthea Lange photos, which, while fitting to the setting, might not work for everyone in a comic book setting.

BOTTOM LINE:  PURE ATMOSPHERE, LIGHT ON PLOT

If you’re looking for something darker and sinister like the solicitations, say, you might have to wait on future issues because there isn’t much going on here.  What you will get, though, is a powerful piece of world-building and tone-setting.  The town of New Hope effortlessly seeps out bleakness, and the characters are like the idea of being downtrodden manifested.  It can get a bit wordy and over-the-top with its use of slang and period vernacular, but it’s definitely worth a read.  4.5 out of 5.

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Dust to Dust #1

93%

93%

Powerful

Dust to Dust #1 is an excellent example of how to set the tone for a piece of writing and establish the feel of a world. It just would’ve been nice if the story that’s going to take place in it showed up a bit more than it did here.

• Writing

  9
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  10
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