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Canary #1

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When a horrific shooting disturbs the peace of a sleepy town in the Old West, Marshal Holt is called upon to investigate. But as Holt digs deeper, he discovers that evil may just run to the core, and it all seems to stem from a place called CANARY. From writer SCOTT SNYDER and artist DAN PANOSIAN come a western tale that's make your blood run cold...

Part of the Comixology Originals line of exclusive digital content only available on Comixology and Kindle. Read for free as part of your subscription to Comixology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime. Also available for purchase via Comixology, Kindle and in print via Dark Horse Books.

29 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 19, 2022

233 people are currently reading
159 people want to read

About the author

Scott Snyder

1,781 books5,134 followers
Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

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5 stars
251 (32%)
4 stars
332 (43%)
3 stars
153 (19%)
2 stars
22 (2%)
1 star
9 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
4,747 reviews71.3k followers
February 24, 2024
The wild west meets something sinister.

description

William Holt, a celebrity cowboy with dime store novels written about him, is sent in by the US Marshals to solve a string of bizarre murders.

description

He confronts the family of a creepy kid who slit a woman's throat because he was supposedly upset by her use of a lizard egg in a presentation about statehood. It makes no sense, so what's actually going on?
There is a veiled reference to something that happened to him when he tracked down the man who made him famous, and you see a bit of what happened but I'm holding out judgment for now.

description

An overall Mulder & Scully meet Walker Texas Ranger vibe - if you like that kind of thing.
I'm actually kinda interested.
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,805 reviews13.4k followers
August 1, 2022
A kid cutting his schoolteacher’s throat with a knife is just the latest in a string of bizarre incidents in and around 1890s Utah. A theory is floated that it’s due to the water coming from the old Canary Mine in the mountains and Marshal Azrael Holt is dispatched to join a geologist in investigating the alleged source. But the Marshal’s bloody past ain’t done with him jest yet…

Scott Snyder and Dan Panosian’s Canary #1 is… shockingly half decent. The Comixology Original label always makes me expect the worst. It’s not an amazing comic but it’s a solid western/horror blend that’s sometimes entertaining.

It’s rare to see Panosian drawing comics these days and he remains a very skilled cartoonist. I particularly liked his colouring choices, giving us orange and yellow skies - I get that it underlines the autumnal setting but it also lends the comic an otherworldly atmosphere that complements the supernatural aspects well. I didn’t think the Marshal’s mask design was very good though - it looks confusing more than anything (it’s meant to be a coffin, or an upside-down cross, or teeth, or…?).

I liked Holt’s ornery dialogue with all and sundry, and his don’t-give-no-fucks attitude is amusing. The Family Apple shootout is textbook western though and the “cop with one month to go before retirement” angle is such a cliche. Johnny Apple himself is an effectively creepy kid but the killer in the flashback was more boring than disturbing. Get this: he eats a fish, raw! Hmm.

Still, Canary #1 is a promising start and I’ll stick around to see how it all pans out - it’s worth a look if you’ve got a Prime or Comixology Unlimited subscription as it’s included. Two solid Scott Snyder/Comixology Originals in one year? Lord a’mercy, we certainly are living in the end times!
Profile Image for BookishDramas.
851 reviews30 followers
February 27, 2024
Dark and deep

The woods are lovely dark and deep and Snyder's story culls the sleep.
This is a dark outing with a blend of the western and horror.
Book starts the series and looks quite enticing.
Too short to form a solid judgement but enough wow to follow on in the series.

This creepy story has us deep in Utah where strange happenings bring Marshal into the mix to investigate the cases. The clues seemed to point to the Canary mines and the waters emerging out from it which were causing the problems in the community. The violence is brutal.
The story seems to take a leaf out of the American Vampire series by Scott and Stephen King which was also set in the wild west.

This explores a more obscure subject and the art is in sync with the story.
The series catches on fast.
Profile Image for Deepu Singh.
223 reviews11 followers
January 5, 2023
Amazon art
Dark story telling
Badass protagonist
Eerie settings
Wild wild west
And some good old comic style
Would recommend
Profile Image for Frédéric.
1,981 reviews86 followers
January 12, 2024
Could have been good. Improbable characters using improbable theatrical prose and a poor excuse of an ending killed it. And Panosian’s art didn’t impress me one bit though I kinda liked his weird colours.
Profile Image for Jeremy Whetzel.
155 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2022
Interesting Western

Monsters in the old West? Demonic possession? Evil incarnate? All possibilities from this first chapter n Scott Snyder's "Canary". Snyder's writing is, as always, too notch. A master storyteller. Love the artwork throughout the book too. Daniel is great at drawing the beauty of the West as well as the ugliness of what this story deals with. Definitely recommend checking out "Canary"!
Profile Image for Adrian.
1,451 reviews41 followers
January 2, 2023
"Of course. Sorry, it just... happened so fast. She was using them different eggs there to argue that the future of the territory is up to us. How it still can become anything, good, bad. There's a quail egg, a tortoise, a rattler. One is missing, I think, it might be a… right, right. She was midsentence when the boy, he just walked up, pulled out a straight razor, and cut her throat. Half the goddamned town was watching."

Once again Comixology have teamed up with Scott Snyder to produce a new original series. I couldn't resist giving it a go having enjoyed Clear (Comixology Originals) #1, Night of the Ghoul (comiXology Originals) #1 and We Have Demons (comiXology Originals) #1.

This time we go back to the old-west, around the time of the formation of the Union. When a horrific killing of a teacher occurs, the infamous Marshal Holt is called in to investigate the crime. When the clues point to a church going young boy the mystery deepens and Holt has to ride out to the family's ranch to confront the boy.

Right up my street, with a horror feel and a possible supernatural edge brewing, this gets 5 stars.
Profile Image for Calvin Daniels.
Author 12 books17 followers
January 11, 2024
Love westerns and add in some creepy mysticism and you have a great diversion :)
Profile Image for Natalie.
939 reviews219 followers
March 27, 2023
Old West. Mystery egg. Creepy kid. Badass Marshal (who sometimes wears a mask). Oh and last but certainly not least - Scott Snyder.

What's not to like?

I'm definitely intrigued enough to continue. Plus these are free with Amazon Prime.

3.5 Stars Rounded to 3
Profile Image for Craig Maxwell.
234 reviews13 followers
December 26, 2023
A solid start to this Western Horror series.

I particularly love the Graphic Artists colour choices, the red sky and the reflections are so gorgeous.

Excited to read more in this series, nice perk that it’s free on Amazon Prime Reading also.
Profile Image for Tyler Vale.
200 reviews
July 7, 2023
The story is decent and the art is great, but the writing is somewhat amateur and reeks of poor editing. There are strange mistakes such as parentheses used in speech bubbles, odd word orders in sentences, and overuse/misuse of commas. It's unclear whether or not the author is aware of the existence of the hyphen.

This series was recommended to me on reddit, which led me to read the first book for free via Prime. Honestly until I came here to write this review I was assuming that the author was an up-and-comer or self-publisher taking a crack at their first comic. I must say I'm a bit surprised to learn that this author is by no means a beginner and is in fact quite well-established.

Again, the story is solid but the writing quality is quite immersion-breaking for me so I will not be continuing the series. A good editor could solve all of the issues quite easily.
8 reviews
July 10, 2024
Unexpected horror masterpiece

I wasn't sure what this story was about, as I had never heard of it before. The covers are what attracted me (hats off to the excellent interior artwork as well. It almost tells the story without the need for words), but the story is what kept me turning the page. More cinematic than most actual cinema these days. Characters feel real, and fleshed out, without much exposition actually given. Shocking and horrific, and not overly predictable. Highly recommended for fans of westerns and horror stories. A great start, I'm looking forward to continuing this journey.
2 reviews
Read
February 28, 2023
Snyder does it again

Snyder does it yet again. This is a stunning first issue that pulls you along with a constant sense of intrigue that is permanently shifting from one point to the next. I don't think there's a genre that this man can't turn his hand to.

It goes without saying that the art here is jaw dropping. The use of colour and brush strokes has you feeling constantly on edge.
Profile Image for Dr Archit.
55 reviews
April 7, 2023
Curious Build up

This comixology original starts well and builds up the mystery without dropping any clues whatsoever. The story introduces us to the lead protagonist and shows us a world where violence is on the rise. The catch being that this violence is coming unexpectedly from common folks.
The artwork has its very distinctive feel which bodes well with the wild wild west setting of the story so far.
Overall, a decent attempt
Profile Image for Tee-Jay Ndjoze-Siririka.
39 reviews
Read
July 15, 2023
Canary in a gold mine

This is the first book outside the mainstream Marvel/DC world apart from Captain Canuck which I recommend. It's dark and gritty, this can easily be a movie/series.
I was initially fazed by the artwork but I got used to it as I read on.
I chose a 4/5 because it was an introduction to the world and characters.
1,232 reviews5 followers
December 31, 2023
A horror/western tale about strange deaths and a marshal who must find out what's going on. The coloration and the drawing reminded me of old western book. The narration cuts like a knife but is more strange than really helpful to the plot. Murderers? Possesses? The finale with the original target leaves the ending open to all these interpretations.
Profile Image for Nicholas Driscoll.
1,428 reviews15 followers
December 10, 2022
I just read this one all random like on Comixology. It's about a series of crazy murders in the old west and a marshall with a mask trying to deal with the problem. Seems like a kind of horror western--the first issue was pretty interesting, with good art and some creepy visuals.
Profile Image for Andres.
Author 4 books19 followers
December 12, 2022
Great First Issue

It very nicely sets the stage without telegraphing where the story is going. The art is impeccable, too. Reminds me of a Belgian or French comic book, Blueberry. Looking forward to the next issue.
Profile Image for Wilson.
10 reviews
December 18, 2022
Ace storytelling and visuals

The storytelling, character building, and visuals in this first issue of Canary are all ace. A few pages, and you’ve dived right in, and can’t wait to see this story unfold.
Profile Image for The Geeky Viking.
712 reviews5 followers
May 11, 2023
Love the fact that this is a weird western, and the main character is pretty cool, but the big draw here is the artwork. These comixology originals are a mixed-bag but this one seems like it could be pretty decent.
Profile Image for John.
541 reviews18 followers
July 31, 2022
Great art. Pretty good introduction to the story, but doesn’t move it very far along. The other two issues will have to move the story along very quickly. Worth reading.
141 reviews
August 2, 2022
Wild West Mystery

Looking good so far, I like the illustrative style & this looks like being a promising mystery, complete with a tough no nonsense badass US Marshall …
68 reviews
October 26, 2022
intro

Meh. Not exactly withering to read the next graphic novel. Do like Snyder tho. But we’ll see. Yes we will see.
Profile Image for djsmee.
5 reviews
November 7, 2022
something different

great comic. not myusual style, but glad I found it! I am glad it wasrecommend on the app. also short read.
Profile Image for Wally.
19 reviews
Read
November 29, 2022
Great start

Interesting story, seems to be a lot under the hood. But typical westerm hero bullet proof, nice read, will comtinue reading,
Profile Image for JJ.
460 reviews1 follower
December 28, 2022
A bit confused throughout, felt like parts of the story were missing but the concept is interesting enough and I don't usually read westerns so I'll give it a try. The art is nice as well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews

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