Review: The Truth Is Revealed In ‘The Enfield Gang Massacre’ #5
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
The tension builds as the body count continues to rise and wicked truths are revealed. Those truths may not be all that surprising, but the story is still a quality one, supported by illustrations that perfectly capture the pulpy Old West feel.
Overall
8.5/10The truth, it is said, will set you free.
While we finally learn the truth behind Bill Barley’s murder in the latest issue of The Enfield Gang Massacre, Montgomery Enfield is anything but free. He’s surrounded by the calvary that ambushed and killed most of his gang after being told that Enfield was responsible for the grisly murder. He is vastly outnumbered and outgunned. And it turns out the only gang members left are not the allies he thought they were.
That Enfield wasn’t responsible for Barley’s murder isn’t a surprise. Writer Chris Condon has given plenty of hints to that effect through this limited series. The question all along has been who actually did it. The answer to who is behind the killing isn’t all that complicated, though the person responsible for actually gutting Barley is a bit underwhelming.
With a large number of characters – many of whom were literally cannon fodder – and only a handful of issues for development, readers were bound to feel a bit of a letdown. Some more time to build up an eventual sense of betrayal would have been nice, but that’s ultimately not the point of the story. Instead, it’s trying to dig into the mythos of the Old West, uncovering the story behind the story – much like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
As he has done throughout the series, artist Jacob Phillips has nailed the pulp look and feel of the imagery. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the issues are printed on newsprint. But Phillips’ talents transcend printing gimmicks. He tells a strong and compelling visual story that perfectly reflects the action and characters’ emotions. One nit about those characters: In one critical scene, it can be difficult to distinguish between Enfield and another character. It required a reread to understand exactly who was saying what to whom.
The bad news is that this limited series will end with the next issue – possibly along with Enfield’s life. On the positive side, that will free up these creators to give us a new story arc of That Texas Blood. It’s a win-win.
