HOTBLOOD! VOL. 1

A graphic novel explores the relationship between a man and a centaur in 19th-century America.

Evander Rook, a centaur and formerly a Southern Unionist, gets hired by a sinister sphinx, Elen. Evander’s task is to kill Asa Langley, who’s the director of central west operations for Wakefield Steel and “crazy enough to eat the devil with horns on.” Instead of murdering Asa, Evander works for him, and a turbulent romantic entanglement develops. The pair travels through the United States. After first meeting in Iowa, they make a stop in Davidson, “a shithole town in Wyoming” that has a mine, and the Colorado territory Lynd, where Asa wants to build a railroad connecting to Denver. Evander and Asa consider living in Deseret, a provisional Western state that the inhabitants believe was Jesus’ final resting spot; it’s also a place rich in uranium, copper, and iron. After the duo’s plans are disrupted, Evander eventually gains information about some puzzling questions, helping him make an important decision about his life and relationship with Asa. Using minimal and muted color tones reminiscent of sepia photographs, Orlesky skillfully renders images of an older America, though one inhabited by both humans and nonhumans. In this engrossing series opener, the engaging drawings depict multiple intriguing angles. One frame zooms in on Evander’s hooves crossing a railroad bridge while the next pulls back to show the centaur and a man as small shapes silhouetted against a panoramic sky. Marred by inner pain, Asa and Evander conceal it with laconic language. Their psychological battle, as they struggle not to kill or be killed, can get intense (and confusing), but wordlessly touching each other seems to bring them relief. Through Orlesky’s haunting illustrations of the uninhabited Western landscapes, wide open and natural, readers will get the sense of a land filled with promise and possibility that men like Asa exploit for personal gain.

A twisted relationship searingly plays out amid beautifully delineated pastoral scenes of the American West.