The third volume of The Sixth Gun opens with Becky and Drake covertly travelling by railroad, escorting the near-enough dead body of General Hume to sacred – and therefore safe – ground. However, the giant mummy Asher Cobb attacks, along with more of Hume’s forces – and Drake is lost in the fray. Meanwhile, Gord Cantrell is searching for a way to destroy the cursed weapons – and comes face to face with his tragic past, as well as being offered a chance to potentially get back all he’s lost. Along with this, religious order The Sword of Abraham are revealed to not be as benevolent or pure as Becky initially thought…

Though heavy on flashbacks and backstory, there’s an awful lot of ground covered in the third volume. There’s some masterful storytelling on display, both in terms of Cullen Bunn’s writing and the always superb art from Brian Hurtt (with Tyler Crook also providing art for one of the issues in the book). I was most impressed by the backstory given to Asher Cobb; though a relentless, powerful mummy in the present day of the story, his origin is revealed to be much more tragic than the reader may be expecting – it’s both poignant and affecting. Likewise for Gord Cantrell’s history, which is overwhelmingly sad, yet there’s also a satisfying and justified revenge element to these flashbacks.

It’s another excellent volume then; the weird west setting is one that feels somewhat unique and isn’t particularly well explored in comic books; beyond the setting, however, the story’s characters and their intertwined histories continue to be impressively written and illustrated. If you haven’t yet jumped on board The Sixth Gun and checked it out for yourself, I’d urge you to give it a try. It really is superb.