Westron #3. w. McBee & Jankowski. a. Nieto & De Vincenzo. Fandom Limb Media. 32pp. On Kickstarter up to Nov 5, 2026.
There was a heavy pounding at the front door. The rain had been relentless and I had assumed that heavy winds had come knocking. But then the pounding returned with even greater ferocity. I could see a heavy figure in the security camera but I disregarded caution and opened the door. In an instance, a package was thrust into my hands. I let out a sigh. Another comics submission! Sure enough, it was from Fandom Limb Media. They wanted me to know about a new title they’ve been working on, Westron. Shawn McBee and Maciej Jankowski have written quite the mystery thriller, with generous helpings of occult fantasy. Art by Nicolas Nieto and Matias De Vincenzo vividly brings it all to life. Well, I surprised myself as I found I could not put down the title once I dug in.
Art by Nicolas Nieto.
This comic has the perfect mix of spooky and quirky and follows in the tradition of so many great offbeat comics. The story grabs the reader right from the start and never lets go. You get all the fun horror and mystery tropes all mashed up into something compelling. It even has a cabin in the woods. Hell yeah! Hey, it even has two cabins in the woods! There are parallel stories running throughout, one set in its present day (2011) and another set twenty years earlier. Thus, the two cabins. All of this is wrapped around some very strange and supernatural forces at play. And it seems that the only person who can even try to make sense of it is one lone gumshoe detective, Westron.
Art by Matias De Vincenzo.
Westron is a very well-structured comic with a lot of moving parts moving fast. The story is deceptively simple and straightforward. A couple of teen sisters (Astrid, 19 and Natalia, only 14) decide to go out for the night but only one returns. The other has had her throat slashed. And it sure looks like the little sister did it. But that’s not possible, is it? Enter Inspector Westron.
From Westron #1. Art by Nicolas Nieto.
Now, Westron is an amalgamation of all your favorite sleuths, all done up into a refreshing new version. Think of all of them from Sherlock Holmes to Columbo. I do hope some of my readers are familiar with Columbo. Tell me that I’m right to assume this. Well, I have to. This detective TV show has made such a huge impact on the pop culture scene, and still does in endless reruns. Anyway, Westron is nothing like Columbo! And yet he is in some aspects. The point is that he’s a master of deduction, a razor-sharp professional with his own set of weaknesses and limitations. There. That should pique your interest. Every main character of this type, in order to be successful to the story, must be an all-too-human character struggling with his own demons. And that Westron does here. You see, the murder mystery he’s trying to solve in the present eerily mirrors the murder of his childhood friend, another young woman who died a ghastly death! And it’s going to take all of Westron’s mad skills to solve the current case and somehow find some resolution to the old case that haunts his very existence. Well, this issue makes some solid inroads towards all of that.
I have to hand it to the entire creative team for delivering something that crackles with excitement and has taken the time to reach a certain level of excellence. The good stuff is worth all the extra work. I can see it in the writing and in the artwork. It is something that really appeals to any age. I want to say that older readers will appreciate it the most but, hey, younger readers hunger for this too. It’s intelligent while also being downright entertaining. You see this in the great pulp fiction of yesteryear, classic comics, European comics for sure, you know it when you see it. And here’s a latest example. As I mentioned, you’ve got here a dual narrative at play: a murder for long ago; and a recent murder with a brilliant but tortured detective in charge of solving something that could be beyond solving. Pretty gnarly stuff if you ask me. At the moment, Issue Three is wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign and I encourage you to join in and help support this truly worthwhile comic. Just stop by anytime before the afternoon of November 5th.
