The Past That Divides Them: ‘Kill Whitey Donovan #3’ Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
We return to the time before Anna Hoyt’s mission of vengeance. We watch Anna and her sister, Betsy, enjoying a ritzy party at the Donovan Estate. This is the night in which Whitey Donovan preyed upon Betsy. We also watch Anna abuse Hattie. In the present, the Confederacy and Union are fighting around Anna. In all the chaos, Anna spots Mr. Tyson, the frightening slave master at Donovan Estate. All seems lost until Hattie finds Anna and the two hop a train heading away from the carnage.
Kill Whitey Donovan #3 reminds the reader that the partnership between Anna and Hattie is one of convenience and Anna is no abolitionist. She was a southern aristocrat and she used and abused slaves as it pleased her. That doesn’t mean that she hasn’t and isn’t in the process of changing, but she wasn’t a good person before her new mission of vengeance–and she isn’t necessarily a good person now.
Mr. Tyson immediately comes out as a memorable villain. His visual design and lumbering, murderous confidence is thoroughly unnerving. He slaughters men with ease, and Anna and Hattie will certainly need to confront him before this is all over.
Despite Anna’s past abuse of Hattie, we do get a moment of Anna and Hattie bonding in this issue. Plus, we get to see how much of a badass Hattie can be in a pinch.
Natalie Barahona once again kills it in the visual department. She captures the decadent opulence of southern aristocracy in the Antebellum Era. Conversely, she also perfectly depicts the chaos and bloodshed of a battlefield. Once again, the visual design of the frightening Mr. Tyson must be praised. Barahona’s color work is atmospheric and well-balanced to boot.
Kill Whitey Donovan #3 is another strong issue for the Dark Horse mini-series. We watch the Anna of the past and how she was as ready to abuse Hattie as anyone else. We also watch the two struggle yet, at least momentarily, succeed in finding common ground in the present while the very South itself seems to burn around them. It’s a damn solid read and easily earns a recommendation. Check it out.
Kill Whitey Donovan #3 comes to us from writer Sydney Duncan, artist and variant cover artist Natalie Barahona, letterer Troy Peteri, and cover artist Jason Pearson.
Final Score: 8/10