On July 2021, Scott Snyder – one of the most prolific writers at DC Comics throughout the last decade – announced an eight-title digital first deal with ComiXology Originals, all to be published through his creator-owned imprint Best Jackett Press, with the books set to receive print versions via Dark Horse Comics. As nice as it is seeing Snyder breaking away from the parameters at DC and wanting to explore different kinds of stories, he could easily fall into a similar trap that Brian Michael Bendis falls into, which is writing too many books can lead to varying degrees of quality.
In his latest publication from Dark Horse, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder, Snyder reunites with Tula Lotay, who drew an issue for his All-Star Batman series. Set in 1927, during the late days of the barnstorming era, when pilots competed by performing deadlier and more wondrous feats, the story centers on the injured pilot Hawk E. Baron, back from the frontlines of the war. Yearning for adventure, Baron lives his life traveling from town to town in his plane entertaining folks, until one day he crashes into a wedding, where he meets the bride Tillie, a young woman who wishes to escape her old life and share in Hawk’s passion for aviation and adventure. And as the title suggests, there is love and there is murder.
If you know anything about Scott Snyder, whether it is through his licensed work to creator-owned books, he often explores horror and history as recurring themes. With its historical setting, which takes place a couple of years before the Great Depression, Barnstormers explores themes of class warfare, with the two central protagonists escaping from the established, only for the rich-and-famous personified as Tillie’s ex-fiancé is willing to claim back what is his, no matter how violent the situation gets.
The first issue somewhat tricks you regarding Hawk E. Baron, who is later revealed to be Bixby Huckett. As we get glimpses of his psyche, such as the continuing presence of a mechanical man, you would think that Snyder is injecting horror and suggests that Bixby is a man of secrets. However, the overall story sticks to being an action-adventure romp with a heavy dose of romance, murder and plane tricks. Whilst you have the Bonnie and Clyde-inspired romance, there is also Zeke West, who narrates the whole book, as a lawman from the Old West now assigned to hunt down Bixby and Tillie.
Whatever side of the law these characters are in, they are driven by their own desire of freedom, such as the act of barnstorming. Artist Tula Lotay relishes in the beauty of planes flying through the clouds whilst the pilots perform death-defying stunts for the audiences’ entertainment. With Barnstormers being her longest sequential work to date, Lotay embraces the pulp sensibilities of the book’s setting, whilst maintaining her ethereal art-style where everyone is beautiful, enhanced by Dee Cunniffe’s psychedelic coloring.
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