Seven wives. Forty-nine stab wounds. One divine prophet, found dead in his own church. The murder of Matthew Dunn has brought Detectives Halwell and Aguilar to investigate seven women who are doing all they can to keep their lives a secret — but there are more secrets here that go beyond the reasons Dunn was murdered. Seven Wives #1 is written by Zoe Tunnell, drawn by V. Gagnon, inked by Maria Keane, colored by Antonio Del Hoyo, and lettered and designed by Brian Kolek for IDW.
(Disclaimer: Zoe Tunnell is a colleague who has written for ComicsXF before, and someone whose rising career brings me nothing but joy. I have attempted to be as fair to this comic as I would any other, but given the subjective nature of any review, it would be a lie to say that association has not biased what you’re about to read.)
Before you’re even halfway through this comic, you’ll be glad Matthew Dunn is dead.
Matthew Dunn is the “divine” prophet of an isolated, cult-like group of Latter-day Saints. It’s a position of horrific power and authority — he is the monarch of his own little community, marrying as many women as he sees fit to have. He heaps punishment after punishment upon them, demanding his wives dispense similar harm to each other, all in the name of serving him. He was stabbed, 49 times, and after reading through issue #1 of this miniseries, somehow that doesn’t seem like enough.
Which raises an interesting question: What value is there in a murder mystery when the victim’s death is this satisfying?
Seven Wives #1 is the debut of IDW’s new Crime imprint. The thing about crime stories, as a genre, is that they allow a reader to indulge in their fascination with a myriad of horrific human behaviors from a safe, judgment-free distance. The thing to note here is that the crime in question isn’t murder — the crime is abuse.
The strength of this comic lies less in the whodunnit, and more in the who. Despite its extra size, coming in at about 40 pages, we only really get to know two of the titular seven wives, and this is where the art really starts to sing. Reddened flashback panels offer glimpses of years’ worth of abuse — moments that are clearly just the tip of the iceberg. It paints a bleak picture of what life with Matthew Dunn must have been like, and informs so much of who they are now.
It does take a moment to get used to the art. It is jarring, at first — crude and cutesy in a way that seems to be working against the book’s tone. Then you linger on the faces, the body language. You see the range of expression, the depth it adds to Tunnell’s storytelling. Layout and colors underline the impact of each page, the colors especially doing a lot of work to set the mood. Kolek’s lettering underlines just how dark Matthew Dunn could get, in the worst of times.
What’s truly criminal about Seven Wives is that it’s a limited series. We’re offered glimpses into a horrifying world, glimpses into the dynamics between the seven wives and their husband. Glimpses into the system that keeps them under control, and keeps them isolated from anyone outside the system who could help. We’re offered glimpses of hope, in our lead detective, who knows there is so much more going on than meets the eye — someone who doesn’t have the benefit of seeing the flashbacks that we have, but knows these are all women who deserve a better life.
The murder in this murder mystery is not really a crime to be solved. It’s a catalyst — without Dunn’s death, neither we the readers nor the detectives in charge would be diving into these seven lives. What binds chains of isolation is the outward appearance that everything is normal, everything is just acceptable enough to keep people minding their own business.
By the end of this comic, you’re glad Matthew is dead. Not just because he’s a monster (though he is). Nor because his death means freedom for the women he’s abused (they may never be fully free of what he’s done to them), but because his death is the reason these women’s stories are coming to light, and Seven Wives #1 has told these stories compellingly enough that I can’t wait for the remaining issues to tell them all.
Buy Seven Wives #1 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Armaan is obsessed with the way stories are told. From video games to theater, TTRPGs to comics, he has written for, and about, them all. He will not stop, actually; believe us, we've tried.
