Warning: contains potential spoilers for Seven Wives #1!
The spiritual successor to Under the Banner of Heaven has arrived, and it is already an instant classic. IDW Publishing will soon release Seven Wives, the initial offering of its new Crime imprint. IDW has had great success with its horror-themed Dark line of titles, and the publisher is bringing that same intensity to the crime genre with a nail-biting murder mystery perfect for fans of the Andrew Garfield miniseries.
Under the Banner of Heaven, airing on Hulu in 2022 and based on the 2003 non-fiction book of the same title by Jon Krakauer, was a murder mystery set against the backdrop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or LDS. Featuring an all-star cast that included Garfield, as well as Wyatt Russell and Sam Worthington, the series was a hit. Both the book and television series raised provocative questions about faith and belief, as well as drawing renewed attention to LDS beliefs and practices.
Under the Banner of Heaven focused on the mainline LDS Church, but there are also splinter organizations, some of which hold beliefs of a more fundamentalist nature. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is one such group. The Fundamentalist LDS has been featured in television shows, most notably Sister Wives, which calls attention to one of the church’s most important tenets: polygamy. It is not uncommon for men in the Fundamentalist LDS to have multiple wives, and it is in this world that Seven Wives is set.
Seven Wives Takes a Long, Hard Look at Religious Belief
All Is Not Well at the Dunn Compound, and Seven Wives Gets to the Bottom of It
Seven Wives, written by Zoe Tunnell and drawn by V. Gagnon, opens with the brutal murder of Matthew Dunn, the head of a Fundamentalist LDS family. Two detectives: Aguilar and Halwell are assigned to the case. Halwell, who is not from the area, is in disbelief over the church’s social customs, particularly the plural marriage aspect. On the other hand, the local Aguilar is familiar with the church, and Tunnell and Gagnon use her conversations with Halwell to explore why some people stick around in seemingly oppressive environments.
Aguilar and Halwell continue their investigation into the death of Matthew Dunn, interviewing each of his seven wives. While each of the wives puts forth a brave face, trying to show dignity in the face of tragedy, it becomes apparent something is off. Sure enough, the final pages of Seven Wives #1 reveal the truth of Matthew Dunn’s murder.
IDW’s New Crime Imprint Is Off to a Strong Start
Seven Wives is an Intelligent Thriller That Asks the Big Questions
Seven Wives #1 marks the debut of IDW Crime, a new imprint that seeks to bring the genre back to the comics’ mainstream, and if the first issue is any indication, then the publisher is off to a grand start. Writer Zoe Tunnell, who created the Blade Maidens webcomic, joins forces with V. Gagnon to bring readers a tense, gripping crime story that is not afraid to ask hard questions about faith and belief. Halwell and Aguilar are not only trying to solve a murder, but they are also attempting to make sense of the human need for spirituality.
Halwell and Aguilar are not only trying to solve a murder, but they are also attempting to make sense of the human need for spirituality.
And this need to believe in something bigger than oneself can lead to some dark places, and Seven Wives does not pull punches in this arena. Tunnell watched documentaries and read survivor accounts while researching Seven Wives. Her research paid off: each of the characters, even the Fundamentalist LDS members, feels like a fully realized person, even if their beliefs seem alien to the reader.
Seven Wives’ other protagonists, Detectives Aguilar and Halwell, are equally well-developed. While a sizable portion of the tension in Seven Wives #1 comes from amongst the wives themselves, Aguilar and Halwell are often at odds too. Halwell cannot wrap his brains around the Fundamentalist LDS Church, and in a drunken moment, pushes Aguilar too far on the subject, leading to a tense confrontation.
Seven Wives Handles Its Sensitive Subject Matter With Empathy
Fans of Under the Banner of Heaven Will Find a Lot to Like in Seven Wives
Handling matters of faith in comic books can be a dicey proposition, but Tunnell and Gagnon walk this line perfectly. While acknowledging the practices of the Fundamentalist LDS Church are odd and seemingly oppressive, it stops short of flat-out judgment. Instead, it asks readers to put themselves in the position of the wives, many of whom were raised in the church, and never had a choice otherwise.
Andrew Garfield’s dark crime thriller series is one of the most harrowing & tense releases in recent years, and it remains a perfect book adaptation.
At the same time, Seven Wives does not shy away from showing the problems that can arise in these groups. Oppression can only lead to bad things happening, up to and including murder. Books and television series such as Under the Banner of Heaven explore the after effects of fundamentalist upbringings, and IDW’s Seven Wives proudly carries on this tradition.
Seven Wives #1 is on sale May 20 from IDW Publishing!