This issue is just a preview of the upcoming series, the first issue of which should be released next week. Here are my impressions.
This story is written in three arcs, each one focusing on different characters.
The first arc features Drake Sinclair as a knight; a caption says, “600 years before Becky Montcrief receives the Sixth Gun.” Sinclair confronts the Grey Witch, but the battle is not decisive. She seems to predict that one day they will face each other again.
Then the story shifts to an Andre Belton, who strikes me as a Pinkerton. He is exploring a cave system—one that, according to his guide, held “An entire civilization... right under the noses of whoever lived up above.” The caption says this is “Shortly after Becky Montcrief rebuilds the world.” Belton describes his activities as a tracker, which introduces intriguing characters and locations only briefly. What is most intriguing is that he is bringing the item—perhaps the spirit of a powerful creature—to Mizadori in his weird hotel! These are elements from Shadow Roads that I wanted to see more, so this is exciting. Then it is revealed that the intended recipient of Belton's item, who may be the leader of the mysterious Cabal, is the person who once led the Knights of Solomon!
Third the story shifts to Ghost Eyes and Izzy, two more characters from Shadow Roads. I liked them and am glad to see that they're back. The caption here says, “Elsewhere,” so it seems like this is the same time period as the previous vignette. They are both members of the Black Stars now, trailing some kind of villain through a swamp. Traveling through the Crossroads brings them to what looks a like a village in feudal Japan. Their quarry is a warlock, who is also carrying a vial like the one Belton recovered. The warlock dies from a gunshot, and it turns out that Abigail is the one who shot him. She has Kalfu with her!
These all seem to be elements that will be mixed into the new storyline, so I'm excited for it. The Sixth Gun is a rich setting with many intriguing threads, and it seems like nearly everything will be in play for the upcoming series.