Maybe the saviors of comics will be adventurous publishers like Oni Press. Their prescience has allowed them to publish two fine graphic novels by the husband/wife writing team of Nunzio DeFillipis & Christina Weir, the thrilling SKINWALKER and the recently published MARIA'S WEDDING.

Equal parts drama and comedy, Maria's Wedding is less about Maria Pirelli getting hitched than it is about the event itself and the gathering of warring family members. The Pirelli's are a big Italian family. Like any big family, lots of relatives, either by blood or by marriage, mean more conflict, and conflict can, as it does here, mean good drama.

DeFillipis and Weir show their deft touch and skill as writers with how well they handle a large cast of characters in which every player is essential. The large cast makes the book a bit of an effort to read, but Maria's Wedding certainly pays off. More than most comics writers, DeFillipis and Weir have mastered structure, and they know when plot contrivances should back off a little to let wonderful characters shine. This is the atypical tale of family squabbling, and the writers have given us an enjoyable character piece with a compelling backstory and with a life that extends well past the book's last page.

No comic is a comic book without the pictures, and in Jose Garibaldi, the writers have an artist with a bubbly, charming style. His forte is characterization, and he gives each character an individuality that never blurs into another character's identity. GRADE A-