The second part of the "Horror in Comics: East/West" (or whatever the hell I called it at the beginning of the month) comes to a conclusion with a self contained single volume horror graphic novel from the US.
Created by Rick Spears and Rob G., the team behind the highly acclaimed Teenagers From Mars, comes a western/zombie hybrid in the form of Dead West. If Sergio Leone and George Romero had a night of drunken man passion this is what their love child would look like, though maybe Fulci would be a better match since Leone is Italian after all.. anywho.
The book opens with a tribe of Indians being told that their land is no longer their own and that they have to vacate. They play the part of the ignorant savages hoping to avoid a violent confrontation but to no avail. The white men return shortly after their initial visit and attack the tribe while the men are out hunting. The ensuing battle wipes out just about every man, women and child in the tribe except for one.
Fast forward by about 20 years and the town of Lazarus now stands on that land. A silent figure enters the town at night and, of course, he's the lone Indian survivor who's back with a hate on that'll raise the dead, literally. The next day a fat Mexican enters the besieged town with a nameless bounty hunter, who bears a striking resemblance to The Man With No Name, hot on his trail and.. well, you can see where this is headed.
It's a simple premise that's so good I'm kind of amazed that I haven't stumbled across it before this. s the follow up to Teenagers From Mars it is a pretty big shoes to fill, but does it manage to do so?
Possible Spoiler Stuff
No, but that's ok because they're two completely different creatures. What Dead West might be lacking in emotional depth or relevant commentary regarding the state of comics or entertainment in general, it makes up for in over the top zombie action and some dark dark humor. It knows what it is and really doesn't make any bones about it.
The name of the game is action and violence and that's what you get. The majority of the book is based around the bounty hunters attempts to get out of the town alive, and get his bounty as well. The zombies and the vengeful indian, himself a zombie, of course have other plans. Most of the story is comprised of some very cool action pieces, whether it's the bounty hunter gunning down zombies with his six shooters, or people being torn apart by the flesh eating horde, the book doesn't really let up for a second.
Personally I felt that what little emotional core there was comes mainly from the Indian, who's so consumed with his thirst for revenge that he's failed to see that his own actions have ultimately resulted in the the obliteration of his tribe. Several times throughout the book he's confronted with the corpse of one of his fellow tribesmen who pretty much, well.. they basically say the above, pointing out how utterly foolish this was and how he's finished what the white men started all those years ago. I'm not sure if I was projecting, but it did feel like there were moments of doubt within him until the final third or so of the book.
Of course.. that portion of the story tends to take up less pages than the bad a** bounty hunter being all bad a**. Seriously, when he's not throwing people out of windows for smacking women he's spouting some amusing and classic tough guy dialogue, my favorite exchange is actually on the back cover.
Bounty Hunter: I'm going to kill him.
Woman: You can try, but in this town nothing stays dead for long.
Bounty Hunter: Well then... I'll just have to hurt him real bad.
Another great moment comes when he first encounters some of the towns survivors who are holed up in the saloon. They won't let him so he.. convinces them. Cool and funny action sequences abound. And if a bounty hunter, vengeful Indian, survivors and a fat Mexican aren't enough for you.. did I mention the cavalry shows up? It comes complete with a grizzled old captain spouting lines like "Give 'em hell boys!" Good stuff.
Art wise, Rob G. is fantastic. His style here more closely resembles the one he used for Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto than it does Teenagers From Mars, but the grittier look works for the story and setting. Everything looks a bit dirty and rotting, which it should since it's A) the old west and B) the old west full of zombies. His zombies look fantastic and the action sequences are smooth and fluid and easy to follow, plus he and Rick Spears have the whole decompression thing down to a science and they use it wonderfully here.
All in all it's a fantastic comic that's been hugely overlooked by fans. It's a small press release and might be hard to find, but if you like zombies or Leone westerns than it's definitely worth a look, though the $15 price tag might put some people off.
Related Links:
Curse of Rob G. - The official site of Rob Gr., artist and co-creator of Dead West and Teenagers From Mars among other things.
Gigantic Graphic Novels - Publisher of Dead West and Teenagers From Mars. The site includes previews, reviews and Amazon links for their books.
Created by Rick Spears and Rob G., the team behind the highly acclaimed Teenagers From Mars, comes a western/zombie hybrid in the form of Dead West. If Sergio Leone and George Romero had a night of drunken man passion this is what their love child would look like, though maybe Fulci would be a better match since Leone is Italian after all.. anywho.
The book opens with a tribe of Indians being told that their land is no longer their own and that they have to vacate. They play the part of the ignorant savages hoping to avoid a violent confrontation but to no avail. The white men return shortly after their initial visit and attack the tribe while the men are out hunting. The ensuing battle wipes out just about every man, women and child in the tribe except for one.
Fast forward by about 20 years and the town of Lazarus now stands on that land. A silent figure enters the town at night and, of course, he's the lone Indian survivor who's back with a hate on that'll raise the dead, literally. The next day a fat Mexican enters the besieged town with a nameless bounty hunter, who bears a striking resemblance to The Man With No Name, hot on his trail and.. well, you can see where this is headed.
It's a simple premise that's so good I'm kind of amazed that I haven't stumbled across it before this. s the follow up to Teenagers From Mars it is a pretty big shoes to fill, but does it manage to do so?
Possible Spoiler Stuff
No, but that's ok because they're two completely different creatures. What Dead West might be lacking in emotional depth or relevant commentary regarding the state of comics or entertainment in general, it makes up for in over the top zombie action and some dark dark humor. It knows what it is and really doesn't make any bones about it.
The name of the game is action and violence and that's what you get. The majority of the book is based around the bounty hunters attempts to get out of the town alive, and get his bounty as well. The zombies and the vengeful indian, himself a zombie, of course have other plans. Most of the story is comprised of some very cool action pieces, whether it's the bounty hunter gunning down zombies with his six shooters, or people being torn apart by the flesh eating horde, the book doesn't really let up for a second.
Personally I felt that what little emotional core there was comes mainly from the Indian, who's so consumed with his thirst for revenge that he's failed to see that his own actions have ultimately resulted in the the obliteration of his tribe. Several times throughout the book he's confronted with the corpse of one of his fellow tribesmen who pretty much, well.. they basically say the above, pointing out how utterly foolish this was and how he's finished what the white men started all those years ago. I'm not sure if I was projecting, but it did feel like there were moments of doubt within him until the final third or so of the book.
Of course.. that portion of the story tends to take up less pages than the bad a** bounty hunter being all bad a**. Seriously, when he's not throwing people out of windows for smacking women he's spouting some amusing and classic tough guy dialogue, my favorite exchange is actually on the back cover.
Bounty Hunter: I'm going to kill him.
Woman: You can try, but in this town nothing stays dead for long.
Bounty Hunter: Well then... I'll just have to hurt him real bad.
Another great moment comes when he first encounters some of the towns survivors who are holed up in the saloon. They won't let him so he.. convinces them. Cool and funny action sequences abound. And if a bounty hunter, vengeful Indian, survivors and a fat Mexican aren't enough for you.. did I mention the cavalry shows up? It comes complete with a grizzled old captain spouting lines like "Give 'em hell boys!" Good stuff.
Art wise, Rob G. is fantastic. His style here more closely resembles the one he used for Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto than it does Teenagers From Mars, but the grittier look works for the story and setting. Everything looks a bit dirty and rotting, which it should since it's A) the old west and B) the old west full of zombies. His zombies look fantastic and the action sequences are smooth and fluid and easy to follow, plus he and Rick Spears have the whole decompression thing down to a science and they use it wonderfully here.
All in all it's a fantastic comic that's been hugely overlooked by fans. It's a small press release and might be hard to find, but if you like zombies or Leone westerns than it's definitely worth a look, though the $15 price tag might put some people off.
Related Links:
Curse of Rob G. - The official site of Rob Gr., artist and co-creator of Dead West and Teenagers From Mars among other things.
Gigantic Graphic Novels - Publisher of Dead West and Teenagers From Mars. The site includes previews, reviews and Amazon links for their books.
