Gunslingers, written by Mike Richardson and with art by Jordi Armengol, is a Western that pulls inspiration from the genre’s past, but its twists and turns make this story its own special thing. When Josephine Fuller’s parents are killed by Andrew McGeary and his gang of ruffians on her 12th birthday, McGeary gives the sheriff a false story, putting the blame on Josephine’s parents rather than the hair-triggered behavior of his friends. McGeary thinks he has gotten away scot-free until Josephine grabs a pistol and puts a bullet through his head and heart. Given the clout the McGeary’s have in town, the patriarch of the family wants Josephine to hang for his son’s murder. Her only hope is her former gunslinger grandfather, Ethan.

Mike Richardson’s writing is top-notch. Gunslingers is one of the best Western comics I’ve read, and it’s one of my favorite Westerns, in general, in a long while. I went in thinking this was going to be a pretty standard genre tale, but it takes a turn in the first few pages that makes it a truly special work. It subverts the premise of True Grit by making the teenage girl’s revenge a knee-jerk reaction rather than a journey of understanding what revenge actually means. Given her lineage, she’s an unbridled natural at shooting rather than a shaky novice. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages moving and plenty of satisfying payoffs.

This isn’t the first rodeo for Mike Richardson and Jordi Armengol, nor for their combined talents. The art threw me off a bit at first, but I was swayed quickly as the story unfolded. Armengol gives attention to the most important detail on the page by sometimes dulling the background. It would be a complaint for me in another book, but not here. This character-driven tale keeps the focus on the tension rather than the world. It’s more Sam Peckinpah than John Ford. Jim Campbell’s lettering is just what this book needs—eserved and unhinged as needed.

This is, hands down, one of the best Westerns I’ve had the pleasure to read in a long while. Dark Horse has been on a tear of great books for a couple of years now, and Gunslingers is a fantastic addition to that library.

Creative Team: Mike Richardson (writer), Jordi Amengol (artist), Jim Campbell (letterer)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
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