One of the most overlooked genres that has to be one of my favorites in comics is the western. But for me, I love twists on the genre that make it their own instead of carbon copying some of the classic movies. From Joe R. Lansdale’s Crawling Sky to Image Comics’ East meets West there are new tellings of some great tales happening every day. Now Dark Horse comics are introducing a new series called Kingsway West but is this a western you will want to ride the range with?
The land of Kingsway West is centered in fantasy as magic is real and a substance has come into existence that men will kill over. The substance was called red gold and gives extraordinary powers to those that wield it. One of those that used this in a war that lasted thirteen years was a Chinese gunslinger known as Kingsway Law. He had been through hell and had killed many men to get to where he is today. After all he has been through, he has settled down with his wife in his small corner of the wilderness. Now when a woman comes looking for him can he find the strength and courage to defeat the enemies that are being thrown at him?
I could give a detailed review of the book and spoil the plot, but this is one of the rare times that I want to say that the book does it justice and it needs to be experienced on its own. The creative team is no stranger to comics as the writer behind this masterpiece is Greg Pak. If you have picked up a Marvel book in the past few years you will have seen his name grace a lot of covers. With such writing credits as War Machine, Silver Surfer and World War Hulk you know he will bring his own style to this tale. Mirko Colak has also worked for the big M as well, illustrating such great titles Agents of Shield, Red Skull and the Punisher. He lends his own style that makes the characters come alive and brings a harsh setting to the Wild West that readers will love.
I have to say that even if you don’t like westerns give Kingsway West #1 a second look. With a great story and excellent art this is one book that does not fail to disappoint. For more information on this book head over to darkhorse.com and get ready to rediscover the Wild West.
