Scan barcode
A review by rosseroo
Shaolin Cowboy: Start Trek by Geof Darrow
5.0
I flipped through this and was instantly captivated by the incredible artwork and took it home not knowing anything about the creator, storyline, or anything. Having just finished it, I'm not sure there's really much of a story there, but anyone who's interested in the art of comics needs to check this out.
The book opens in a desert, with a silent Asian man riding a donkey who provides wise-ass (and often punning) narration. It becomes quickly clear that the man has made a lot of enemies, because there's a stunning 5-spread (ie. 10-page) sequence that lays them all out, in their tattooed, crazily attired and accessorized detail. Imagine a panoramic shot of something like 70-100 villains, where the perspective zooms closer in the more you pan to the right -- it's something I've never seen before in a comic and it's kind of breathtaking.
Of course, mayhem ensues, as does extremely graphic gore. It's the kind of crazily kinetic over the top combination of chop-socky, gunplay, and swords that Quentin Tarantino adores. Then at the climax, there's a duel with a giant crab... and things just get weirder from there. There's a trio of demons with some kind of chi-channeling baby, a running battle that leads to the stomach of a mega-dinosaur with a city on its back. Double-headed chainsaw polearm vs. possessed shark... It's wildly surreal and some of the most detailed artwork imaginable with equally stellar coloring. I kind of wish the artistic chops were put to work on something a little less crazy, but it's still well worth checking out.
Note: Although I assumed while reading it that I had stumbled into the middle of a series, I subsequently learned that this book does collect the original 7-comic run of issues that were independently published. There are two more books that collect sequel storylines, and I'll likely track them down at some point.
The book opens in a desert, with a silent Asian man riding a donkey who provides wise-ass (and often punning) narration. It becomes quickly clear that the man has made a lot of enemies, because there's a stunning 5-spread (ie. 10-page) sequence that lays them all out, in their tattooed, crazily attired and accessorized detail. Imagine a panoramic shot of something like 70-100 villains, where the perspective zooms closer in the more you pan to the right -- it's something I've never seen before in a comic and it's kind of breathtaking.
Of course, mayhem ensues, as does extremely graphic gore. It's the kind of crazily kinetic over the top combination of chop-socky, gunplay, and swords that Quentin Tarantino adores. Then at the climax, there's a duel with a giant crab... and things just get weirder from there. There's a trio of demons with some kind of chi-channeling baby, a running battle that leads to the stomach of a mega-dinosaur with a city on its back. Double-headed chainsaw polearm vs. possessed shark... It's wildly surreal and some of the most detailed artwork imaginable with equally stellar coloring. I kind of wish the artistic chops were put to work on something a little less crazy, but it's still well worth checking out.
Note: Although I assumed while reading it that I had stumbled into the middle of a series, I subsequently learned that this book does collect the original 7-comic run of issues that were independently published. There are two more books that collect sequel storylines, and I'll likely track them down at some point.