The Sixth Gun, Vol.3 – “Bound” & Vol.4 – “A Town Call Penance” (Oni Press)

Volume Three. Still awesome.

Writer: Cullen Bunn | Artist: Brian Hurtt (#12-13, 15-17) & Tyler Crook (#14, #23) | Colors: Bill Crabtree

Traveling by secret railroad, Becky and Drake accompany an order of mysterious monks on a quest to bury General Hume’s body on holy ground. But malevolent forces spurred by a sinister necromancer stage a terrifying attack on the train. Drake vanishes without a trace. Alone, Becky continues her journey to a secluded mountain fortress where she discovers how deeply her fate is entwined with that of The Sixth Gun. Meanwhile, Gord revisits a haunted mansion from his past hoping to discover a means to destroy the Six, but the ghosts he stirs have no intention of letting his quest continue.

Vol.3 Collects: The Sixth Gun #12-17
Vol.4 Collects: The Sixth Gun #18-23

Ah, The Sixth Gun. Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite comics series. It blends Wild Western adventure with some supernatural shenanigans. There’s action, humour, spooky stuff, and a plot that will hook you from the very start. I loved both of these books.

The Sixth Gun, Vol.1 – “Cold Dead Fingers” (Oni)

Writer: Cullen Bunn | Art: Brian Hurtt

During the darkest days of the Civil War, wicked cutthroats came into possession of six pistols of otherworldly power. In time the Sixth Gun, the most dangerous of the weapons, vanished. When the gun surfaces in the hands of an innocent girl, dark forces reawaken. Vile men thought long dead set their sights on retrieving the gun and killing the girl. Only Drake Sinclair, a gunfighter with a shadowy past, stands in their way.

Collects: The Sixth Gun #1-6

I really enjoyed this book. I have a real fondness for the Wild West and related fiction, fantasy or whatever, and The Sixth Gun offers an addictive mix of a post-Civil War American West and some sinister, supernatural shenanigans. The writing is great, and the art superb, making this a comic that works on basically every level.

Interview with LEE COLLINS

I talk to debut Angry Robot Books author Lee Collins about his new series, his love of European metal, the strangely unexplored genre of weird West, his writing and hopes for the next twelve months.

“The Buntline Special” by Mike Resnick (Pyr)

The OK Corral! Gunfights! Zombies!

The year is 1881. The United States of America ends at the Mississippi River. Beyond lies the Indian nations, where the magic of powerful Medicine Men has halted the advance of the Americans east of the river.

An American government desperate to expand its territory sends Thomas Alva Edison out West to the town of Tombstone, Arizona, on a mission to discover a scientific means of counteracting magic. Hired to protect this great genius, Wyatt Earp and his brothers.

But there are plenty who would like to see the Earps and Edison dead. Riding to their aid are old friends Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson. Against them stand the Apache wizard Geronimo and the Clanton gang. Battle lines are drawn, and the Clanton gang, which has its own reasons for wanting Edison dead, sends for Johnny Ringo, the one man who might be Doc Holliday's equal in a gunfight. But what shows up instead is The Thing That Was Once Johnny Ringo, returned from the dead and come to Tombstone looking for a fight.

This is the Wild West like you’ve never read before. The undead drink in saloons, electric lights shine on the streets of Tombstone, and horseless stagecoaches protect passengers from the angry natives. It took me quite a while to get to this novel, for some reason. I’m a big fan of westerns, and Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp are particular favourites. A Steampunk reimagining of the US Western Expansion era and the gunfight at the OK Corral? This was great fun.