Shaolin Cowboy #1
Written and illustrated by Geof Darrow
Colors by Dave Stewart
Variant Cover by Walt Simonson
Pinups by Simon Roy, Aaron Conley, and Damon Gentry
Letters by Peter Doherty
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 9, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

This isn’t really a number one, but rather part of an ongoing tale, the last issue of Shaolin Cowboy having come out six years ago. With a schedule this spotty, I suppose it seemed smarter to renumber it as a first issue. Because of its sparse text, those picking it up for the first time won’t necessarily be lost, so it’s suitable as an introduction to the character/series.

As noted, the previous issue is six years old, so I can’t really remember the plot (such as it was), and can’t be bothered do dig through my short boxes. I can tell you that the art was insanely detailed and über-violent. And that’s why you buy this comic. For the inventive ways Geof Darrow figures out how to kill people, and for his exquisite renderings illustrating those depictions.

There is a long — make that very long — “recap” of previous events. Darrow is goofing around here, as it’s complete bullshit. It did make me wonder if he might’ve applied his prodigious writing ability to the um, comic at hand, but hey, whatever.

There are zombies (yeah, I know), but again, this is Geof Darrow, so it’s all good.

Not a lot happens in this issue “” the expected over-the-top situations and insanity is missing, but Darrow has promised that this is the first of three issues, and we can expect a build to something truly deranged. He’s also promised a more regular schedule, so hopefully this story will have wrapped by this time next year.

So yeah, here it is. It’s Geof Darrow. And it’s going to be one of the best drawn books this week. So buy it and hope the next issue will come out before you misplace this one.