Comics have a deep history with the western genre. For many years weekly books were filled with hard-talking, quick-shooting cowboys and vigilantes. Needless to say, it is a form that is constantly being reinvented for new and interesting content. Nate Cosby (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, Pigs) and Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius, Misery Loves Sherman) have taken the western in an entirely new direction with their new comic Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse.

Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse tells the story of Boyd Linney, a 10-year-old bounty hunter who is on a hunt for his very own family. Cow Boy also features four western short stories from Roger Langridge, Colleen Coover, Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener, and Mike Maihack.

I was fortunate enough to be able to talk with Nate and Chris about the origins of Cow Boy, as well as what it was like pitching the story of a child bounty hunter to publisher Archaia Entertainment.

Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse
Written by Nate Cosby
Art by Chris Eliopoulos
Addtionial stories by Roger Langridge, Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener, Mitch Gerags, Colleen Coover, and Mike Maihack
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: March 28, 2012
Cover Price: $19.95

Most all-ages comics try to avoid the hard, harsh realities of growing up. The idea is to typically remind readers that being young is supposed to be full of wonder and magic. Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos take the alternate road in their graphic novel Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse. The story’s main character, Boyd, is a 10-year-old bounty hunter on the hunt for his own criminal family. Growing up just got a little harsher. Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse is a beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel that reminds us that sometimes our parents are not always good people.