Western is a new comic anthology title brought to you by Accent UK. Accent UK is a United Kingdom based Indy comics publisher, who I recently profiled in a Small Press Spotlight article.

Accent UK have been publishing annual anthologies since 2002, which saw the publication of their first anthology title Remembrance Days. Each year has brought more and more contributors, dying for the chance to work with the publisher, making the page count of the anthologies increase steadily from their original size of about 40 pages to their current standard of around 200 pages. Every year has brought increased exposure for the company, culminating in their latest Anthology tittles Western, and Robots being carried by Diamond Distribution for North American release.

I have mentioned before that I love comic anthologies. When I was growing up, they were my bread and butter… no, I didn’t eat them, fools! All of the popular British kids comics like the Beano, The Dandy, The Beazer etc. were anthologies, then when I got a bit older there was 2000 AD, The Eagle, Warrior,  Crisis, Deadline, Toxic, Revolver, Judge Dredd Megazine… in short, the anthology style comic is a fine British tradition, and for many years was a far more prevalent comic format in the UK than the U.S. format single story comic.

Whilst I love anthologies, I have to say that I find them rather hard to review. There are so many different artists and writers contributing so many different stories, how can one possibly do an all encompassing review that sums up everything inside the book? I shall try my best here though, because Western is a fantastic anthology that is jam-packed with great stories, and is overflowing with work from some of the most creative people in the small press comic industry.

Western is a Massive 192 page tome containing no less than 32 new stories, based around the theme of the old American West. Contributors to the anthology include Steve Bissette (Swamp Thing), Andy Bloor (Wolfmen), Kieron Gillen (Phonogram), Dwight L. MacPherson (Edgar Allan Poo), Leah Moore (Complete Dracula), and John Reppion (Raise The Dead). The book also contains a gallery of Western themed pin-up illustrations from a variety of incredibly talented artists.

The tales in Western vary greatly in style and include: romantic cowboy tales, spaghetti westerns, grimly realistic war tales, Native American tales, steam punk tales, fantasy/folk tales, comedy, horror, zombie tales, robot tales, anthropomorphic tales, and many more! Basically, AUK’s only stipulation was that story submissions must be related to the theme of the old west, but apart from that creators were allowed to let their imaginations run wild… and boy, did they ever! This anthology is so packed full of so many incredibly varied stories that it would be an impossible task to try and review them all individually, so here are a couple of the highlights:

• Mrs. Henry – written by John Reppion & Leah Moore, art by David Hitchcock

This story starts out seeming like a classic tale a of a woman scorned, but turns out to be much more than that. Upon finding that her husband has taking up with a local harlot, Mrs. Henry tries asking the strumpet nicely to sever relations, but when her request is ignored Mrs. Henry decides to lay a trap for the cheating scoundrels that not only appeases her sense of vengeance, but lets her take far more control of her own life. Far more than a cowboy story, this is a tale of feminine empowerment set against the harsh realities of the lawless old west. Hitchcock’s art on the piece is quite interesting, as he seems to have only inked some of the art, to highlight the shadows and dark fabrics etc. while much of the penciled art remains uninked, giving it a look that for some reason seems to accentuate the old west feel of the piece.

• The 7th Will Rise Again – written by Dwight L. MacPherson, art by Kirk Manning

Dwight MacPherson is one of the few American contributors to this book, so there are certain exceptions to be met, and he has to show those damn limeys how to tell a real western tale, and let me tell you, he does not disappoint! Dwight tells the tale of one Private Brown, a man who was a member of Colonel Custer’s 7th Cavalry. He was with the 7th at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but just before Custer made his legendary last stand, Browning deserted the cavalry and ran away! Ever since that day he has been haunted by visions of Custer, telling him that he can never escape his fate, and every time he tries to end his misery he just can’t manage to kill himself. Now it is 7 years after that faithful choice, and Brown has came to visit the graves of his fallen comrades, and atone for his sins. I won’t tell you what happens next, except that it is rather grotesque, and would quality the story for submission to Accent UK’s Zombies anthology Kirk Manning’s art is really nice. His undead Custer is fantastic, and the scenes of gore and violence are perfect!

• The Men Who Built the West – written by Kieron Gillen, art by Andy Bloor

This one tells the tale of a man who is doing roofing on an old lady’s shack when two cowboys come sidling up to the property with the hopes of an easy robbery. It turns out though that this roofer is far more than he seems, and a massive shootout occurs between the noble stranger and the good-for-nothing robbers. It’s a great little tale that has an hilarious twist at the end that will make you laugh out loud! Andy Bloor’s art on the tale is absolutely amazing, and really brings across that true grit feeling from all the classic spaghetti westerns!

• Avenger – written by Mo Ali and Brian Gorman

Mo Ali tells an incredibly dark story here of a Native American man whose family are attacked in their home by hired gunmen, who are dispatched by a local rancher who wants the family off his land, no matter the cost. The killers murder his wife, kidnap his young daughter, and leave him dying of a gunshot wound to the face. Our protagonist, prays to the great spirit to help save his daughter, and a shaman appears who he believes to be a servant of the great spirit. The healer gets him patched up but can do nothing for his face, so he must don a mask to hide his hideous appearance. Our protagonist then embarks on a mission of vengeance against his attackers, seemingly gifted super-human abilities by the the great spirit, hoping also to save his daughter from the scoundrels who absconded with her. This tale is grim, gritty and sad, but at the same time it is also probably the most realistic vision of the old west in the whole anthology. We tend to romanticize the old west, but it reality it was a dark and terrible time, and no-one suffered more than the Native Americans. The art on this story by Brian Gorman is equally dark, and fits the story perfectly. One of the best panels that Gorman draws is one that shows the leader of the gang leering lustfully at the underage girl sitting on his bed. Urgh *shudder*

• A Fistful of Corpse Meat – written and illustrated in magnificent style by the inimitable Indio!

This story is told in the form of a song, sung by a banjo playing zombie redneck. It’s a tale of zombie cowboys that come storming into a town and start eating horses, whores, and babies. Their killing spree draws the attentions of “an unholy gunslinger straight out of perdition”, the devil his own self! The devil has come to collect a bounty on the cowboys’ heads, and does so in incredibly brutal style. The artwork that goes along with this is is incredibly gross, and gory, and is full of AWESOME! You will love this!

Scattered throughout the book are six single-page cowboy interview strips by one of my favourite cartoonists, David Baillie. These strips take for the format of a journalist interviewing a different townsperson in every strip, asking them what they know of a man called ‘Wild Jack’. It’s an oral history sort of piece, where everybody seems to have a very different take on this legendary character and his infamous adventures. Through the different strips we are introduced to just about every old west archetype, and get to see boiled down, condensed versions, of these characters that really speak for themselves. It’s a great character piece, with a really delicious twist at the end.

There are also some fantastic stories in here from AUK founders, and anthology editors, Chris Mathieson and Dave West, of which my favourite is the following, posted in full (I hope they don’t mind!):

I love it! Comedy gold!

Along with the stories there is also a massive gallery pin-ups featuring amazing art from: Mo Ali, Garry Brown, Martin Flink, Tim Keable, Roland Bird, Steven Howard, Sam Wakeman, Andy Bloor, Crispian Woolford, Dan Denholt, Chris Doherty, and Will Kirkby.

Art by Mo Ali

Art by Andy Bloor

The above are just a small selection of the many amazing tales in this anthology. I didn’t mean to talk about so many of them, but I started to get carried away and had to stop myself. That’s how good this book is! I have read several of Accent UK’s previous anthologies, including Monsters, Zombies, and Robots and  I can say without a doubt that these annual anthologies just seem to get better and better every year! Western is Accent UK’s greatest collection to date,  and if these anthologies keep following their current trend of improvement then the 2010 collection Predators may just blow readers minds!

So now that you’ve sat through this mammoth 2000 word review, don’t just sit back and wait for the collection to appear on the shelves of your LCS! Make sure to email, call, or ask your retailer in person to reserve you a copy. The book has been picked up for distribution in North America, a feat in itself because Diamond went and upped their minimum order numbers, meaning that AUK had an even greater hurdle to jump in order to get North American distribution. They made it, but that still doesn’t guarantee that it will be sitting on the new release shelf when it comes out. Make sure to order it by name, or using the Diamond order code (listed below). If your store is a Comixology partneer you can order the book by clicking on the below link!

Make sure you buy this one varmints! You’ll sure regret it if ya don’t, I reckon’ – Sorry, I just couldn’t resist!

192 Pages, Price: £7.99 ($12.99)
Diamond ID: JUN090671
ISBN: 0955576423

Editors: Dave West and Colin Mathieson
Full Cover Art: Kirk Manley
Cover Design: Andy Bloor.

Featuring pin-ups by: Mo Ali, Garry Brown, Martin Flink, Tim Keable, Roland Bird, Steven Howard, Sam Wakeman, Andy Bloor, Crispian Woolford, Dan Denholt, Chris Doherty, and Will Kirkby.

CONTENTS

• The Cave of Bones – Story and Art by David O’Connell (5 pages)
• Cowboy Interviews: Part 1 – Art and Story by David Baillie (1 page)
• The Way of Things – Story and Art by Dave West (6 pages)
• The Ten Steps – Story by Paul Stafford & Craig Shields, Art by Dan Duncan (5 pages)
• Cowboy Interviews: Part 2 – Story and Art by David Baillie (1 page)
• A Fistful of Steam Valves – Story by Lee Robson, Art by Bryan Coyle (6 pages)
• Coyote and the Giant (an adaptation of a Native American Folk Lore) – Script and Art by Kate Brown (8 pages)
• Boots – Script and Art by Morgan Pielli (5 pages)
• Cowboy Interviews: Part 3 – Story and Art by David Baillie (1 page)
• And Everything Nice – Story by Michael Lindal Andersen; Art by Dan Barritt (6 pages)
• Shooting – Story by Alexi Conman, Art by Nic Wilkinson (6 pages)
• A Town Called Desolation – Story and Art by Graeme Neil Reid (1 page)
• Cowboy Interviews: Part 4 – Story and Art by David Baillie (1 page)
• Mrs. Earnshaw’s Telegram: A Jerusalem West Story – Story by Andrew Cheverton, Art by Tim Keable (6 pages)
• Fistful of Corpse Meat – Story and Art by Indio (6 pages)
• Last Train to Jubilation – Story and Art by Gary Crutchley (8 pages)
• A Boy Called Vengeance – Story by Jon Ayre, Art by Andy Forber (8 pages)
• Sixteen Horseless Riders – Story and Art by Daniel Douglas Noble (1 page)
• Cowboy Interviews: Part 5 – Story and Art by David Baillie, (1 page).
• They Died With Their Boots On – Story by David Hailwood, Art by Paul Harrison-Davies (6 pages)
• San Jacinto – Story and Art by Bridgeen Gillespie (2 pages).
• High Moon – Story by Owen Johnson; Art by Kevin Mullins (6 pages)
• The New West – Story by Lewis Costello, Art by Charley Spencer (4 pages)
• Mrs Henry – Story by Leah Moore & John Reppion, Art by David Hitchcock (6 pages)
• Old Red – Story and Art by James Gray (1 page).
• The Birds and the Behans – Story and Art by Daniel Douglas Noble (1 page)
• Tenderfoot – Story and Art by Steve Bissette (6 pages)
• The Hanging – Story and Art by Pedro Lopez (4 pages)
• To Catch the Dragon’s Tail – Art by Tim Hill, Story by Paul Bowles (9 pages)
• Cowboy Interviews: Part 6 – Art and Story by David Baillie (1 page)
• Avenger – Story by Mo Ali, Art by Brian Gorman (6 pages)
• Herr Trigger and Dusty Boots – Story and Art by Steve Martin (6 pages)
• The Legend of ”El Burro” – Story Stephen Michael Lowe, Art by Marleen Lowe (8 pages)
• The 7th Will Rise Again – Story by Dwight L MacPherson, Art by Kirk Manley (8 pages)
• Lucky Starr – Story and Art by Colin Mathieson (8 pages)
• The Men Who Built The West – Story by Kieron Gillen, Art by Andy Bloor (6 pages)

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