I can’t decide if Darrow’s being hostile.
This issue of The Shaolin Cowboy consists of approximately thirty-two double page (horizontal) and half page (vertical) panels of the Shaolin Cowboy fighting zombies in the desert. There’s a single page spread of him jumping to attack opening the issue.
After maybe five or six pages, I started to wonder if Darrow was going to go for the ultimate in all action issues. But it’s not an all action issue; the Cowboy’s basically just spinning around, slicing up zombies. It’s not some kind of decompressed narrative, Darrow’s not trying to tell a story here. He’s trying to show the reader some art. There’s no argument about whether the comic’s worth the cover price… based on the art, it’s more than worth it. Darrow works hard.
But he’s created something to look at, not something to read. It’s a portfolio of related illustrations.
CREDITS
Writer and artist, Geof Darrow; colorist, Dave Stewart; letterer, Peter Doherty; editors, Ian Tucker and Brendan Wright; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.
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