Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

All-Star Western #1

By Garth the Geek
September 29, 2011 - 19:17

About ten years ago I took an overnight train from the Netherlands to Germany. Seeing Berlin for the first time - the foreign skyline, the partially destroyed Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church against the early morning sky - I fell in love. Page 1 of ‘All Star Western’ was like that, all over again. Gotham City of the 1880s, brought to life, was a sight to behold, captured in all of its beauty and ugliness.

The artwork in ‘All Star Western’ is amazing - alternating between effective simplicity and jaw-dropping detail. Moritat’s lines are strong and work with the story perfectly, and I found myself pausing more than once to pour over the crowd scenes, trying to take everything in.

Sadly, I’m not familiar with Moritat’s work - though after this issue I find myself wanting to see a lot more. And while I’m familiar with both Jonah Hex and westerns, my purchase was based on neither. No, I bought this comic for one reason and one reason only: Jimmy Palmiotti. Had he and Justin Gray not been involved, I would have left with something else.

For anyone unfamiliar with Palmiotti and Gray, they were the creative minds behind the previous Jonah Hex series, consistently delivering great stories, and with the release of ‘All Star Western’, they seem poised to do it again.

Know this: you need not have read a single issue of ‘Jonah Hex’ to enjoy ‘All Star Western’. This is the perfect reboot story, essentially introducing (or re-introducing) the character of Hex through the eyes of Dr. Arkham. Hex’s history seems intact, but knowledge of it is unnecessary. What’s important is the here and now - or, perhaps, the here and THEN. And the here and then is simple: Gotham of the 1880s is dealing with its own version of Jack the Ripper, dubbed The Gotham Butcher. Hex has been brought in to help bring the killer to justice, much to the chagrin of the Gotham police department. Dr. Arkham is his unwanted partner.

The story thus far is engaging - Palmiotti and Gray deliver, as I’ve come to expect from them. The artwork is impressive. And while I rarely look to see who’s responsible for the colouring, Gabriel Bautista deserves a special shout out for his amazing palette choices. For a while I was cursing DC for waiting until the final week to release this book. I finally figured out why: they were saving the best for last.

Rating: 9.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12