Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

All-Star Western #5

By Garth the Geek
January 29, 2012 - 08:06

I'm not a fan of westerns as much as I'm a fan of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, who together consistently deliver strong, well-written comics that are FUN. And because of this consistency, when one of their comics is a bit... off... it stands out that much more. And All Star Western #5 was definitely off.

The issue picks up where issue 4 left off: Jonah Hex is in a standoff with a man who's holding a gun to Arkham's head. Hex and Arkham are quickly captured and thrown into an underground river. And this is where the issue begins to fall apart. Plot-wise, I don't understand why the bad guys didn't just kill Hex and Arkham and dispose of their bodies in the river afterwards. The fact that the bad guys have been kidnapping children, using them as slave labour, and killing any parent who tries to stop them (refer to issue 4) indicates that they're NOT GOOD MEN. So what possible reason could they have for keeping Hex and Arkham alive? (Aside from the fact that you can't be killing off the main characters, that is).

I also found the sudden shift in narrative abrupt. The issue begins with a focus on action and dialogue. Suddenly, on page 5, we're inside the head of Arkham and the story is being told through captions. I like consistency, so I was left wondering, when there was a gun being held against Arkham's head at the beginning of the issue, why we weren't privy to his thoughts at this time as well.

But all of this I could have overlooked had it not been for the artistic mistakes that followed.

By page 8, Hex has rescued himself and Arkham from the river. It's quickly established that there's no light to speak of, and yet, as readers, WE CAN SEE EVERYTHING PERFECTLY. I felt that much of this issue should have been pages that were almost entirely black. It would have felt much more suffocating, and I would have felt like I was there with Hex and Arkham.

I understand WHY the issue isn't black page after black page – it wouldn't have been very aesthetically pleasing, especially to a potential new reader who might be flipping through the comic for the very first time – but at the same time, chances need to be taken, and I believe something like this could have worked. As I mentioned, it would have added a sense of suffocation – and danger – to the story. Also, All Star Western is very much story-driven. The action could have still been effectively conveyed through the use of dialogue and captions.

In short, the issue was adequate, but poor artistic representation - and a few problems with plot - made All Star Western #5 much less enjoyable than it should have been.

Rating: 6.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12