Billy the Kids Old-Timey Oddities [Paperback]

Eric Powell (Author), Kyle Hotz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 2006

Penned with deranged glee by Powell and illustrated by fan-favorite horror artist Kyle Hotz (The Agency and The Hood), Billy The Kid's Old Timey Oddities starts with Billy the Kid free to roam America, having faked his own death. Free, that is, until Fineas Spoule, a.k.a. The Human Spider, discovers his secret. Now, afraid of being exposed, Billy finds himself in the service of a caravan of carnival sideshow performers who have unfinished business with a mad scientist none other than Victor Frankenstein himself! This twisted lovechild of spaghetti westerns and Hammer horror flicks combines Powell's humorous fast-paced storytelling and Hotz's quirky macabre visuals for a story that the whole family will love... if they're they kind of family that love alligator men and miniature boys fighting monstrous mistakes of science with the help of the fastest gunslinger in the West!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–Faking his own death, Billy the Kid is free to roam, or so he thinks. Then Fineas Spoule, the Human Spider, approaches him and tells him that he's discovered his secret. Spoule offers a deal: help him retrieve a precious jewel from Dr. Victor Frankenstein and he'll keep Billy's secret. If the Kid doesn't help, then Spoule's contacts will release his whereabouts to the authorities. All Billy wants to do is retire in anonymity, so he agrees to the plan, and soon he finds himself in the service of a caravan of carnival sideshow performers who have their own unfinished business with Frankenstein. It's not until the end of the story that Spoule reveals the real reason for their trip to see Frankenstein–one of their performers has been kidnapped. The story is fast-paced, and the artwork is reminiscent of both spaghetti Westerns and B-movie horror. The illustrations are in full color, but have a dark tone that provides the right blend of quirky and macabre. The treatment of the freaks (as Billy calls them) is an accurate portrayal of the period and, as Billy grows as a character, his attitude toward them changes.–Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
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Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (January 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593074484
• ISBN-13: 978-1593074487
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #578,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars H.P. Lovecraft's Wild West, August 21, 2006

By 

Tom Knapp "Rambles.NET editor" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy the Kids Old-Timey Oddities (Paperback)

William Henry McCarty, a.k.a. William H. Bonney, a.k.a Billy the Kid, was gunned down by lawman Pat Garrett in 1881. Or was he? Writer Eric Powell posits otherwise, working with the assumption that Garrett unknowingly killed the wrong man and Billy, wanting the law off his back, took the opportunity to change his name and disappear. In Powell's version of events, however, Billy doesn't just vanish into obscurity. Instead, he's recruited by a band of sideshow freaks (or "biological curiosities") to take on the vile Dr. Victor Frankenstein (whose death was also exaggerated) and his minions in Europe, where a valuable treasure awaits them.

"Billy the Kid's Old-Timey Oddities" is a hoot and a holler, a fun, yet vaguely disturbing book that blends Old West attitudes and gunslingin' with Old World atmosphere and a varied bag of macabre, malformed grotesqueries.

The story is illustrated along unsettling lines by Kyle Hotz and leads readers through a twisted tale filled with tentacles, decapitations, manacles, syringes, blood and other fluids. Let's hope there's more to come.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 23, 2007

By 

Ryan Agadoni (Whittier, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Billy the Kids Old-Timey Oddities (Paperback)

When I first clapped eyes on the beautiful (supposed) cover by Eric Powell, I was sold. I'm a big fan of Westerns and of Powell's artwork and sense of humor, so this seemed like an easy sell.

The first bit of disappointment hit when I received the book. The cover was not the Powell cover that Amazon shows. Instead it was done by a different artist. This development lead quickly to more disappointment as I found that all of the art was done by this same guy. Now, he's not a terrible artist or anything, but I would have much rather seen Powell's art carry the story. I didn't care for the actual artist's style much.

More disappointment came when I found that the story had none of the Powell humor I came to love by reading his Goon series. And with a name like Billy the Kid's Old-Timey Oddities, you expect a bit of that humor.

I quickly turned around and sold the book to someone else, so no harm done. But I'd love to see Powell tackle a Western-themed book all by himself.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy Smokes!, April 4, 2006

By 

S. J Spencer (Manassas, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy the Kids Old-Timey Oddities (Paperback)

So...Billy the Kid fakes his death and ends up travelling with a freak show trying to track down the golems heart and find Dr. Frankenstein. Freakin' Hilarious!!! The art is great, the story is very amusing and the ending is good. I like how it leaves things open if Powell wants to continue, but it also makes it a complete story so you are not waiting for more. I recommend this highly....If you like The Goon, you will like this.