Customer Reviews

Daisy Kutter: The Last Train

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Set in a strange, Futurist version of the Wild West, female ex-bandit Daisy Kutter is tricked into one last train robbery. But all is not as it seems.

It has wry humor, an appealing lead character, a real feel for the West, & fun art.

I'll bet my eyeteeth the cartoonist has a shelf full of Lamour Westerns at home.

This belongs in an odd little sub-genre called the Weird West, claimed equally by Westerns, Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror, all set in the latter half of America's 19th Century, & west of the Mississippi.

I wanna see more of Miss Daisy Kutter.

The Hipster gives it a big Thumbs Up!

The title is actually Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, and it's an excellent graphic novel by <a href="http://www.boltcity.com">Kazu Kibuishi</a>. It's a sort of a space western featuring Daisy Kutter, a former outlaw of mythic repute who gets roped into one more gig. The story is simple and rather unremarkable, but its merits as a comic are many. Kibuishi seems to have mastered the subtle pacing and extended silences that make comics so magical, and he has chosen a level of stylization for his characters that is accessibly cartoonish without being cloying or absurd (think The Incredibles and Tintin rather than Mickey Mouse). One gets the impression he has taken all of Scott McCloud's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/006097625X/">best advice</a>, consciously or otherwise. Regardless, this is a real gem.

Daisy Kutter: The Last Train is a graphic novel that I had no plans to get. I didn't even know it existed. It never came up on my Recommended List.

WHY?? This book has been out since 2005. I should have gotten it much much sooner! I feel like I am late to a wonderful party!

But still, I did eventually find this graphic novel by Kazu Kibuishi on pure accident while looking for another graphic novel.

I got both but it is Daisy who stole my heart.

Seriously, this is a fabulous book. Unpretentious, funny, intense, a bit of romance and some blood with a great heroine.

Daisy Kutter is an old West, steam punk style ex-bandit. After losing her store in a round of Texas Hold 'Em, she is persuaded to take part in a robbery of train that is commissioned by the train's owner as a way to test the security.

Daisy's world is an alternate universe where the old West and robots live together in uneasy harmony. She's a woman who has lived a full life and while she isn't ready to be a good woman, she's more than ready to give up the old lifestyle.

But a woman's got to do what a woman's got to do.

With the sherriff-on-vacation beside her and two new associates, she will attempt to rob the train and get the money and save her store.

If only it were that easy.

The art is deceptively simple and apparently all done by Kibuishi himself. The story is wonderful in detail and dialogue.

And Daisy and Tom are immediately engaging characters.

I have to look for more work from Kazu Kibuishi because I am now an immediate fan.

But as I look through the listings, it doesn't look like there are any more Daisy Kutter books as yet. I hope that changes because this little gem of a story is so good that it begs to have more.

Kazu is one of the best comic artists our there. I love how he creates the environement in the frames, his lines and his storytelling. I love his Copper and I loved this. I'm crossing my fingers for more comics from him.

Always good to see a powerful story whose protagonist is strong but still human, with dimension and depth... and a woman. Not enough of that in our society, but at least it's here.

On 2/5/09, Kazu updated his site (www.boltcity.com) that there will be a 22 page Daisy Kutter stroy in Flight Vol. 6 that is coming later this summer.

Daisy Kutter used to be train robber. And she used to be partners (and perhaps more) with Tom. But those days are past as Tom is now the Sherif and Daisy is owner of local general store...and bored out of her mind. She can't acclimate herself to "normal" life like Tom can and one night trying to relive her boredom she loses the store in a poker game. Mr. Winters, who she lost the store to, has a proposition though: try to rob his train and test his new security robots. And he's willing to pay. But it appears that not everything is on the up and up. And Daisy and Tom are fighting to survive.

Set in a steampunk version of the old west, where robots and humans live together, Kibuishi creates a masterful story that has a great deal of humor. You know that classic stoic character in the old west movies? That's Daisy. But instead of being played by some curmudgeonly old man, it's played by a young woman with a bit of humor to her, which is a nice change of pace. The relationship between Tom and Daisy is set up beautifully and it's easy to relate to them and understand where both of them are coming from.

The artwork has some of the elegance and detail that can be found in Kibuishi's current series, The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1), but in a bit simpler style. It's a completely black & white, but Kibuishi uses the gray tones effectively to create a lot of depth and energy to the characters. And with just a few simple lines Kibuishi gives us memorable characters that keep us coming back for more. I especially love the close ups of the characters eyes, particularly Daisy's. When those happen we get a real sense of who the character is and the emotion that they're feeling at the time.

Like the title says, this is my favorite graphic novel of all time. It was the first one I ever picked up so yeah it hold some sentimental value, but the combination of a great story and great artwork make this a must read for anyone. My one complaint...no sequel (although there is a short story in Flight volume 6)!

It's a cool mix of manga, western, sci-fi influence. Great story, the main character is really fleshed out. The worst thing about this book is that Daisy Kutter sequel isn't out.

Daisy Kutter is an action packed story that gives the reader a little bit of the Old West combined with a flare for the futuristic/sci-fi. This graphic novel does a wonderful job combining dialogue and art to create a very well-rounded story.

Daisy Kutter is the story of a strong female personality "saving the day" against robots in the Old West. Daisy, a former gunfighter, gives up that life for the slower scene - owning a general store. One day a mysterious card shark comes to town and beats her in a poker shoot out. After he takes her for everything she has, he offers her an enticing deal. He needs her to rob a train. The catch - it's his train!! She takes the deal and embarks on a great action-packed adventure with classic gunfights and plenty of drama!

The drawings in this book really make the story. The dialogue is intriguing, but the reader must "read" the pictures in order to grasp the full story. The drawings are so compelling and tell so much of the story that the dialogue is lost without them.

Overall, a compelling story with an interesting backdrop (Old West and Sci-Fi) complemented by wonderful pictures.

I think this is a VERY good comic book, but ... i don't know... i just do NOT agree with the 5 out of 5 positive reviews.
I think:
a)Too short.
b)I didn't get attached to the characters.
c)kind of...something missing. I just won't remember this one in a year ("Solanin" on the other hand)
Lately i bought "Preacher" "Y: the last man" "Full metal alchemist" "Batman: the killing joke" "The dark knight returns" "Maus" "The Goon" "fell" "Desolation Jones" "I kill Giants"
And ALL of these are MUCH more memorable and interesting than "Daisy Kutter"
Though, AGAIN, i think if this was a longer series and had taken time to build a bond between me and the Daisy and other characters it would've been completely different. I like this universe of Daisy's.