Customer Reviews

Iron West

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Going for wacky is a dangerous gambit, particularly in comics where it can easily drift over into unintentional camp or, even worse, come completely unhinged and end up convoluted and unfunny, so when I realized Doug TenNapel's Iron West included both Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster in the mix, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Fortunately, TenNapel walks a net-free tightrope like a pro, delivering a rollicking good time filled with moments of "He's going to fa--Wow!" that begs for adaptation to the big, or small, screen.

Iron West's protagonist is one Preston Struck, a selfish outlaw who finds himself presented with a chance to be a hero and runs from it; several times, in fact. Fate has other plans for him, though, and as likeable scoundrels go, he's got the kind of goofy charisma that makes you believe that, underneath the bluster, there's a good, decent man.

Iron West's plot is an outlandish one featuring killer robots accidentally awakened by greedy prospectors in 1898 California, a mysterious shaman cryptically named Two Rivers, the aforementioned Sasquatch and Loch Ness Monster, the proverbial gruff sherrif and a whore with a heart of gold, and several more engaging characters, human and otherwise -- all of whom come together in a wild ride of a story that left me satisfied, but wanting more. TenNapel's black-and-white artwork is clean and distinctive and, while his pacing is full-steam ahead, his layouts are clear and flow smoothly. I wasn't aware of it until afterwards, but he's also an animator, known for his Nickelodeon show, Catscratch -- as well as the creator of the video game, Earthworm Jim -- so his storytelling skills make sense.

Iron West is the latest positive example of the new Image Comics: off-beat, entertaining, quality work by creators with distinctive voices and original stories to tell. Highly recommended.

Robots invade the Old West with plenty of weapons, but no backstory. If this fascinating historical record is accurate, that's the best way to do it. If you're a homicidal robot, and you want to hybridize an established genre with hopes of revitalizing it, just get some buddies together, dress up like cowpokes, pass out the pistols, and put holes in the saloonkeeper, the ranchhand, and the stagecoach driver, all in the service of a spherical AI called the Demiurge. But don't offer any explanations, just subvert the Western trappings by engaging in robot-army- style killings. These are bloodthirsty automata who know how to acclimate within a genre that won't easily accept them: slaughter all humans, starting in Twain Harte, California. These rivet-riddled ravagers are so effective at eliminating cowboys and Indians they run the risk of erasing all traces of the Old West in this story within the first few pages, except for the scenery.

But a small band of surviving humans rally and fight back. Ms. Sharon, Two Rivers the shaman, Sasquatch (who IS really a Sasquatch), and even the Sheriff rally round small-time train-robber and cheater-at-cards, Preston Struck...who does not want to be rallied round in the slightest. This coward spends much of the time trying to get out of town and save his own hide. But events conspire against him, and slowly he accepts his role as hero, leading a last stand against the robots. His biggest challenge comes when an entire steam-train morphs spectacularly into a giant metal juggernaut. Fighting alongside the Loch Ness Monster (wouldn't you rather read the explanation for yourself, than have me tell you what the Loch Ness Monster is doing in a robot-infested Western town? Isn't the mere mention of the Loch Ness Monster enough to get you to give this quiet little historical anecdote a little perusal?), but ultimately going it alone in a climactic battle that happens before a teepee zips up and blasts off into space (hey, this "no backstory" rule works well for reviews too, doesn't it!).
Thanks to me, you either burn with curiosity to devour the pages of Iron West, or you would never go within a thousand miles of Twain Harte, California, 1898. Hopefully, it's the former. For fans of the Terminator, or Don Knotts's The Shakiest Gun In The West--or the two mashed together in the spirit of recklessly locking the bumpers of two old cars together and driving them off a cliff for a good time--the Iron West is the place to be.
Come see Science Fiction head the Old West off at the pass. There's suspense, action, romance, and pistol-packin' metalmen. And more laughs than leaving a cactus in an anti-grav chute.

Iron West is a fun, well-crafted, and thoughtful comic book.

The comic has an imaginative premise that's followed up with a great deal of action. It's 1898, and a Californian community is threatened by killer robots. As the menace approaches, outlaw Preston Struck has a choice: he can try to save the town with the help of Bigfoot and an old Indian shaman, or he can try to save his own hide. Struck picks the cowardly route, but his flight is complicated by the bounty on his head and his attraction to a woman. One can easily sympathize with this protagonist, an easygoing jokester who is essentially trying to avoid pain and death. Thus, the chases and confrontations toward the beginning of the story are engaging. They build up to a great battle that gets crazier with every page, and so the book becomes increasingly entertaining as it progresses.

TenNapel works his material with skill, and transitions beautifully between fun action and quiet, touching moments, between humor and gravity. In terms of storytelling, he's in top form. Almost everything contributes to the plot, and what may seem at first glance to be a throwaway line could be central to the story. The artwork is inspiring. The brushwork is fluid, yet precise. One sees in the characters a good sense of form, weight, and motion; they are lively, expressive, and appealing. The settings are handled with similar care, and the pages are well composed.

The book is entertaining, and the storytelling is superb. The story is worth telling, too. Beneath the surface details, the comic implicitly raises a couple of interesting questions about the sort of thing a man is. Is he hardwired to act a certain way, as the robots are, or can he choose to be better or worse? If the latter is the case, does he have obligations toward other people, or is he justified in standing apart from them? Readers who are just seeking entertainment can freely ignore the philosophical aspect of the book, which is subtle. Those who engage it, however, will find that it informs the whole and makes for a much more enjoyable read.

Iron West is an impressive work, and I highly recommend it. For those unfamiliar with TenNapel's previous comic books, this is a great place to start. Those who are familiar with his work will find Iron West to be a remarkable improvement and well worth reading.

Here's why Iron West is great: Because Doug TenNapel embraces Genre. Where other creators might be a bit too timid to appreciate a well told genre story, TenNapel jumps in head first, lasso's the genre, hogties it, and then molds the genre into his own brand of smart and wackiness...all without seeming like he's really trying.

With Iron West, he's merged two genres that should be merged together more often, though after Iron West, others shouldn't even try. Robots and Cowboys. We follow the exploits of Preston Struck, a man on the wrong side of the law, who ends up becoming the law, as he helps save a town from evil, killer robots. And if that weren't enough, he throws in Indians, Sasquatch, and a special guest, along the way.

If you're looking for a swell adventure, fantastic black and white art, crackling dialogue, and Sasquatch laying the smackdown on some robots, then this is definitely the book for you. There's not enough of this kind of fun to be had these days, so buy this book, and read it, and re-read it, and then give it to your friends.

Iron West may be Doug TenNapel's best book yet, though it is hard to match Creature Tech. It has a very compelling story that shows a very realistic change in its reluctant hero. Anyone who was put off by Earthboy Jacobus' complicated story will find Iron west refreshingly easy to follow. From an artwork standpoint, this is easily TenNapel's best. The drawings are more detailed than his previous work without sacrificing any expression. My only complaint about Iron West is that I wish it were longer and that some of the supporting characters were given a bit more page time.

If you're a fan of action, humor, westerns, sci fi, this is a must own. Doug TenNapel (Earthworm Jim, Catscratch, Creature Tech)manages to imbue his unique vision of the world in each of his works, creating sympathitic, albeit strange characters and worlds built from the best dreams of childhood.
Iron West tells the Story of Preston Struck, a turn of the century California gold minor who has lived his life for himself doing whatever he needs to do to survive. However, he is forced to confront his selfish ways when, on the run from the law, he finds himself smack dab in the middle of an invading army of robot cowboys. When he discovers these mechanical murderers aim to overtake the Golden State and threaten to kill all the humans in the process, he's forced into the role of hero, something he'd prefer not to be. His first instinct is to run, but when his lady of the night girlfriend is put in the line of fire, he must choose between running away (his preferred method of conflict resolution) and saving her and the town they inhabit.
The beauty of this story is in the inventive twists and turns that TenNapel throws at you as he bends the western genre into something totally new. This is TenNapel's best art to date, and carries his trademark whacky humor. If you don't believe me, google Iron West and you'll find Iron West to be the best reviewed Graphic novel in some time...

Wow. That was my first reaction when I finished this book.

If you're seeking an incredible adventure or hilarious dialogue, look no further than The Iron West. Doug TenNapel seems to effortlessly bend the Western genre in a million different directions, and does it with so much skill and imagination that I immediately wanted to re-read the book.

TenNapel's story is amazing. His dialogue is very entertaining and he has a natural ability to make his characters come alive. Speaking of characters...

During the course of the story, we meet characters ranging from a clever cowboy to Bigfoot to a giant train monster. Despite the fact that the characters are a bit strange, TenNapel manages to bring them all into the story in such a manner that no character really seems that out of place- he even makes you believe that the Loch Ness Monster fits into this imaginative version of the Old West. TenNapel brings all of these elements together to weave an excellent tale of a young outlaw overcoming the (albeit extremely weird) odds.

Now we come to the art: it is captivating and entertaining. It's typical TenNapel art- cartoony with enough realism to leave the reader enthralled by its beauty and heart (People who don't know who TenNapel is may remember him as the guy who created Earthworm Jim).

Seriously- if you want a fun, light-hearted tale, then go purchase this book. But be prepared to want to read it over and over...

Buy it. This is Sci-fi Western the way it was meant to be done. Great plot, great characters, and lots of butt-kicking.

The artwork is solid, and I would argue that it's some of TenNapel's best. There's a great rythm to some of the seqences which brings the pages to life and makes the experience much more like watching a film than reading a comic book.

Anyone already familar with Doug TenNapel's work knows that they're in for a wild ride, but if there are any people reading this who have been living under a rock for the past four or five years, I leave you with this thought:

In Iron West, you will get to see Sasquatch pile-drive a robot-cowboy head first into the ground. That alone is worth the price of admission. Buy it.

Should you darken the threshold of Doug TenNapel's imagination, you'll find it a world of twists and turns and inversions and what the whats? This is a dude who frequently flips the scenario. The joy in reading his stuff is that you never know where it'll lead. IRON WEST is a steampunk sci-fi western, but it also peppers in mythological creatures and snarky one-liners. It is the awesome sauce.

Another fashion in which our history has lied to us: it never covered the evil robot uprising of 1898, in Old California (just after the Gold Rush). Governed by the insidious ancient Demiurge, a sentient artifact intent on taking over California, these ruthless mechanical men suddenly begin terrorizing the local territory. They eventually make their way to the tiny town of Twain Harte, in which the shifty, good-for-nothin' card cheat and wanted hold-up man Preston Struck is plying his trade... badly. Has the Demiurge met its match in this cowardly outlaw? Probably not. Can Preston Struck fulfill his promise and return for the lovely Ms. Sharon? I doubt it. Can Preston Struck find redemption? You'll have to read the thing. The story gives the guy every chance to do the right thing, but that yellow streak always gets in the way.

IRON WEST is an irresistible black and white graphic novel, something you'll tear thru in a heartbeat and wish that it were longer. I love the energy and zest TenNapel infuses into his illustrations. Preston Struck's journey towards redemption is kicked off by the arrival of brawny bounty hunters, with Preston's ensuing panicked flight leading him to unearthing the robot incursion. And wild shenanigans happen, TenNapel's wacky conceptionalizing treating us to a tweaking on cowboys and Indians and giving us transforming trains and an ill-tempered Sasquatch ready to rumble, while also touching on the theme of technology encroaching on the American Old West (as embodied by, say, the railroad). If I ever write about TenNapel's stuff again, this'll probably become repetitive, but he anchors his fanciful tales with heart. And then he's got you. Preston Struck is a damn likable reprobate; it's just that there's this kernel of heroism in him that's simply taking forever to surface.

And if you haven't yet, then check out TenNapel's other works: Creature Tech GN, Earthboy Jacobus Graphic Novel, Ghostopolis, hells, pretty much anything the guy's published.

I picked up the last copy of Iron West at Comic Con 2010 after briefly perusing through a few pages. I was instantly drawn to its art style, as well as several characters I immediately noticed. Between robots wearing cowboy outfits, "Ladies of the Night," and Sasquatch I knew I had paper gold in my hands. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed.

While "Iron West" may have a few stereotypical plot developments and character arcs, there is so much oddity to this graphic novel that these stereotypes are welcomed with open arms simply to tie it to reality. I loved it. I would recommend it to anyone in Middle School or older (I read this novel at age 20). I laughed out loud more times than I can count, and the main character is extremely lovable.

I have no more to say! Pick up this graphic novel and you'll see for yourself!