The Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to be Kin #1: Amituofu

The Shaolin Cowboy is back! The Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to be Kin #1 is an excellent first issue of the seven-issue series and gives readers a good taste of what is to come. This issue delivers precisely what you’d expect from a Shaolin Cowboy book without feeling boring or “by the numbers.” In my opinion, Geof Darrow’s character and its subsequent series have always been some of the most exciting and original works in comics. The art of The Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to be Kin #1 can’t be described as anything short of spectacular. The opening pages depict a spanning city littered with Trump billboards and questionable fast-food restaurants. The issue spends a great deal of time in the desert as well. What is incredible about Darrow’s art is that the “empty” desert has just as much detail as the city. The care and detail that Darrow puts into his work are astounding. Nobody can illustrate a bonkers fight like him, and there are a few in this first issue. Our favorite wanderer fights off a giant lizard (and kind of adopts a baby lizard) and saves the baby lizard from some type of pterodactyl and Babyman riding a giant jellyfish. Babyman even reanimates some skeletons to drive a car for him. This issue has a lot of cool stuff that you really didn’t think you’d ever see.

The Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to be Kin #1 is the definition of a visual feast that will satisfy huge appetites. Darrow’s art is awe-inspiring in every sense and a huge part of that is thanks to colorist Dave Stewart as well as Mark Sweeney, Raunak Singh, Fred Paculba, and Josh Laird, who assisted in the flats. The coloring works in unison with Darrow’s pencils. With so much detail, the reader can miss things or get lost, but the coloring artists do an amazing job making sure that isn’t the case. Nate Piekos’ lettering plays a similar role in making sure the reader gets all of the information as efficiently as possible. My eyes wanted to take in every tiny detail of this issue, and the lettering gave me the space to do that, but also keep me on track. Overall, I had a complete blast with The Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to be Kin #1 and am excited to see what the next six issues bring.