Dustin Gebel
Image announces that the duo behind the neo-noir western, That Texas Blood, will expand the history of Ambrose County with a new five issue miniseries. The Enfield Gang Massacre, which is set to release this August, rewinds the clock and drops into a 1870s Texas, on the cusp of bringing law and order to the newly established Ambrose County. Writer Chris Condon and artist, colorist, and letterer Jacob Phillips will pit Montgomery Enfield and his outlaw gang against older Texas Ranger, echoing the themes of the main title.
In the press release, Condon discussed the inspiration from and connective tissue to That Texas Blood:
“Way back in That Texas Blood issue seven’s back matter, I mentioned ‘the Enfield Gang’s reign of terror in the 1870s’ which ended in a ‘shootout.’ That got Jacob’s imagination going and he wondered if we’d ever see that (or, more importantly, if he’d ever draw it). And, well, now we’re here. That may have been the catalyst, but the truth is that I’ve always wanted to tell the story of the origin of Ambrose County, a birth fraught with violence and terror. This miniseries is a treat for our seasoned readers but it is also an absolutely fantastic spot to jump in as this is a tabula rasa — we have a new set of characters and a county that is nigh-unrecognizable. At its core, this is a story about the truth — how fragile it is — and how whoever wins writes its future.”
This is not the first time the duo has dipped into the history of Ambrose County, chronicling some of the area’s past in back matter from the original arc of the series. The first interlude issue also focused on the sheriff that preceded That Texas Blood lead Joe Bob, and last year’s Christmas one-shot tackled a look at the old west (with more mummies and dinosaurs than expected). The miniseries feels like a natural progression of the larger story Condon and Phillips are weaving about the fictional West Texas county, and the previous work should make this an easy and absolute buy for readers.
The Enfield Gang Massacre #1 will be available at comic book shops and on digital platforms on Wednesday, August 9. Stay tuned to Comic Watch for more coverage of everything That Texas Blood, and enjoy the first images from the upcoming miniseries below:
