Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1

by Cullen Bunn, Adrian F. Wassel (editor), Fares Maese (colorist)

The Witcher  meets The Dresden Files meets Jonah Hex in Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel), the bestselling supernatural fantasy western smash #1 audio book and eBook in print and as a graphic novel for the first time!

Demons. Monsters. Witches. His sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down.
Life isn't simple for a Demon Hunter.

James Crowley met his mortal end in a hail of gunfire. Now, he finds himself in purgatory, serving the White Throne to avoid falling to hell. Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his servitude and fade away.

His not-so-sacred duty as a Hand of God? Use his new abilities to hunt down demonic beings that have infiltrated the mortal realm.

The White Throne has sent him to the middle of a western town called Dead Acre with a saloon, a moldy church, and little else worth talking about. There isn't even a sheriff. But the local cobbler has gone missing at the same time as a number of graves were desecrated.

Crowley must follow the clues, all while dealing with a cutthroat gang which treats Dead Acre like they own it, an extraordinary woman who makes it hard to focus, and locals not keen on strangers.

Life isn't simple for a Hand of God.

Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel ) is written by New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Riley Brown.

For fans of Deadwood, Pale Rider, High Plains Drifter, Jonah Hex, Bone Tomahawk, Red Dead Redemption,The Dresden Files (Jim Butcher), The Sixth Gun (Cullen Bunn), The Gunslinger (Stephen King), The Dark Tower series (Stephen King), Blood and Shadows (Joe Lansdale), Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy), Trail of Lightning (Rebecca Roanhorse), Lone Woman (Victor Lavalle), Longmire (books and tv), Pretty Deadly (Kelly Sue DeConnick), Preacher (Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon), Saint of Killers, East of West (Jonathan Hickman/Nick Dragotta), Loveless (Brian Azzarello), Red Rabbit (Alex Grecian), Shadow on the Sun (Richard Matheson), I Travel By Night (Robert McCammon), Last Road From Perdition (Robert McCammon), American Vampire (Scott Snyder), West of Sundown (Tim Seeley/Jim Terry), Unbury Carol (Josh Malerman), Skin Medicine (Tim Curran), A Book of Tongues (Book 1 in the Hexslinger Series by Gemma Files), Wynonna Earp, Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman, and weird westerns.

Original prose series written by USA Today Bestseller Rhett C. Bruno and Audie Nominated author Jaime Castle.

Black Badge (Original Series) Awards and
Nominated for a 2023 Audie Award Won Best Fantasy for 2022 on Audible Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Nominee for Fantasy (2022) Won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Paranormal Awards for Supernatural Fiction.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy

160 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[MikeLikesBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel with beautiful artwork. The protagonist is back from the grave, given a redeeming second chance by the White Throne. He just has to fight demons and the forces of evil. The world is the old west which I also enjoyed.

He has to solve a murder and finds himself in tough situations.

I really enjoyed it. I did listen to the audiobook earlier so I already knew the story. It still held my attention. If you are looking for a supernatural, scary tale, grab this graphic novel.

I want to thank the publisher for a free early advanced copy. This review is voluntary.

[Britt | Fantasy Fire and Freckles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a graphic novel. I grew up on comics & started to appreciate graphic novels more as a young adult. It was such an awesome experience coming back to that when I received this from Aethon books. Here is my honest review...

I flew through this & ate it up like binging a favorite TV show. Speaking of favorite TV shows, mine is Supernatural - and this felt like a western version of that with angels, demons, being brought back from the dead & other varieties of supernatural beings/creatures. (& similar to the witcher of course.)

The main character Crowley ( oh look, a name from supernatural ) & his character voice is exceptional. He is automatically book boyfriend material.

Let's not forget his sidekick Timperina, his horse companion who is always late but helps save the day.

Shar, the angel who is responsible for directing Crowley on his tasks/missions as gods hand to redeem himself is just spicy enough with her comebacks to Crowley's entertaining dialogue.

The plot: It's supernatural fantasy + a Western mystery expertly done. I'm not a huge western fan, but I guess I am now because this was fantastic. This was a mystery where you think it's going to be predictable at every turn but throws another wrench in your guesses... or another skeleton. Crowley's Magical abilities fit well with the storyline & has its restrictions which makes for some really bloody situations.

Yes, there are some themes that have been done before here but it's just so much fun. I am definitely going to be following this series very closely!

Last but not least the artwork is phenomenal & this wouldn't be a 5 star graphic novel without it!! I'm obsessed.

[Andy Peloquin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full transparency: I’m the Director of Publicity for Aethon Books. However, this review is 100% honest, unbiased, and based solely on my reading experience.

TL;DR Review: Strong Western vibe punched up with supernatural weirdness. Deadwood meets Red Dead Redemption in this classic gritty Wild West world.

Synopsis:
I’ll be honest: I’m a sucker for a good Western!
I will forever love that classic Western character, the badass cowboy/outlaw/desperado/gunslinger/lawman with a heart of gold. As we quickly see from the first pages of this story, that’s exactly what James Crowley is beneath all the gruff and grit and the world-weariness.
Once an outlaw, now chosen gunslinger for the White Throne (Heaven), he rides around this very Deadwood-esque corner of the Wild West searching out evildoers and stopping supernatural threats. He exudes an air of being a wanderer and drifter that feels very much ripped from Red Dead Redemption and leans into the Western flavor in full force.
Over the course of the story, we see the bits and pieces of his goodness shine through, making him an anti-hero we absolutely want to root for. The fact that he’s effectively a (mostly) unkillable badass just makes us love him all the more.
I enjoyed Dead Acre immensely when I listened to it back in 2021. Roger Clark’s narration was entirely perfect for this character and world. And reading this graphic novel now, I could almost hear that drawling Western voice playing in my mind. Absolutely dialed up my enjoyment of the graphic novel.
Even though I’d read it years ago, there’s something quite lovely about seeing it all play out in front of me in glorious colors. The battle scenes hit with so much more punch, the emotions were beautifully heightened, and the story’s more poignant moments landed harder. By the end, I felt far more invested in the character and the world than I did when listening years ago.
Dead Acre is my kind of Western: a lot of badassery, plenty of bloodshed, and just enough of the magical to make it feel like proper fantasy. I know it’s only just released today, but already I’m champing at the bit for the next issue of James Crowley’s dark supernatural adventures.

[indyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally published at SFF Insiders

Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel) was one heck of a super fun ride through the wild wild west. Talk about high-octane action which goes all guns blazing (quite literally), no-nonsense drama, an engaging plot with interesting characters, a fitting western setting backed up by a well-realized world and lore, a whole host of evil all around, all paired up with a MC who will catch your eye right away with his quick hands, sharp wits, and deadpan humor. Not to mention the quite superb and totally worth applauding work on the coloring and the illustrations that bring everything to life so very well. The hype around it was completely justified, and I honestly can’t wait to dive into the next installments already!

Strap on your western boots, don the cowboy hat, and make sure that belt of yours is as tight as it can get (with a loaded gun in the holster at the ready!). Oh, and do not hold onto your horses for this one, folks, cuz trust me, you absolutely don’t wanna miss out on this western supernatural fantasy adventure whatsoever. CAN’T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really am giving this a 3.5 stars

The story merges a strong Western vibe reminiscent of "Deadwood" and "Red Dead Redemption" with supernatural elements, creating a gritty and very unique Wild West setting.

James Crowley, a former outlaw, now serves as a demon hunter for the White Throne (Heaven) after being in purgatory. His duty is to hunt down demonic entities, using his powers to navigate the dangers of the mortal realm.

The narrative unfolds in the small Western town of Dead Acre, characterized by its lack of law enforcement and mysterious occurrences, including missing locals and desecrated graves.

Crowley is portrayed as a complex anti-hero with an underlying goodness, making him a character readers root for. His immortal status and outlaw past enhance his appeal as a Western gunslinger.

The blending of Western ruggedness with fantasy elements results in an intriguing narrative filled with action and intrigue.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

If, like me, you read Cullen Bunn's The Sixth Gun, and you chose this thinking it would be more of the same combination of Old West and magic, then like me, you were disappointed. Dead Acre is a combination of western and horror and dark fantasy, but it's not nearly as well-written as The Sixth Gun.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are just some genres and/or subgenres that I cannot help but eat up and horror westerns is one of them.

I was sold with the name, the artwork and the premise and was rewarded with a fun fast paced story, snappy dialogue, a main character who has that quintessential western grit that you route for, and fantastic art.

This was a super fun ride from star

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fairly good, though for a story involving werewolves and a necromancer, there was far too much talk and not enough action. The artwork was strong throughout. If this proves to be a continuing series, I'd read another.

[Paul Zareith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, action-packed, beautifully illustrated graphic novel that can be read entirely in a single sitting!

James Crowley, our resurrected protagonist, is wandering through the lawless Wild West, solving mysteries and weeding out supernatural evil while serving the White Throne. In the first volume of this saga, we see him tackle the mystery around a strange disappearance and grave-robbing in the quaint, lawless town of Dead Acre. The search quickly spirals into more chaotic altercations and a confrontation with unexpected supernatural fiends.

Full review here

[Dustin Knickrehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point I just need Vol. 2. It very much fits the “Dresden meets western” vibes that were promised, and now I’m going to be exceptionally impatient. Great read!

[Bridgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

*well-written graphic novel
*beautifully done illustrations
*kept my interest from cover to cover
*highly recommend

[Dave Archer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a cool premise and I love a good western, but it fell a bit flat. I thought it could have pushed a bit more.