Red Range: A Wild Western Adventure

Red Hawk Saga #1

by Joe R. Lansdale, Sam Glanzman (Illustrations), Richard Klaw (Introduction)

A tale of hope set amongst the hyper violence of the 19th century, RED RANGE tells the tale of Red Mask, a tough vigilante that rides against the tragic racism of a klan-dominated Texas. Written by Joe Lansdale and illustrated by the legendary Sam Glanzman, RED RANGE offers an unerring ear for exotic period and regional dialect, racial unrest and strange happenings that find their mark 18 years after its original publication.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Westerns, Historical Fiction

114 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in more than two dozen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" to film hisownself. The film adaptation of his novel Cold in July was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap & Leonard novels for television.

He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the vigilante Red Mask stops a lynching and sends some KKK members to the grave, he goes on the run with a young boy named Turon. The remaining Klansmen chase Red Mask and Turon all the way into a Lost World in the bowels of the Earth...

I've been a Joe Lansdale fan for thirty years at this point and I enjoyed the Lansdale/Truman/Glanzman collaboration on the three Jonah Hex series they did for Vertigo so I have no idea how this slipped under my radar around the turn of the century. Fortunately, I grabbed it during one of It's Alive press's "help us not go out of business" sales.

The book grabs you by the genitals with a brutal lynching and doesn't let up, twisting them a little more every couple pages. The Red Mask could end a drought with all the blood he spills by the time the Lost World part of the book comes into play.

The writing is vintage Lansdale, a harsh judgement on racism punctuated by hilarious dialog and extreme violence. Sam Glanzman had to be around 70 when this came out but his gritty artwork is top notch, reminding me of Joe Kubert, although they probably shared influences. The dinosaurs were just bloody icing on the cake of corpses.

I went into this cold so I had no idea there was a Lost World component, although it wasn't incredibly surprising since Uncle Joe has been known to weave a Lost World yarn or two in his day. I'm glad to hear the sequel is in the works since this book ends a little abruptly.

Red Range hits all the buttons for me. White supremacists gets their brains splattered everywhere, there is hilarious crude humor, and dinosaurs to boot. Five out of five stars.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never actually saw the original edition of this, which is weird because I was certainly into comics at the time. I definitely bought both of Lansdale's Jonah Hex series as they came out, so I certainly knew his reputation and everything. In any case, I'm glad to read it now.

Set in Texas, as so much of Lansdale's work tends to be, a group of Klansmen are terrorizing a black farmer and his family, when they are attacked by the Red Mask, a lone vigilante bent on stopping the Klan wherever they strike. So we get lots of Western action and racial commentary. And then everything gets cranked up to 11 plotwise, but to comment further would probably be spoiling things. Let's just say that Lansdale and Glanzman were very happy in creating this book and leave it at that. It does end on an open-ended note. As far as I know, no sequel was done. Lansdale could certainly write one, but with Glanzman's recent passing, he'd need a different artist.

This is a wonderfully pulpy Western action title. Lansdale does portray racism in all its ugliness, which can be hard to take. Turning a blind eye doesn't make it go away though, and it's less likely to fester if it's out in broad daylight. There's a terrific pair of essays by Stephen Bissette talking about the historical and fictional contexts of the book, as well as a short story that Glanzman did for a Western anthology that was basically his tryout for this book. Lots of fun, if not for the faint-hearted. Recommended!

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joe Lansdale spins a bizarre Western tale that is a tribute to the Lone Ranger, with masked hero the Red Mask, an African American man with a tragic past, wandering the South protecting Black people from the KKK and other racists. It starts out as a precursor to Quentin Tarantino's Django with many uses of the N-word and bucketloads of gory violence. Half of the book is basically a running gun battle and then comes a gonzo twist as the good guys and bad guys fall into a Skartaris/Land of the Lost type world filled with dinosaurs and a dangerous tribe made up of previous castaways who are racist BIPOC. It's a throwback mishmash with a sloppy, ham-fisted, over-the-top script that leaves a lot of stuff unfinished.

Originally released in 1999, I read the new 2017 edition that adds an introduction and afterword that try to rationalize a White creative team putting forth a Blaxploitation story that many might find inappropriate or offensive for a variety of reasons. Apparently, Lansdale's son Keith started a sequel series last year, but I don't imagine I'll ever seek that out.

[Michael Fierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is easily the worst book Joe R. Lansdale has ever had anything to do with.

It is degrading, offensive (even for the bizarro fiction types), not entertaining, an overall misguided effort, and not recommended for anyone.

Go buy anything & everything on the planet by Joe R. Lansdale and Sam Glanzman before you give in and buy this worthless piece of dung.

This will have Lansdale fans axing, "WTF were they thinking?"

I give it 2 big cowplops only because it had a couple of huk huk slap yore redneck knee moments and the artwork's pretty okey dokey.


*Not a saving grace fsho but nice cover by N.C. Wyeth.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Range has a large trigger warning attached to it. Graphically shows violence of the KKK in the West, and the African American Red Mask who fights back. Lot's of use of the n word.

If this bothers you, probably won't enjoy. By the team that did some great work on Jonah Hex. Throw in some dinosaurs to the western tail and enjoy.

[J.M. (Joe) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading “Black Hat Jack,” I wanted more Lansdale Western stories, and this has been on my bookshelf a while. I don’t even know what to say about “Red Range” except that it doesn’t even touch “Black Hat Jack.” The brutality and racism portrayed in this graphic novel format was simply too much for me to enjoy this book, and the simplicity of the writing apparent in Lansdale’s prose is completely lost in this mess.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I was not expecting that to go where that went.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reader is warned in the forward that this is a very violent tale. And, I agree some creators in various media sometimes go too far in their portrayal of violence and the portrayal serves the story poorly. In Red Range what some might call ultra violence does serve the story well, because I think you should dislike, if not hate, the KKK members who attack the African-American on the novella's very first page.

The opening pages are brutal and disgusting. I think most readers would have the reaction I did to this, and the scene in Death Wish where Charles Bronson's wife and daughter are assaulted. You want these KKK to receive a righteous punishment.

Thankfully they do. That's not really a spoiler, or much as one as you might think. If you've seen Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained you know it's coming. The question is going to be how revenge is dealt out. I know I'm using movies to try and convey and emotional and visual reaction I think readers would have, but more so than any written page I have read these movies I think as examples of the type of violence you will find here.

Which, if you don't know it at the start might surprise you. A masked rider riding in to deal out vengeance and save a young boy? Sounds like the Lone Ranger except the Red Mask is African-American and wants to kill the KKK who killed his wife and child.

This is a very quick read, and the forward and afterward are worthwhile. Some like me might be turned off by, I'd call it the last quarter of the tale, which veers 90 degrees away from everything before it.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super violent. Weird. Compelling.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

I've been a huge fan of basically everyone involved in this project for years, so when I got the chance to receive a review copy, I jumped unhesitatingly at the chance.

Red Range is a reprint/reformatting/re-release of an original graphic novel from 1999. Combining completely over the top violence, horror, camp and humour, it explores (explodes) racism and societal violence. If the new cover weren't enough warning, this is not for the faint of heart. In the introduction, Richard Klaw talks about his shock and disgust reading the work for the first time. He describes his reaction as visceral, and I think that's a very apt word choice. I literally recoiled reading the first page. I have absolutely no doubt that that was the author's and artist's intention.

The intro and afterword are well written and historically interesting. The main body of the work is also well done, but very difficult to read in places. It is shocking and graphic and ugly.

The narrative is unrelenting and fast paced. There were places when I read something and thought 'Wait, what?!'. The last quarter of the book is weirdly violent or possibly violently weird. I could definitely see this as a pilot issue for a series. I would pay good money to read it. :) I've dinged a half a star for the fact that it just sputters to a halt at the 'end'.

Emphatically not for the squeamish or easily offended. The book is every kind of violent there is (including implied bestiality, sexual and racial violence, horrible language, etc etc).

Available in hardcover, electronic, and paperback formats, published by IDW Publishing and released 20 June, 2017.

Four and a half stars for what it is.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen R Bissette in afters ascribe parody of movies from 1931 to recent makers of the bloody, violent, and unusual, stretching to warp humor. Yup for the funny bits, worth a snort of snicker.

The shocking "Feature" end held no surprise because my sense of absurd was already locked in. Too bad Library and Hoopla don't have sequel "Pirates of Fireworld". Just the title and I want it.

"Featurette" confused me. Final frame is vulture flying over horse corpse, so guess bird is 'hungry' of title? Injun chases horse who bucks him, so he kills it for vultures that ate rider he killed before. C'est ça"? That's it?

Afters were informative. Every page had clear copies of comic frames, movie posters, stills, and actor photos, some with remarkable resemblance to main "feature".

Includes:
Foreword - Richard Klaw
Red Range
I could eat a horse Sam J Glanzman 1996 MoJo Press
A Brief History of Cowboys & Dinosaurs
- Stephen R Bissette
About the Authors

[George Isaacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Black cowboy tale that might've made Quentin Tarantino go "Holy Shit!!!" Unpleasant, at times, but hilarious at others, and sometimes both simultaneously. A very satisfying read. Art is by the late Sam Glanzman (who isn't credited at the top of this page). Originally came out in the nineties, but re-issued in hardcover and in color for the Kickstarter edition (which I got, not knowing what I was in for) . Story takes an unexpected direction towards the end, and was the first of a proposed series(?) judging by the final page. The story itself is pretty self contained, and ended with me wondering why I'd never heard of Joe Lansdale. Because I wasn't paying attention, I guess. Lansdale and Glanzman (as inker) did some Jonah Hex work with Tim Truman, back in the last decade of the twentieth century. I'll have to look for those. He also wrote the novella that became Bubbha Ho-Tep (which I did see).

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe R. Lansdale has written about the African-American western experience before, most notably in PARADISE ROAD. Here he takes on what is essentially a revenge yarn, with a wronged black man hunting down the Klansmen who destroyed his life. What happens next is a shocker. Joe takes this simple western into fantasy territory which leaves the reader dying for more. Originally published in 1999, and in black & white, RED RANGE did not find its audience. It was too graphically violent and shocking for most readers. Today, in our Post-Tarantino word, and with white supremacy on the rise, the tale of a black avenger against racist crimes is more relevant. It is as if Leonard Pine were in action in the post-Civil War years. The new edition (2017) has been inked in color, which makes it even more cinematic. Readers may still be shocked at the juxtaposition of brutality and humor, but that is just Joe's way.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's violent, it's weird, it's not afraid to go there with racism. It's Joe Lansdale. The story is a bit short, but what you get is pretty intense. An African American vigilante fighting against the klan is definitely not going to be a light read, so be ready for some brutal moments. But, this story goes somewhere totally unexpected, which elevates this to something completely different.

The art is great, capturing the violence and strange world the characters find themselves in. Some parts of the story seem to jump around a little, making it feel like you missed something. But, it's a pretty straightforward story so I never felt lost.

[Mickey Bits · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably one of the best graphic novels I read all year. A little bit western, a little bit SF, a whole lot of dinosaur. Graphic, ultra-violent, well written. I need more of this! Too bad I read it so quickly... I wish this was one of those epic 1000-pagers... alas, I read it in less than 30 minutes.

Black protagonist, to boot. (Icing on the cake when trying to engage reluctant readers... in high school or older, I hope.)

Oh yeah! Sam Glanzman illustrations... this guy is...err... was a true master. Lamenting the fact I only discovered him years after his death.

[Holly Dolezalek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn. Great story, but brace yourself for some horrors.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Red Range is a Graphic novel-- and it is graphic... graphic violence and graphic language-- especially racial epithets-- This is a western-- but it qualifies as a weird western-- especially when we get to the end of the story.

The story is about a bunch of racists and a masked black vigilante who is set on stopping their rampage against blacks. The story itself is painful because of the racism and it is MEANT to be so... In fact, it is a good story and there are some excellent action scenes. It gets a little silly and absurd towards its conclusion-- but it is a good story-- though it ends on sort of a cliffhanger... probably left in place for sequels...

This particular edition is marred greatly by the commentary offered within its pages. This story is not a valid allegory for current state of racial tension in America, despite the commentary in its pages. I enjoy a good story for the sake of the story-- but the political diatribe (and dribble) in the commentary is so clearly trying to make this a manifesto against racism rather than simply a story that has at its foundation racism. The commentary is offered in such a biting and cutting manner that it tends to undercut the story's strong points. For the commentator to actually blame Trump for the current state of racism is wrong. Not that I'm defending Trump's ignorant blathering-- It is just that stigma of racism has ALWAYS been present in America. We've always had people who felt negatively about other races and who were willing to act. So, the over-the-top commentary fails to underline the story and instead negates its points and its nastiness. It undercuts Lansdale's work and blunts it edge.

Lansdale is coarser than most stuff I read... I recognize he is clearly offering a different viewpoint of life than I have experienced, but at times it is a bit strong. Still, it is fairly good stuff. I would just suggest read the story and skip the political commentary.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Range is a long graphic novel that deals with the Old West and African Americans. But, in this story they're referred to as niggers, and the white people in this story are members of the KKK. This is not unusual for Lansdale, as he writes historical fiction a lot, and he writes it how it was at that time. He does not sugar coat anything, nor try to be politically correct.

*** minor spoilers ***
Red Range is the hero in this story, and he is black. He saves a young boy from the Klan, although the boy's family is killed. So, they run from the remaining members of the klan. But while running they get swept away in a riverbed, and are deposited in some alien land, that has prehistoric life forms. This is Lansdale being weird, as he has quite the imagination. Anyway, the way it ended, it felt like it is set up for a sequel.

I ended up enjoying the story quite a bit. Joe did a pretty good job with this odd piece, I was surprised.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short review: Brutally weird.

Longer review: This is a great new edition of a not-so-great book. Originally published in black and white and paperback, this hardcover edition has been enhanced with beautiful color work, several great text pieces and a standalone short story. The problem is that the original story still isn't that great. Oh, it *starts* great, and is still great past the halfway point. Then it devolves from a Western about racism and revenge into a weird story with magic and dinosaurs, ultimately becoming the first chapter of a sprawling Weird Western saga that was never continued. If only the creators had stuck with the first plot and delivered an ending, this could have been a permanent classic. As is, it's a footnote in two illustrious careers.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I supported this reprint on the Kickstarter. The book hasn't arrived yet, but the PDF did and I read it.

Let's start by saying that I'm a big fan of both Lansdale (prose and comics) and of Sam Glanzman. This is overall great work and if you like either creator then chances are you're going to be a happy camper.

This is a no-hold's barred look at racism in the old west. If you're going to be offended by hard language or violence then you need to move along. Because neither Landsdale nor Glanzman are holding back in any way on this book. And the afterword and the supporting material by Steve Bissette are freakin' incredible.

My complaint is that the story takes a left turn at the 2/3 point that I didn't see coming and that I really didn't think was necessary. I guess since it was planned this would continue and since "weird westerns" were a big thing in '99 that it may have made sense in that context. Me...I would have liked it to remain grounded in Old West reality.

That aside, this is a good read and I'm really glad that I supported it and that Drew Ford is bringing lost comic treasures to light.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first 3/4's of the book RED RANGE is an incredibly visceral read. But in the last quarter of the book Lansdale takes the story into a direction which immediately had me questioning what his intention was. I can see where some readers may appreciate the tonal shift. It's definitely unexpected. But to me, Lansdale completely pulls the rug out from under himself to no good purpose.

That being said I am curious to read the next volume (should there be one) just to see what Lansdale is attempting to accomplish here.

[Doggy DayCare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was as violent and appalling as Ben Marra’s Lincoln Washington, so why didn’t I like it as much! Well to quote Mr Burns, “but where’s the heart?”

Without the satirical spin or absurdist exploration gimmick, this comes off as more offensive than empowering. The art is incredible, but the story itself just isn’t captivating enough to justify 90% of the dialogue being N words. Just framing this from the villain’s perspective for 90% of the book was an awful idea when the only thing they bring to the table is racist screeds

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give the story itself 4 stars! Good western revenge tale with a decent amount of social commentary (lots of Trump supporters at the beginning of story...)! Caleb (a.k.a Red Range) is my kind of frontier hero! And Batiste (a.k.a. Trump Supporter) is an evil bad guy that makes it easy to root against. Again, good story, good artwork, good to read. Left me wondering if we'll ever see "The Pirates of Fireworld" hinted at on the last page. I sure hope so!

[Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Joe and Sam, and this story is a really, REALLY uncomfortable, ugly read. But then, the racism portrayed IS uncomfortable and ugly. Just knowing that people still think like this today is just disgusting. However, buried underneath is a bizarre tale of redemption, revenge, and strange time travel. Also, the book just sort of...ends. You aren't going to see how things turn out next.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird Western courtesy of Joe R. Lansdale. This isn't bad, but also incomplete. The story says "to be continued," and I bet that never happened. The art is a nice, sketchy kind of thing that seems well-suited to the pulpy, violent tale. It's also full of pretty matter-of-fact racism, so beware if that gets under your skin.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not big on graphic novels, but hey, it's Lansdale. A disturbing mix of cowboys, dinosaurs and racism. It is definitely going to stay with me.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent graphic novel from the always great Joe R. Lansdale.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking any style or grace, wandering off topic, and sewn together at haphazard angles - this one's a mess. Even Glanzman's looks sloppy at times.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Art work is good, but the whole story was like a knock off of red ryder or lone ranger...the language is another thing I didn't like.

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5