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Shaolin Cowboy #1-7
Shaolin Cowboy: Start Trek
The Shaolin Cowboy walks the action-packed path of three enemies: those from the past, who still pursue him, those from the future who are waiting for him, and those from the present who find killing him isn't going to be as easy as he looks.
The original Eisner-winning series published by Burlyman Entertainment in all its bloody glory.
It's fat, it's fast, it's furious!!!
Collects Shaolin Cowboy: The Burlyman #1-#7.
The original Eisner-winning series published by Burlyman Entertainment in all its bloody glory.
It's fat, it's fast, it's furious!!!
Collects Shaolin Cowboy: The Burlyman #1-#7.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2014
19 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
January 8, 2016
This is a rambling account of Darrow's career leading up to the recent 'Shaolin Cowboy' releases: the newest, 'Shemp Buffet', a Dark Horse hardcover collecting the 2014-2015 4-issue series, and the eponymous book the review is technically devoted to, a softcover collecting the original 7-issue Burlyman series published between 2004 - 2007. This babbling is inspired by my long appreciation of his artistic prowess, and his unusual career. Tintin was my favorite comic as a kid, although X-Men and Batman were close. Moebius completely rewrote those isolated strands of DNA in charge of art appreciation, as did Schuiten, Manara and Giardino, after catching a few tantalizing glimpses in old issues of Heavy Metal. Mike Mignola's art in Gotham by Gaslight', Marvel-Epic's colored reprints of 'Akira' and First's prestige format sampling of 'Lone Wolf & Cub'... these were the last blocks in the foundation, so to speak. Coming back to comics years later, clean-line BD, chiaroscuro noir and dark gekiga/shonen manga were what I gravitated towards. Darrow's 'Hard Boiled' came shortly after Sin City, and I thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen.
From the variant cover to the final issue of Conan the Cimmerian; Shaolin Cowboy - Shemp Buffet; a poster for Fantastic Fest:
The 5-Star rating applies to the material -- Shaolin Cowboy is like 'Kill Bill: Part 1', a comparison I'm sure other people have already made -- the story is a surreal farce that functions as set dressing for the greatest battle in sequential art history. This 200-plus page book is a celebration of artistic violence and violent art, a gloriously fucked-up masterpiece of ligne-claire carnage that examines the infinite possibilities of sword, gun and chainsaw-related damage. The Dark Horse book, which collects the 2014 4-issue series, will be released shortly. It takes Darrow's unique premise from the 7-issue Burlyman series collected here, and follows it down the rabbit-hole of logical absurdity, creating a wordless, plot-less battle between the Shaolin Cowboy and a horde of decomposing zombies. For everyone who doesn't give a shit about the background, I'll just summarize by saying that the material is a must for Darrow fans, but this standard-sized, high-quality softcover should have been a hardcover, and it should have been bigger to properly display the art. The 9 x 13-inch French albums from Panini are a better way to experience the artwork, but each of the three hardcovers collect 2 issues each, leaving the final 7th issue uncollected. Without an eighth 'epilogue' issue, or perhaps old 'Bourbon Thret' reprints, Tome 4 will likely never appear. This is the only complete edition, and it took eight years to get here.
Early Darrow -- East Meets West and Bourbon Thret:
A holy grail of mine -- 'Cite du Feu', the legendary mid-80's portfolio collaboration between Moebius and Geof Darrow; there's never been a better comic art collaboration:
It's about time. After leaving animation for comics, Geof Darrow debuted with a French album called 'Bourbon Thret'. It collected his short stories for various bande dessinee periodicals, and featured an unlikely hero who would later be known as 'The Shaolin Cowboy'. His purist approach to the 'ligne claire' style and ridiculously detailed, meticulously plotted compositions made him something of an artist's artist, and collaborations with the late, great Moebius and Frank Miller followed. 'Hard Boiled' and 'The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot' were -- in retrospect -- gifts of a sort from Miller, and tokens of his esteem. Darrow was unknown to North American audiences, while Miller was already a comics giant, in the midst of his now classic 'Sin City'. Miller's respect for Darrow's prodigious talents prompted him to use Darrow as the physical model for the silent, deadly cannibal named 'Kevin'. With 'Hard Boiled', he imagined the most outrageously violent, darkly humorous and visually complex science fiction story possible; something that would challenge and showcase Darrow's abilities to maximum effect. It was not a challenge Darrow took lightly, and it took over three years to complete. But the results were fucking spectacular.
From Hard Boiled:
'Hard Boiled' and 'The Big Guy...' featured the most intricately rendered, beautifully imagined line-work in comics history. Miller's name alone was enough to generate significant interest, but Darrow was unquestionably the star of the show. 'Hard Boiled' in particular was an eyeball-melting extravaganza of choreographed comics chaos -- Miller's story was an inspired blend of 'Blade Runner', 'Total Recall' and 'Robocop', with the straight-faced satire and violence of Verhoeven multiplied exponentially. Dark Horse published European-format oversized albums collecting each series, with European-style painted coloring that 'clear-line' art is made for. They also set a precedent with something that seems almost typical now, releasing two 12-inch wide by 16-inch tall black-and-white collections: 'Big Damn Hard Boiled' and 'King-Size Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot'. Anticipating the stunning Sunday Press reprints of 'Little Nemo in Slumberland' and IDW's excellent 'Artist Edition' facsimiles, they were black and white reproductions of Darrow's original art, without any of the dialogue or captions obscuring details. The multiple editions and formats were unusual for the time, before comics had committed to collected editions and claimed their place on bookstore shelves (it's ironic, considering how late this volume is, and how difficult the material it collects was to find -- in any format -- for several years; I bought the French language hardcovers just before the price jumped, since the comics still available were far too expensive; the French albums are nicely produced and oversized, but reprint only the first six comics, missing the final seventh issue).
From The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, including new material (top):
Then, not much happened. Reports of 'Shaolin Cowboy' started in the late nineties, and Darrow did the occasional cover or pin-up. Most of his efforts, however, were devoted to his conceptual designs for 'The Matrix'. His friendship with the Wachowski brothers led to various film-related projects, but 'Shaolin Cowboy' remained an enigmatic title with a perpetual 'coming soon' status. When issue number 1 finally appeared in 2005, it was published by Burleyman Entertainment, the Wachowski's boutique label, established primarily for the purposes of showcasing the work of Darrow and other Wachowski favorites like Steve Skroce. Burleyman released seven issues of 'Shaolin Cowboy', and six of them were collected in three hardcover albums in Europe. The decade-long gap between 'The Big Guy (...)' and 'Shaolin Cowboy' had not diminished his illustrative prowess, earning Darrow yet another Eisner Award for 'Best Penciller/Inker'. The silent master of Kung Fu -- a.k.a. 'Bourbon Thret' -- had returned after twenty years, this time astride an incredibly verbose talking donkey. The story is a surrealistic pastiche of Hong Kong action flick, the comedic fantasy of John Carpenter's 'Big Trouble in Little China', and post-apocalyptic zombie horror; there is no real 'plot' to speak of, just a series of hyper-kinetic battle scenarios that recall the cinematic celebration of violence in Tarantino's 'Kill Bill'. The comparisons to film are intentional; the pacing in 'Shaolin Cowboy' has the movie-like momentum of Japanese manga, reading almost like story-boards.
From the original Shaolin Cowboy series, 2005:
Unfortunately, Burlyman Entertainment was (and is) a part-time project for the Wachowski's, and the 'Shaolin Cowboy' comics didn't get the promotion or distribution they deserved. The notion that the work of an artist as important as Geof Darrow could languish in out-of-print limbo for several years is insane, and testifies to the low priority the Wachowski's placed on comics. Burlyman might have been a way of placing their proprietary stamp on another person's intellectual property; the growing number of comic-related film adaptations has led to an influx of small press titles associated with actors, directors and producers, following the example of very successful comic-book-writers-turned-Hollywood-heavyweights like Mark Millar* and Robert Kirkman. Too many titles have become film pitches, as if the entire medium is just the Movie Industy's developmental candy store. I didn't really need much excuse to dislike them after 'Speed Racer', but dumping over 200 pages of finished Geof Darrow artwork into a black hole for seven years is grounds for war (especially since it amounted to something like 30-35% of his comic-book output to that point). Well, Burleyman has finally collected the seven-issue series, and released it a couple of months before Dark Horse unleash their collection of his recent four-issue 'Shaolin Cowboy' tale. After a long drought, it's a superabundance of immaculately rendered carnage. Pick up the Burlyman trade paper-back while you can, because there's no telling when a second printing will appear.
From the recently released Shaolin Cowboy - Shemp Buffet HC:
My suspicions about Burlyman's priorities are confirmed by the format. It's a nicely made standard-issue trade paperback, printed on glossy stock that shows off the details nicely. But it's small. It's the usual 7 x 10 inch book, and the famous Darrow details are not given their due. This should have been AT LEAST a 9 x 12-inch hardcover, and preferably a 12 x 16-inch deluxe hardcover beast of the kind Humanoids do so well. Come to think of it, why didn't Humanoids publish this book? Darrow was hand-picked as the successor to Moebius by the late legend himself, and his only serious threat as "Heir of Jean 'Moebius' Giraud" is Ladronn, or perhaps Das Pastoras. His time spent working in film follows an eerily similar course: Darrow's essential role developing the Matrix trilogy echoes the work Moebius did on Blade Runner and Alien. Now he needs to find his own Jodorowsky-type partnership, and produce his own 'Incal'... because Wachowski does not equal Jodorowsky. What about an Aronofsky? 'Noah' kind of sucked, but he's got a '-sky' and a propensity for mystical, Jodo-rific SF epics. AND he's already embraced his inner Jodo by collaborating with artists Kent Williams and Niko Henrichon on the beautiful graphic novel versions of 'The Fountain' and 'Noah', the latter of which was far better than the film, IMO. Until such an unlikely partnership begins, however, there's 320-pages of premium Darrow hitting the bookstores, and I think it's fair to say that 'Shaolin Cowboy' is Geof Darrow's very own 'Airtight Garage'.
Legend of Korra illustration; Wolverine illustration; a page from King-Size Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (one of two giant-sized reprints -- the other was Big Damn Hard Boiled -- showcasing the original art in black and whit, minus speech balloons and captions):
P.S.: *Mark Millar in particular has used his ever-expanding list of R-rated indie superhero films to make his comicbook projects the job every artist wants in on, leading to co-creator status and the kind of money DC and Marvel won't come close to paying. Steve McNiven, J.G. Jones, Frank Quitely, Dave Gibbons, Leinil Yu, Goran Parlov, Bryan Hitch, John Romita, Jr... No other writer has attracted the same kind of pure artistic firepower; artists will hang up on the Marvel Editor-in-Chief/CEO/Disney Overlord if they get Mark Millar on the other line. His books are fast, entertaining head candy, but they also serve as gloriously story-boarded film pitches, complete with script and sometimes casting (you can thank Millar and Bryan Hitch for the casting of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury)... and they get optioned before the first issue hits the stands.
From the variant cover to the final issue of Conan the Cimmerian; Shaolin Cowboy - Shemp Buffet; a poster for Fantastic Fest:
The 5-Star rating applies to the material -- Shaolin Cowboy is like 'Kill Bill: Part 1', a comparison I'm sure other people have already made -- the story is a surreal farce that functions as set dressing for the greatest battle in sequential art history. This 200-plus page book is a celebration of artistic violence and violent art, a gloriously fucked-up masterpiece of ligne-claire carnage that examines the infinite possibilities of sword, gun and chainsaw-related damage. The Dark Horse book, which collects the 2014 4-issue series, will be released shortly. It takes Darrow's unique premise from the 7-issue Burlyman series collected here, and follows it down the rabbit-hole of logical absurdity, creating a wordless, plot-less battle between the Shaolin Cowboy and a horde of decomposing zombies. For everyone who doesn't give a shit about the background, I'll just summarize by saying that the material is a must for Darrow fans, but this standard-sized, high-quality softcover should have been a hardcover, and it should have been bigger to properly display the art. The 9 x 13-inch French albums from Panini are a better way to experience the artwork, but each of the three hardcovers collect 2 issues each, leaving the final 7th issue uncollected. Without an eighth 'epilogue' issue, or perhaps old 'Bourbon Thret' reprints, Tome 4 will likely never appear. This is the only complete edition, and it took eight years to get here.
Early Darrow -- East Meets West and Bourbon Thret:
A holy grail of mine -- 'Cite du Feu', the legendary mid-80's portfolio collaboration between Moebius and Geof Darrow; there's never been a better comic art collaboration:
It's about time. After leaving animation for comics, Geof Darrow debuted with a French album called 'Bourbon Thret'. It collected his short stories for various bande dessinee periodicals, and featured an unlikely hero who would later be known as 'The Shaolin Cowboy'. His purist approach to the 'ligne claire' style and ridiculously detailed, meticulously plotted compositions made him something of an artist's artist, and collaborations with the late, great Moebius and Frank Miller followed. 'Hard Boiled' and 'The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot' were -- in retrospect -- gifts of a sort from Miller, and tokens of his esteem. Darrow was unknown to North American audiences, while Miller was already a comics giant, in the midst of his now classic 'Sin City'. Miller's respect for Darrow's prodigious talents prompted him to use Darrow as the physical model for the silent, deadly cannibal named 'Kevin'. With 'Hard Boiled', he imagined the most outrageously violent, darkly humorous and visually complex science fiction story possible; something that would challenge and showcase Darrow's abilities to maximum effect. It was not a challenge Darrow took lightly, and it took over three years to complete. But the results were fucking spectacular.
From Hard Boiled:
'Hard Boiled' and 'The Big Guy...' featured the most intricately rendered, beautifully imagined line-work in comics history. Miller's name alone was enough to generate significant interest, but Darrow was unquestionably the star of the show. 'Hard Boiled' in particular was an eyeball-melting extravaganza of choreographed comics chaos -- Miller's story was an inspired blend of 'Blade Runner', 'Total Recall' and 'Robocop', with the straight-faced satire and violence of Verhoeven multiplied exponentially. Dark Horse published European-format oversized albums collecting each series, with European-style painted coloring that 'clear-line' art is made for. They also set a precedent with something that seems almost typical now, releasing two 12-inch wide by 16-inch tall black-and-white collections: 'Big Damn Hard Boiled' and 'King-Size Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot'. Anticipating the stunning Sunday Press reprints of 'Little Nemo in Slumberland' and IDW's excellent 'Artist Edition' facsimiles, they were black and white reproductions of Darrow's original art, without any of the dialogue or captions obscuring details. The multiple editions and formats were unusual for the time, before comics had committed to collected editions and claimed their place on bookstore shelves (it's ironic, considering how late this volume is, and how difficult the material it collects was to find -- in any format -- for several years; I bought the French language hardcovers just before the price jumped, since the comics still available were far too expensive; the French albums are nicely produced and oversized, but reprint only the first six comics, missing the final seventh issue).
From The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, including new material (top):
Then, not much happened. Reports of 'Shaolin Cowboy' started in the late nineties, and Darrow did the occasional cover or pin-up. Most of his efforts, however, were devoted to his conceptual designs for 'The Matrix'. His friendship with the Wachowski brothers led to various film-related projects, but 'Shaolin Cowboy' remained an enigmatic title with a perpetual 'coming soon' status. When issue number 1 finally appeared in 2005, it was published by Burleyman Entertainment, the Wachowski's boutique label, established primarily for the purposes of showcasing the work of Darrow and other Wachowski favorites like Steve Skroce. Burleyman released seven issues of 'Shaolin Cowboy', and six of them were collected in three hardcover albums in Europe. The decade-long gap between 'The Big Guy (...)' and 'Shaolin Cowboy' had not diminished his illustrative prowess, earning Darrow yet another Eisner Award for 'Best Penciller/Inker'. The silent master of Kung Fu -- a.k.a. 'Bourbon Thret' -- had returned after twenty years, this time astride an incredibly verbose talking donkey. The story is a surrealistic pastiche of Hong Kong action flick, the comedic fantasy of John Carpenter's 'Big Trouble in Little China', and post-apocalyptic zombie horror; there is no real 'plot' to speak of, just a series of hyper-kinetic battle scenarios that recall the cinematic celebration of violence in Tarantino's 'Kill Bill'. The comparisons to film are intentional; the pacing in 'Shaolin Cowboy' has the movie-like momentum of Japanese manga, reading almost like story-boards.
From the original Shaolin Cowboy series, 2005:
Unfortunately, Burlyman Entertainment was (and is) a part-time project for the Wachowski's, and the 'Shaolin Cowboy' comics didn't get the promotion or distribution they deserved. The notion that the work of an artist as important as Geof Darrow could languish in out-of-print limbo for several years is insane, and testifies to the low priority the Wachowski's placed on comics. Burlyman might have been a way of placing their proprietary stamp on another person's intellectual property; the growing number of comic-related film adaptations has led to an influx of small press titles associated with actors, directors and producers, following the example of very successful comic-book-writers-turned-Hollywood-heavyweights like Mark Millar* and Robert Kirkman. Too many titles have become film pitches, as if the entire medium is just the Movie Industy's developmental candy store. I didn't really need much excuse to dislike them after 'Speed Racer', but dumping over 200 pages of finished Geof Darrow artwork into a black hole for seven years is grounds for war (especially since it amounted to something like 30-35% of his comic-book output to that point). Well, Burleyman has finally collected the seven-issue series, and released it a couple of months before Dark Horse unleash their collection of his recent four-issue 'Shaolin Cowboy' tale. After a long drought, it's a superabundance of immaculately rendered carnage. Pick up the Burlyman trade paper-back while you can, because there's no telling when a second printing will appear.
From the recently released Shaolin Cowboy - Shemp Buffet HC:
My suspicions about Burlyman's priorities are confirmed by the format. It's a nicely made standard-issue trade paperback, printed on glossy stock that shows off the details nicely. But it's small. It's the usual 7 x 10 inch book, and the famous Darrow details are not given their due. This should have been AT LEAST a 9 x 12-inch hardcover, and preferably a 12 x 16-inch deluxe hardcover beast of the kind Humanoids do so well. Come to think of it, why didn't Humanoids publish this book? Darrow was hand-picked as the successor to Moebius by the late legend himself, and his only serious threat as "Heir of Jean 'Moebius' Giraud" is Ladronn, or perhaps Das Pastoras. His time spent working in film follows an eerily similar course: Darrow's essential role developing the Matrix trilogy echoes the work Moebius did on Blade Runner and Alien. Now he needs to find his own Jodorowsky-type partnership, and produce his own 'Incal'... because Wachowski does not equal Jodorowsky. What about an Aronofsky? 'Noah' kind of sucked, but he's got a '-sky' and a propensity for mystical, Jodo-rific SF epics. AND he's already embraced his inner Jodo by collaborating with artists Kent Williams and Niko Henrichon on the beautiful graphic novel versions of 'The Fountain' and 'Noah', the latter of which was far better than the film, IMO. Until such an unlikely partnership begins, however, there's 320-pages of premium Darrow hitting the bookstores, and I think it's fair to say that 'Shaolin Cowboy' is Geof Darrow's very own 'Airtight Garage'.
Legend of Korra illustration; Wolverine illustration; a page from King-Size Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (one of two giant-sized reprints -- the other was Big Damn Hard Boiled -- showcasing the original art in black and whit, minus speech balloons and captions):
P.S.: *Mark Millar in particular has used his ever-expanding list of R-rated indie superhero films to make his comicbook projects the job every artist wants in on, leading to co-creator status and the kind of money DC and Marvel won't come close to paying. Steve McNiven, J.G. Jones, Frank Quitely, Dave Gibbons, Leinil Yu, Goran Parlov, Bryan Hitch, John Romita, Jr... No other writer has attracted the same kind of pure artistic firepower; artists will hang up on the Marvel Editor-in-Chief/CEO/Disney Overlord if they get Mark Millar on the other line. His books are fast, entertaining head candy, but they also serve as gloriously story-boarded film pitches, complete with script and sometimes casting (you can thank Millar and Bryan Hitch for the casting of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury)... and they get optioned before the first issue hits the stands.
May 14, 2021
No one does crazy, chaotic, hyper-violent action sequences like Geof Darrow. This book and especially the fight sequences are insane. Don't focus too much on the story. It's more or less just an excuse for the fight sequences. His imagery and attention to detail is second to no one. This is part of an 8 page sequence showing all the people who've lined up to get revenge on the Shaolin Cowboy.
Some of his ideas are just insane like fighting sharks in the belly of a kaiju with chainsaws mounted to a polearm.
Some of his ideas are just insane like fighting sharks in the belly of a kaiju with chainsaws mounted to a polearm.
September 23, 2021
I should have realized that a title of Start Trek suggests this Shaolin Cowboy volume is first in the reading order. Alas.
The first 30 or so pages are sublime Shaolin Cowboy nonsense. The cowboy battles a mob of degenerate humans, plus King Crab, a violent talking crab with an elaborate backstory. The cowboy's donkey adds some oddly enjoyable Robert Mitchum-related humor. It's weird, gruesome fun.
Then the cowboy battles a deeply racist skull, plus two floating...demons? And the donkey shits and the Robert Mitchum humor grows wearying. The banter between the demons is nonsense. A giant city on the back of a lizard rises out of the ground. Eventually, we reach the beginning of Shemp Buffet. I'll admit to skimming most of this part of the book. It was weird in an unpleasant and annoying way, unlike the fun first part.
The first 30 or so pages are sublime Shaolin Cowboy nonsense. The cowboy battles a mob of degenerate humans, plus King Crab, a violent talking crab with an elaborate backstory. The cowboy's donkey adds some oddly enjoyable Robert Mitchum-related humor. It's weird, gruesome fun.
Then the cowboy battles a deeply racist skull, plus two floating...demons? And the donkey shits and the Robert Mitchum humor grows wearying. The banter between the demons is nonsense. A giant city on the back of a lizard rises out of the ground. Eventually, we reach the beginning of Shemp Buffet. I'll admit to skimming most of this part of the book. It was weird in an unpleasant and annoying way, unlike the fun first part.
January 14, 2020
Good action, relatable protagonist despite him not speaking much (it's the body language that does it, I think), and if there's a little too much talk and explanation and such things, then at least it's usually well spoken and full of wit.
April 18, 2022
Najpierw zaciekawienie, bo grafiki jak u Moebiusa i stężenie abstrakcji i absurdalnej przemocy takie, że musi robić wrażenie. Gra z czytelnikiem na etapie historii z krabem bawi i zachęca do dalszej lektury. Później miałem jednak poczucie coraz większego bełkotu i improwizacji. Niby nadal ok, ale w tym stężeniu i przy tej objętości zaczęło męczyć. Ciekawe, choć w moim przypadku jednorazowe doświadczenie
December 30, 2015
There is no way to effectively convince you that this remains my favorite comic of all time since it came out in 2005. Who would believe me? Why would I choose this book?
But I whisper to you with the eyes of a child and breath like starlit dreams. It's true, I tell you. It's all of it true.
And somewhere inside a dragon that walks through endless deserts, in the city of the dead risen from the dragon's belly, a monk slices a rapping shark in half with a chainsaw.
Somewhere a talking donkey projectile-poops.
But I whisper to you with the eyes of a child and breath like starlit dreams. It's true, I tell you. It's all of it true.
And somewhere inside a dragon that walks through endless deserts, in the city of the dead risen from the dragon's belly, a monk slices a rapping shark in half with a chainsaw.
Somewhere a talking donkey projectile-poops.
March 7, 2019
Compleet absurd, droge conversaties, geweldige tekeningen, zeer stijlvol, spelend met camerastandpunten. Nog vreemder dan Moebius. Voor de fijnproevers.
May 27, 2019
The fantastic art is The best part of this book. The plot (what plot there is) isn't great and the humor gets stale very fast.
May 15, 2019
El dibujo es tan acojonante como surrealista su argumento y absurdos sus diálogos. Como tebeo roza lo ridículo mientras que como libro de ilustraciones secuenciadas es maravilloso. Supongo que por eso miraré con sumo deleite las viñetas del resto.
August 30, 2018
Darrow's draftsmanship is impeccable. The plot and dialogue, though, are inane and to be avoided.
August 11, 2022
Mmm... tohle fakt ne. První sešit mi přišel skvělej, stránky s čekajícími záporáky jsou boží, jenže pak začne něco jako příběh a s ním přichází i maximální cringe. Přemýšlím, nakolik za to může českej překlad, ale dočíst to bylo fakt utrpení.
July 11, 2022
Kdo potřebuje funkční příběh, když to vypadá takhle?
Ok, místy by se nějaké to vysvětlení hodilo, ale časem všechno bude (sorry, spoiler).
První sebraný book, po letošku k sehnání i u nás. Tak snad se dožijeme dalších dílů, protože na tohle se moc rád dívám a tu neexistenci pořádného ohraničení tady ještě odpouštím.
Ok, místy by se nějaké to vysvětlení hodilo, ale časem všechno bude (sorry, spoiler).
První sebraný book, po letošku k sehnání i u nás. Tak snad se dožijeme dalších dílů, protože na tohle se moc rád dívám a tu neexistenci pořádného ohraničení tady ještě odpouštím.
May 13, 2019
El dibujo es genial pero el guión no me ha gustado nada, no le he visto la gracia a los chistes ni al argumento...
Entiendo que para mucha gente este es un gran cómic y el autor hace un dibujo con infinidad de detalles y gran calidad, pero es lo que tiene el humor absurdo, que si no te entra desde el principio no hay manera, y si el guión no me gusta y estoy deseando terminarlo para quitármelo de encima no me entran ganas de buscar los detallitos en este juego de "donde está wally" que nos propone Darrow en sus obras.
Entiendo que para mucha gente este es un gran cómic y el autor hace un dibujo con infinidad de detalles y gran calidad, pero es lo que tiene el humor absurdo, que si no te entra desde el principio no hay manera, y si el guión no me gusta y estoy deseando terminarlo para quitármelo de encima no me entran ganas de buscar los detallitos en este juego de "donde está wally" que nos propone Darrow en sus obras.
October 7, 2018
A bit too nonsensical for my liking, but the book was worth the buy due to the art alone.
October 14, 2017
turns out I read the sequel to this which is basically one blood splattered, zombie dismembered scene after another without real plotting or change. So I've moved my review over to that edition, but I'll leave my notes and rating here because though the prologue on this successor (which sums up all of these events) is pretty humorous, i have to say the author/artist blew all his ideas in this volume so it would be disappointing to read this one and then expect more later.
July 27, 2025
The art in this is amazing! The storyline, well that left a little to be desired. I wish there has been more context as to what was happening and the dialogue got a little rambling and nonsensical by the end. Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
2.5 stars, rounded up for the artwork.
2.5 stars, rounded up for the artwork.
November 21, 2022
A disappointing story despite brilliant—even visionary—art. By legendarily detailed comics artist Geoff Darrow, “Shaolin Cowboy” is about, well, a gunslinging cowboy who also appears to be a Shaolin monk. Why? That’s never really explored, actually, nor are other typical narrative techniques like “characterization development” or “motivation.” We just have the eponymous cowboy thrown into increasingly improbable situations and forced to fight his way out. Undermining that narrative are an unending stream of corny jokes and pop culture references, even rapping, from various characters.
The details of Darrow’s art also weigh down the narrative. Each panel is like a spread from “Where’s Waldo.” In “Understanding Comics,” Scott McCloud talks about manga artists increasing the amount of detail when they want to slow down the pace of the story. That technique is definitely at play here, and not necessarily for the best. The cowboy would go to attack an adversary and my eyes would have to take in so much detail that by the time I got to the next panel I’d forgotten what was happening and had to go back to check. “Oh, that’s right, he’s punching that … thing.”
Normally I’d give a slow-ass narrative like this only two stars, but despite not being much of a story, “Shaolin Cowboy” gives us such inventive things to look at. Talking animals, a hundred uniquely designed assassins, aliens, gods of death and bones, a city riding on the back of a dinosaur, a sewer system in its bowels, and a temple dedicated to those gods of death.
The details of Darrow’s art also weigh down the narrative. Each panel is like a spread from “Where’s Waldo.” In “Understanding Comics,” Scott McCloud talks about manga artists increasing the amount of detail when they want to slow down the pace of the story. That technique is definitely at play here, and not necessarily for the best. The cowboy would go to attack an adversary and my eyes would have to take in so much detail that by the time I got to the next panel I’d forgotten what was happening and had to go back to check. “Oh, that’s right, he’s punching that … thing.”
Normally I’d give a slow-ass narrative like this only two stars, but despite not being much of a story, “Shaolin Cowboy” gives us such inventive things to look at. Talking animals, a hundred uniquely designed assassins, aliens, gods of death and bones, a city riding on the back of a dinosaur, a sewer system in its bowels, and a temple dedicated to those gods of death.
January 21, 2018
Book Info: This collection contains
The Shaolin Cowboy
issues #1-7.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
The Shaolin Cowboy, in Darrow's words, is set "someplace in the middle of nowhere," on "the day before yesterday and a week before tomorrow." It's a comedic weird Western about the raucous exploits of the mysterious Shaolin Cowboy and his talking donkey, Evelyn D. Winnieford. During the course of the book, and between Evelyn's incessant monologues, the two face all manner of foes looking for trouble in the dry desert badlands. And that's it. That's my overview. Normally, I'd paint a much more elaborate portrait of the story, but in this case, the book's story is essentially the same as its premise. That said, I'm sure you must be asking yourself: how the heck could such a thing even work as a book? Is there truly no plotline to be found here?
Well truth be told, the above description may be just a tad misleading: there are in fact discrete events which take place along a coherent timeline, and the narrative structure is presented in a pretty conventional way. However, there isn't very much by way of an overarching conflict or goal to hold the book together, and *that's* primarily what's makes it so unconventional. Darrow just throws you into this vast and colorful world, and then proceeds to navigate it like a tour guide without a planned route. To him, it's all about the journey, and the destination is insignificant, if not entirely non-applicable. Essentially, to read The Shaolin Cowboy is to experience shock and awe randomness in all its vibrant glory, and it's a tale where story and characterization are mostly background concerns.
Discounting the Western elements, I think the most obvious comparison to make for this book is with Kill Bill . But I think there maybe is a little bit of Kung-Fu Hustle mixed-in there as well. And though for most, the blend of blood, revenge, stunning swordplay, and one vs many fight scenes should make the parallel seem fairly strong, it isn't nearly a perfect one. For one thing, its near-superhuman combat and tonal crudeness are much closer to Kung-Fu Hustle in effect than its humor and dialogue compare to that of Kill Bill. Because believe me: as a writer, Geof Darrow is no Tarrantino. His highly variable humor, which – at its extremes – can rage from side-splittingly funny to utterly high-brow in a heartbeat, promotes a dizzying unevenness that I think can leave readers feeling unsatisfied. On the other hand, Darrow's comedic flexibility ensures that most should be able to find at least a few small laughs somewhere in here, and it's probably the singular trait which allows for such smoothly serendipitous hilarity at times.
[ Just in case you can't read the caption:
"
A mysterious feathered assassin is slaughtering the descendants of Portuguese Captain Mascaregnas, who in 1507 landed on the island of Mauritius and whose expedition there led to the extinction of the much maligned Dodo bird. Shaolin Cowboy discovers he may be related when he finds himself targeted by the killer that turns out to be the last living, and deadly, Dodo. A Dodo who is anything but a dodo in either thought or actions, putting the Cowboy on the endangered species list!
In a side note, the republican led houses of government censured the publishers of Shaolin Cowboy Magazine for its “deplorable depiction of the extinction of wildlife species in a negative light.”
The President refused to take a public stand on the controversy, but The White House confirmed The President felt “the magazine’s portrayal of extinguishing was unevenhanded and unwelcomed in view of current policy.”
"
Huh? Not sure what to make of this.]
[Oh man! I love this crab! In the midst of all the duds, some of these hidden gems really do take you by surprise. And is it just me, or does this strike anyone else as eerily similar to the hero/villain rivalry in Megamind? The phrasing itself (in the last panel) seems nearly identical to something that was said in the film.]
And as I mentioned earlier, much of the book's length is taken up by scenes of the donkey prattling on about whatever comes to his mind at any particular moment. These random speeches are very hit-or-miss, and the verbose "ass-ologues" presented by the Watchowskis at the start of each issue were largely pretentious and bland despite their playful flamboyancy. Also, there are numerous points in the book – especially during times like these – where the comedic references/vocabulary are uncommonly obscure and dated. So if you choose to read this, just remember that the Google search bar is to be your best friend while reading, unless you consider yourself a considerably erudite audience.
[To quote the first six speech bubbles: "Well met, oh faithful literati! Zounds, but our paths do cross in the most rara avis of scenarios. And you have once again caught me in medias res, quite literally! Such is the lot of rowdy, revelin' Evelyn D. Winneford; phillie-anthropist/dark 'horse,' at your service! Time being of the essence on this short but treacherous stretch of blacktop, I vow to be a stern judiciary of brevity and concision. Because though you find me neck-deep in the midst of researching a genre-bending 'road' project, hurtling as a running cannonball's pace, in a custom beetle lamour, peaking from the hallucinatory effects of bufo-marinus, brown, cane-toad extract suppositories, I assure you that word-mincing will be kept to a minimum!"
Without a magnifying glass and mirror at hand, I doubt you could've read that text without some help. But the fact that it's written in dense bureaucratese could only have made understanding it even tougher. Simply put, I assume the joke is that a donkey could somehow be smarter than I am, right? That's hilarious! I can hardly contain my laughter even as I type this! Good one, Geof. Really.]
But as for the characters and worldbuilding, I'll admit to being quite impressed with Darrow's approach. And I've always been big fan of economical storytelling, so I really appreciated the fact that this book did away with the useless padding that needlessly hampers a whole lot of comics out there: the writer makes it so there's no exposition or lead-up toward a specific goal or objective, and we meet new characters while learning backstories or situational details on the fly. Instead of making the story feel rushed, this only adds to the excitement and narrative momentum. So after I finished the book, I couldn't help but marvel at how casually Darrow made it seem like I had just returned from a wild journey, even though in reality, his modest plot hadn't moved me very far at all.
Aside from the fact that the donkey's comic relief and the Shaolin Cowboy's mute stoicism were traits which made them into pretty one-note leads, some of the other characters – particularly the main antagonists – were simply bursting with personality: from the tenacious, kung-fu fighting King Crab and his quest to avenge the loss of his eaten brethren, to the demonic trio seeking to exploit a special infant for commercial gain, you'll be amazed at just what you encounter. I can easily picture some folks having a ton of fun with this, but one might find himself disappointed that the Cowboy doesn't have more to his character than a checkered past and some cool martial arts moves. Similarly, Evelyn's only got a handful of good jokes (in my opinion), and he's mainly there to provide recaps and to be a dialogue proxy for the (mostly) silent Cowboy. That said, The Shaolin Cowboy has still got enough good going for it that I found myself haunted by what might have been had the book found a larger purpose, and transcended the simplistic wandering monk-slash-monster of the week format.
It's gonna sound crazy to say this about an artist of such high caliber, but I believe the only other time I've come across Darrow's artwork was in Frank Miller's Hard Boiled. But unlike that royal shitshow of epic proportions, The Shaolin Cowboy's enthusiasm never really crossed the line into schizophrenic incomprehensibility, and Darrow's pencils were vastly more defined here. As far as I know, the only other illustrators out there with styles bold enough to compete with this guy are Paul Pope and Frank Quitely – the latter of which ended up swiping the Eisner for best artist away from Darrow the year this title was nominated. However, the way this guy can captivate a viewer with his art is probably unparalleled in the world of comic pencillers: more than even Pope, Darrow is a genuine visual poet, and he's somehow able to make action feel completely engaging, even when it lacks a developed context. And by slowing down time to a crawl – as is done several times in the book – he proceeds to weave some perfectly choreographed battle sequences which can span (uninterruptedly) anywhere from 5-21 pages at a time.
[See what I mean? Nobody draws shit like this. It's nuts! And though I won't include a full fight sequence here for you to see, just believe me when I say that Darrow does those better than virtually anyone else in the business. The experience of tracking the elaborate progression of moves in a battle is kinda like watching one of those crazy Quicksilver scenes in the X-Men: Apocalypse and Days of Future Past.]
It's funny, but before rereading this book, I had really planned on writing this glowing review where I'd complain about how unpopular this book was, and make a fuss about the importance of reading it and spreading the word. But now, I honestly wouldn't even know who to recommend it to! I mean, I know there must be lots of people out there who could enjoy this more than I did, but it obviously strikes me as an acquired taste. You see, most funny books benefit from finding and maintaining a comedic consistency, whereas this one bounces all over the place. And the fact that the plot was so aimless certainly didn't help matters. So regardless of what you've heard, one doesn't want to *completely* lose themselves in their work: you can never veer too far off the reservation, because this would be the result. Still, I'd tell any aspiring comic writer to view this both as a cautionary tale *and* as an inspiration, because there's also something truly beautiful about a writer exercising his artistic freedom with wild abandon through a creator-owned indie comic.
Postscript:
I didn't get a chance to discuss this in the main review, but I wanted to touch on Shaolin Cowboy's muddled characterization (if one could even call it that). For most of the comic, he'd give you the impression that he's very much the same as Kwai Chang Caine: quiet, unassuming, dispassionate. You know the type. And this persona is best exemplified when he makes the following statement to King Crab:
It's pretty easy to picture Caine responding the exactly same way if he were in the Cowboy's shoes, isn't it? And that proves that he was trained pretty well. However, after dispatching a group of bandits in the first issue, this is what he does:
[I don't care *what* the history is between these two men: a Shaolin monk should never behave in such a manner.]
These don't exactly match up do they? Well there's more: after the Cowboy demonstrates what appears to be great selflessness and bravery in the second half of the book, that image is confused when you consider what he must have done to be exiled by the Shaolin monastery in the first place, and why the monks and so many countless bandits want him dead. Also, the post-issue B&W photos and captions even further confuse his character. Here's an example:
So my question is: is all this supposed to be funny? Because it's not. Is this supposed to make him interesting? If so, I think all it really does is make him weird: it would've been far more interesting to craft him a stable psyche I could relate to. I'd never want this title to take itself too seriously, but some limits wouldn't hurt – especially since Darrow's wavering sense of humor couldn't possibly save the book from occasionally veering into tedium and childishness. Beyond a certain point, gleeful arbitrariness just becomes, at best, pointless and silly.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
The Shaolin Cowboy, in Darrow's words, is set "someplace in the middle of nowhere," on "the day before yesterday and a week before tomorrow." It's a comedic weird Western about the raucous exploits of the mysterious Shaolin Cowboy and his talking donkey, Evelyn D. Winnieford. During the course of the book, and between Evelyn's incessant monologues, the two face all manner of foes looking for trouble in the dry desert badlands. And that's it. That's my overview. Normally, I'd paint a much more elaborate portrait of the story, but in this case, the book's story is essentially the same as its premise. That said, I'm sure you must be asking yourself: how the heck could such a thing even work as a book? Is there truly no plotline to be found here?
Well truth be told, the above description may be just a tad misleading: there are in fact discrete events which take place along a coherent timeline, and the narrative structure is presented in a pretty conventional way. However, there isn't very much by way of an overarching conflict or goal to hold the book together, and *that's* primarily what's makes it so unconventional. Darrow just throws you into this vast and colorful world, and then proceeds to navigate it like a tour guide without a planned route. To him, it's all about the journey, and the destination is insignificant, if not entirely non-applicable. Essentially, to read The Shaolin Cowboy is to experience shock and awe randomness in all its vibrant glory, and it's a tale where story and characterization are mostly background concerns.
Discounting the Western elements, I think the most obvious comparison to make for this book is with Kill Bill . But I think there maybe is a little bit of Kung-Fu Hustle mixed-in there as well. And though for most, the blend of blood, revenge, stunning swordplay, and one vs many fight scenes should make the parallel seem fairly strong, it isn't nearly a perfect one. For one thing, its near-superhuman combat and tonal crudeness are much closer to Kung-Fu Hustle in effect than its humor and dialogue compare to that of Kill Bill. Because believe me: as a writer, Geof Darrow is no Tarrantino. His highly variable humor, which – at its extremes – can rage from side-splittingly funny to utterly high-brow in a heartbeat, promotes a dizzying unevenness that I think can leave readers feeling unsatisfied. On the other hand, Darrow's comedic flexibility ensures that most should be able to find at least a few small laughs somewhere in here, and it's probably the singular trait which allows for such smoothly serendipitous hilarity at times.
[ Just in case you can't read the caption:
"
A mysterious feathered assassin is slaughtering the descendants of Portuguese Captain Mascaregnas, who in 1507 landed on the island of Mauritius and whose expedition there led to the extinction of the much maligned Dodo bird. Shaolin Cowboy discovers he may be related when he finds himself targeted by the killer that turns out to be the last living, and deadly, Dodo. A Dodo who is anything but a dodo in either thought or actions, putting the Cowboy on the endangered species list!
In a side note, the republican led houses of government censured the publishers of Shaolin Cowboy Magazine for its “deplorable depiction of the extinction of wildlife species in a negative light.”
The President refused to take a public stand on the controversy, but The White House confirmed The President felt “the magazine’s portrayal of extinguishing was unevenhanded and unwelcomed in view of current policy.”
"
Huh? Not sure what to make of this.]
[Oh man! I love this crab! In the midst of all the duds, some of these hidden gems really do take you by surprise. And is it just me, or does this strike anyone else as eerily similar to the hero/villain rivalry in Megamind? The phrasing itself (in the last panel) seems nearly identical to something that was said in the film.]
And as I mentioned earlier, much of the book's length is taken up by scenes of the donkey prattling on about whatever comes to his mind at any particular moment. These random speeches are very hit-or-miss, and the verbose "ass-ologues" presented by the Watchowskis at the start of each issue were largely pretentious and bland despite their playful flamboyancy. Also, there are numerous points in the book – especially during times like these – where the comedic references/vocabulary are uncommonly obscure and dated. So if you choose to read this, just remember that the Google search bar is to be your best friend while reading, unless you consider yourself a considerably erudite audience.
[To quote the first six speech bubbles: "Well met, oh faithful literati! Zounds, but our paths do cross in the most rara avis of scenarios. And you have once again caught me in medias res, quite literally! Such is the lot of rowdy, revelin' Evelyn D. Winneford; phillie-anthropist/dark 'horse,' at your service! Time being of the essence on this short but treacherous stretch of blacktop, I vow to be a stern judiciary of brevity and concision. Because though you find me neck-deep in the midst of researching a genre-bending 'road' project, hurtling as a running cannonball's pace, in a custom beetle lamour, peaking from the hallucinatory effects of bufo-marinus, brown, cane-toad extract suppositories, I assure you that word-mincing will be kept to a minimum!"
Without a magnifying glass and mirror at hand, I doubt you could've read that text without some help. But the fact that it's written in dense bureaucratese could only have made understanding it even tougher. Simply put, I assume the joke is that a donkey could somehow be smarter than I am, right? That's hilarious! I can hardly contain my laughter even as I type this! Good one, Geof. Really.]
But as for the characters and worldbuilding, I'll admit to being quite impressed with Darrow's approach. And I've always been big fan of economical storytelling, so I really appreciated the fact that this book did away with the useless padding that needlessly hampers a whole lot of comics out there: the writer makes it so there's no exposition or lead-up toward a specific goal or objective, and we meet new characters while learning backstories or situational details on the fly. Instead of making the story feel rushed, this only adds to the excitement and narrative momentum. So after I finished the book, I couldn't help but marvel at how casually Darrow made it seem like I had just returned from a wild journey, even though in reality, his modest plot hadn't moved me very far at all.
Aside from the fact that the donkey's comic relief and the Shaolin Cowboy's mute stoicism were traits which made them into pretty one-note leads, some of the other characters – particularly the main antagonists – were simply bursting with personality: from the tenacious, kung-fu fighting King Crab and his quest to avenge the loss of his eaten brethren, to the demonic trio seeking to exploit a special infant for commercial gain, you'll be amazed at just what you encounter. I can easily picture some folks having a ton of fun with this, but one might find himself disappointed that the Cowboy doesn't have more to his character than a checkered past and some cool martial arts moves. Similarly, Evelyn's only got a handful of good jokes (in my opinion), and he's mainly there to provide recaps and to be a dialogue proxy for the (mostly) silent Cowboy. That said, The Shaolin Cowboy has still got enough good going for it that I found myself haunted by what might have been had the book found a larger purpose, and transcended the simplistic wandering monk-slash-monster of the week format.
It's gonna sound crazy to say this about an artist of such high caliber, but I believe the only other time I've come across Darrow's artwork was in Frank Miller's Hard Boiled. But unlike that royal shitshow of epic proportions, The Shaolin Cowboy's enthusiasm never really crossed the line into schizophrenic incomprehensibility, and Darrow's pencils were vastly more defined here. As far as I know, the only other illustrators out there with styles bold enough to compete with this guy are Paul Pope and Frank Quitely – the latter of which ended up swiping the Eisner for best artist away from Darrow the year this title was nominated. However, the way this guy can captivate a viewer with his art is probably unparalleled in the world of comic pencillers: more than even Pope, Darrow is a genuine visual poet, and he's somehow able to make action feel completely engaging, even when it lacks a developed context. And by slowing down time to a crawl – as is done several times in the book – he proceeds to weave some perfectly choreographed battle sequences which can span (uninterruptedly) anywhere from 5-21 pages at a time.
[See what I mean? Nobody draws shit like this. It's nuts! And though I won't include a full fight sequence here for you to see, just believe me when I say that Darrow does those better than virtually anyone else in the business. The experience of tracking the elaborate progression of moves in a battle is kinda like watching one of those crazy Quicksilver scenes in the X-Men: Apocalypse and Days of Future Past.]
It's funny, but before rereading this book, I had really planned on writing this glowing review where I'd complain about how unpopular this book was, and make a fuss about the importance of reading it and spreading the word. But now, I honestly wouldn't even know who to recommend it to! I mean, I know there must be lots of people out there who could enjoy this more than I did, but it obviously strikes me as an acquired taste. You see, most funny books benefit from finding and maintaining a comedic consistency, whereas this one bounces all over the place. And the fact that the plot was so aimless certainly didn't help matters. So regardless of what you've heard, one doesn't want to *completely* lose themselves in their work: you can never veer too far off the reservation, because this would be the result. Still, I'd tell any aspiring comic writer to view this both as a cautionary tale *and* as an inspiration, because there's also something truly beautiful about a writer exercising his artistic freedom with wild abandon through a creator-owned indie comic.
Postscript:
I didn't get a chance to discuss this in the main review, but I wanted to touch on Shaolin Cowboy's muddled characterization (if one could even call it that). For most of the comic, he'd give you the impression that he's very much the same as Kwai Chang Caine: quiet, unassuming, dispassionate. You know the type. And this persona is best exemplified when he makes the following statement to King Crab:
It's pretty easy to picture Caine responding the exactly same way if he were in the Cowboy's shoes, isn't it? And that proves that he was trained pretty well. However, after dispatching a group of bandits in the first issue, this is what he does:
[I don't care *what* the history is between these two men: a Shaolin monk should never behave in such a manner.]
These don't exactly match up do they? Well there's more: after the Cowboy demonstrates what appears to be great selflessness and bravery in the second half of the book, that image is confused when you consider what he must have done to be exiled by the Shaolin monastery in the first place, and why the monks and so many countless bandits want him dead. Also, the post-issue B&W photos and captions even further confuse his character. Here's an example:
So my question is: is all this supposed to be funny? Because it's not. Is this supposed to make him interesting? If so, I think all it really does is make him weird: it would've been far more interesting to craft him a stable psyche I could relate to. I'd never want this title to take itself too seriously, but some limits wouldn't hurt – especially since Darrow's wavering sense of humor couldn't possibly save the book from occasionally veering into tedium and childishness. Beyond a certain point, gleeful arbitrariness just becomes, at best, pointless and silly.
January 15, 2020
I flipped through this and was instantly captivated by the incredible artwork and took it home not knowing anything about the creator, storyline, or anything. Having just finished it, I'm not sure there's really much of a story there, but anyone who's interested in the art of comics needs to check this out.
The book opens in a desert, with a silent Asian man riding a donkey who provides wise-ass (and often punning) narration. It becomes quickly clear that the man has made a lot of enemies, because there's a stunning 5-spread (ie. 10-page) sequence that lays them all out, in their tattooed, crazily attired and accessorized detail. Imagine a panoramic shot of something like 70-100 villains, where the perspective zooms closer in the more you pan to the right -- it's something I've never seen before in a comic and it's kind of breathtaking.
Of course, mayhem ensues, as does extremely graphic gore. It's the kind of crazily kinetic over the top combination of chop-socky, gunplay, and swords that Quentin Tarantino adores. Then at the climax, there's a duel with a giant crab... and things just get weirder from there. There's a trio of demons with some kind of chi-channeling baby, a running battle that leads to the stomach of a mega-dinosaur with a city on its back. Double-headed chainsaw polearm vs. possessed shark... It's wildly surreal and some of the most detailed artwork imaginable with equally stellar coloring. I kind of wish the artistic chops were put to work on something a little less crazy, but it's still well worth checking out.
Note: Although I assumed while reading it that I had stumbled into the middle of a series, I subsequently learned that this book does collect the original 7-comic run of issues that were independently published. There are two more books that collect sequel storylines, and I'll likely track them down at some point.
The book opens in a desert, with a silent Asian man riding a donkey who provides wise-ass (and often punning) narration. It becomes quickly clear that the man has made a lot of enemies, because there's a stunning 5-spread (ie. 10-page) sequence that lays them all out, in their tattooed, crazily attired and accessorized detail. Imagine a panoramic shot of something like 70-100 villains, where the perspective zooms closer in the more you pan to the right -- it's something I've never seen before in a comic and it's kind of breathtaking.
Of course, mayhem ensues, as does extremely graphic gore. It's the kind of crazily kinetic over the top combination of chop-socky, gunplay, and swords that Quentin Tarantino adores. Then at the climax, there's a duel with a giant crab... and things just get weirder from there. There's a trio of demons with some kind of chi-channeling baby, a running battle that leads to the stomach of a mega-dinosaur with a city on its back. Double-headed chainsaw polearm vs. possessed shark... It's wildly surreal and some of the most detailed artwork imaginable with equally stellar coloring. I kind of wish the artistic chops were put to work on something a little less crazy, but it's still well worth checking out.
Note: Although I assumed while reading it that I had stumbled into the middle of a series, I subsequently learned that this book does collect the original 7-comic run of issues that were independently published. There are two more books that collect sequel storylines, and I'll likely track them down at some point.
February 10, 2023
Gotta be honest, I stopped reading the dialogue about 2/3rds of the way through because there's a lot of it and it all reads like deadpool. That said, Darrow can orchestrate some incredible and completely unique action set pieces, which make the overall experience worth it.
August 26, 2007
If you don't read "Shaolin Cowboy", you have no business calling yourself a reader of comic books. Further: if you don't "get" this book, you are a pussy.
May 15, 2019
The illustrations were so detailed, gory and graphic. A crab, two demons and a giant snapping turtle come for the Shaolin Cowboy. Quite epic and disturbing.
March 22, 2022
The artwork's great, but oosh, that writing...
April 29, 2023
It must have taken a lot of time and effort to do this. That’s the best thing I can say about it.
And also the worst, because it’s time spent on some of the stupidest ideas imaginable. Concepts dreamed up by a five-year-old with the “humor” of an edge-lord twelve-year-old.
Wading through the text is just painful. Completely pointless, no semblance of plot, but it goes on and on. Awful joke after awful joke. The book would have improved substantially by omitting every bit of dialogue and letting the images stand on their own.
Shaolin cowboy falls into that genre of embarrassed parody that is so common in American pop culture. Self-consciously stupid and meant to be enjoyed “ironically.” It’s filled with a winking, hipster cynicism — unable or unwilling to attempt telling a story that might move or engage people.
I would imagine this Geof guy also has a lot of “issues” based on the content here.
You might think none of this matters because of the lavishly detailed art.
The problem is, Darrow can’t draw.
At least not in a way that is remotely aesthetically pleasing. Darrow is a former acolyte of the great French draftsman, Moebius. Sadly, none of the master’s considerable skills seem to have rubbed off on his dim-witted disciple. The art of shaolin cowboy is at every turn clunky, tone-deaf, one-note, and lifeless. And not very good technically either.
Facial expressions? What facial expressions? Every character wears a blankly staring mask of melting rubber. Poses? You’d think they would be good in an action book, right? Well, no, sorry. The characters display all the movement of a sack of potatoes. Somehow Darrow has managed to make the figures look like poorly traced snapshots of his flat-mates, badly acting in frozen poses or lying on the floor to play dead.
And when he has to do non-human characters — monsters, zombies, and dragons — the results are almost as bad, betraying a fundamental lack of understanding.
The linework is thick and ugly. Lacking all grace and refinement.
Facial structure frequently breaks down. Angles and framing are repetitive.
Avoid this stinker like the plague.
And also the worst, because it’s time spent on some of the stupidest ideas imaginable. Concepts dreamed up by a five-year-old with the “humor” of an edge-lord twelve-year-old.
Wading through the text is just painful. Completely pointless, no semblance of plot, but it goes on and on. Awful joke after awful joke. The book would have improved substantially by omitting every bit of dialogue and letting the images stand on their own.
Shaolin cowboy falls into that genre of embarrassed parody that is so common in American pop culture. Self-consciously stupid and meant to be enjoyed “ironically.” It’s filled with a winking, hipster cynicism — unable or unwilling to attempt telling a story that might move or engage people.
I would imagine this Geof guy also has a lot of “issues” based on the content here.
You might think none of this matters because of the lavishly detailed art.
The problem is, Darrow can’t draw.
At least not in a way that is remotely aesthetically pleasing. Darrow is a former acolyte of the great French draftsman, Moebius. Sadly, none of the master’s considerable skills seem to have rubbed off on his dim-witted disciple. The art of shaolin cowboy is at every turn clunky, tone-deaf, one-note, and lifeless. And not very good technically either.
Facial expressions? What facial expressions? Every character wears a blankly staring mask of melting rubber. Poses? You’d think they would be good in an action book, right? Well, no, sorry. The characters display all the movement of a sack of potatoes. Somehow Darrow has managed to make the figures look like poorly traced snapshots of his flat-mates, badly acting in frozen poses or lying on the floor to play dead.
And when he has to do non-human characters — monsters, zombies, and dragons — the results are almost as bad, betraying a fundamental lack of understanding.
The linework is thick and ugly. Lacking all grace and refinement.
Facial structure frequently breaks down. Angles and framing are repetitive.
Avoid this stinker like the plague.
September 19, 2023
Utter violent nonsense that is breathtaking to behold but perplexing for those trying to grasp on to some deeper narrative. Indeed, I doubt Darrow ever concerned himself with lore development or characterization when he conceived the Shaolin Cowboy. Instead this is a liberated approach towards making comics - have the action suit the needs of the story.
Through the original seven issue run of Shaolin Cowboy, the titular journeyman finds himself fighting through hordes of enemies, with each situation getting progressively more absurd than the next. There are ample splash pages filled with all manner of chaotic violence, with the Shaolin Cowboy getting more creative with the way he takes down hordes of humans, a giant King Crab, and a shark in the underbelly of a massive kaiju entity. While there isn't much sense to the worldbuilding, Darrow inserts an immense amount of details to the background of each page to allow the reader to really soak in the bizarre world of Shaolin Cowboy.
Through the original seven issue run of Shaolin Cowboy, the titular journeyman finds himself fighting through hordes of enemies, with each situation getting progressively more absurd than the next. There are ample splash pages filled with all manner of chaotic violence, with the Shaolin Cowboy getting more creative with the way he takes down hordes of humans, a giant King Crab, and a shark in the underbelly of a massive kaiju entity. While there isn't much sense to the worldbuilding, Darrow inserts an immense amount of details to the background of each page to allow the reader to really soak in the bizarre world of Shaolin Cowboy.
December 10, 2023
4 stars for Darrow's art
2.5 stars for the script/'story'
Mad, bad and super-detailed to know (& read).
I am very much a fan of Geof Darrow's art, but this just feels super Metal Hurlant self-indulgent; I don't even know how to categorise that which resides within this collection - it starts out as a hero-cornered gun and knife fight in the desert and then quickly transforms into something that wouldn't feel completely out of place in a Hellboy comic with floating demons, a baby that transforms into a chi-powered monkey and a monster-residing skeletal villian with more than a passing nod to the work of the great Moebius. It's bizarre, irreverent, all over the place and it seriously tried my patience, although I did read it to the very end, where it finished mid-scene...whereupon, I swore, out loud...
2.5 stars for the script/'story'
Mad, bad and super-detailed to know (& read).
I am very much a fan of Geof Darrow's art, but this just feels super Metal Hurlant self-indulgent; I don't even know how to categorise that which resides within this collection - it starts out as a hero-cornered gun and knife fight in the desert and then quickly transforms into something that wouldn't feel completely out of place in a Hellboy comic with floating demons, a baby that transforms into a chi-powered monkey and a monster-residing skeletal villian with more than a passing nod to the work of the great Moebius. It's bizarre, irreverent, all over the place and it seriously tried my patience, although I did read it to the very end, where it finished mid-scene...whereupon, I swore, out loud...
October 10, 2021
The art is unbelievable. The writing is also unbelievable, but not in the same, positive way.
The dialog feels like weird Andy Kaufman stream-of-consciousness that just gets passed from one character to the other. I read maybe the last quarter of the book without any of the dialog and it was a much better experience. This book would totally work wordless. It’d be weird and fun and maybe a little less frustrating. It’s pretty unintelligible as it is, it’s not like this has a tight plot that the book would be lost without.
Shaolin Cowboy, while a great idea for a Garth Brooks/Will-Tang mashup album title, just didn’t deliver the goods for me.
The dialog feels like weird Andy Kaufman stream-of-consciousness that just gets passed from one character to the other. I read maybe the last quarter of the book without any of the dialog and it was a much better experience. This book would totally work wordless. It’d be weird and fun and maybe a little less frustrating. It’s pretty unintelligible as it is, it’s not like this has a tight plot that the book would be lost without.
Shaolin Cowboy, while a great idea for a Garth Brooks/Will-Tang mashup album title, just didn’t deliver the goods for me.
November 11, 2025
The artwork is phenomenal. The underlying setting and many of the concepts are highly creative, wonderfully unconventional, and visually beautiful. That said, by the end I found it all slightly too over-the-top.
The final two issues are dominated by what feels like an interminable, rambling dialogue between four main characters that occasionally veers into complete absurdity. While you're enjoying the gorgeous setting and stunning page compositions, you simultaneously just want it to be over. By the end, I think I was simply admiring the artwork and not really reading the last few pages anymore.
The final two issues are dominated by what feels like an interminable, rambling dialogue between four main characters that occasionally veers into complete absurdity. While you're enjoying the gorgeous setting and stunning page compositions, you simultaneously just want it to be over. By the end, I think I was simply admiring the artwork and not really reading the last few pages anymore.
August 17, 2022
6.5/10
Fantastically detailed art and utterly dynamic choreographies. This comic is just a sequence of weird over the top fightings, and the absurdity of the almost inexistent plot serves that aspect very well.
Unfortunately, more often than I can bare, Darrow feels the need to let his characters talk. And it's supposed to be funny but it is sooooooo boring. Just don't let them talk much, Jeff. Your characters are not funny with their mouth.
(Useless to say, I did not like the colouring, as expected by any American publication from the big five in the 2000's.)
Fantastically detailed art and utterly dynamic choreographies. This comic is just a sequence of weird over the top fightings, and the absurdity of the almost inexistent plot serves that aspect very well.
Unfortunately, more often than I can bare, Darrow feels the need to let his characters talk. And it's supposed to be funny but it is sooooooo boring. Just don't let them talk much, Jeff. Your characters are not funny with their mouth.
(Useless to say, I did not like the colouring, as expected by any American publication from the big five in the 2000's.)
May 1, 2022
Five stars purely for the art. Darrow is a genius and master of the clear line style. His hyper detailed art is a wonder to behold, perfect figure work, perspective and almost inconceivable amount of detail contained in every panel.
Don't read this if you want a story, there is none basically. The dialogue is just silliness. But it doesn't matter. This is just an excuse for Darrow to draw the cowboy fighting a bunch of enemies and the world of comics is enriched for it.
Don't read this if you want a story, there is none basically. The dialogue is just silliness. But it doesn't matter. This is just an excuse for Darrow to draw the cowboy fighting a bunch of enemies and the world of comics is enriched for it.
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