The Shaolin Cowboy (2004-2007), Vol. 1: Start Trek

by Geof Darrow

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.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Comic Book, Humor, Horror

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2021

Reviews

[XenofoneX · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Giekes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compleet absurd, droge conversaties, geweldige tekeningen, zeer stijlvol, spelend met camerastandpunten. Nog vreemder dan Moebius. Voor de fijnproevers.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darrow's draftsmanship is impeccable. The plot and dialogue, though, are inane and to be avoided.

[Humberto Ballesteros · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too nonsensical for my liking, but the book was worth the buy due to the art alone.

[Javier Muñoz · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Amanda Majasaari · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art of pictures and illustrations are great. But huge lack of narrative and feeling completely lost what on earth is happening. There is no point in this story - maybe because there is no really story worth to tell. This book is completely insane and totally trash. I really dont understand why someone could like this.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I wish I had read this in one go)

The start to the series is a little wordy while being filled with little details in the artwork. Lots of fun but not the best run of Shaolin Cowboy. Random- just checked out The Friends of Eddie Coyle with Bob Mitchum

[M F · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Mat Tait · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork's great, but oosh, that writing...

[Loïc Phulpin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Simon Chadwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be fair to say that the collected comic works of Geof Darrow won’t fill a shelf, although what he lacks in quantity he certainly makes up for in quality. His superbly detailed artwork is visually compelling, meaning this is a man who likes to draw stuff, and by stuff I mean it all from everyday detritus to gnarled and adorned humans to jagged, weathered landscapes. If there’s a space, he fills it with something. He’s a man unafraid to plug a gap or draw an accessory. To be fair, although he’s not done too many series, he does complete a lot of covers and one-off illustrations, not to mention working as a movie concept artist, so it’s not that his detailing slows him down by that much, but it does mean that when he has got something available it’s worth sitting up and taking notice.

The Shaolin Cowboy is a creator-owned piece that glories in over-the-top violence, grotesque characters and fantastical confrontations. It doesn’t have a deeper narrative running through it, nor does it have a message it wants to impart. It’s just page after page of gloriously drawn action with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. The Shaolin Cowboy himself is of Chinese descent and rides a heavily-laden talking ass across a version of an American desert. He’s a peaceful soul, mostly silent, but this is made up for by the ass who natters constantly in not too dissimilar a fashion to Shrek’s Donkey, albeit somewhat larger and more focused. The Shaolin Cowboy has mastered a fighting style that appears to put him at odds with just about everyone he crosses paths with, and this is illustrated, beautifully, in the opening chapter when he is cornered by a vengeful posse in a canyon. The extent of the adversaries is shown across a double-page spread with the Shaolin Cowboy still atop the ass and the miscreants surrounding him in a wide circle, each bedecked with various weapons and accoutrements. It looks like it’s going to be some fight to get himself free. But then you realise the figures to the right of the circle are bleeding of of the right-hand side of the page so you turn it over to discover a veritable line of armed and fractious people hellbent on levelling some grievance which in turn bleeds off of that right-hand page, and again and again and again. Not a lot is said across those few pages, but it took me an age to work my way through them, so fantastically illustrated they all were with all sorts of human variants, weapons, states of dress, creatures, vehicles, tattoos, and goodness knows what else. And then on the following page the fight starts.

It’s all very much a deliberate over-the-top, never-could-happen fantasy in some sort of weird parallel, possibly post-apocalyptic dust-bowl setting with everything from aggrieved crabs to scheming demons, not to mention lots and lots of martial arts, guns, and fisticuffs. And it is brilliantly absurd and a joy to behold. The cover alone took several minutes to absorb.

Darrow’s recently done an illustrated prose book with the cowboy via Dark Horse, but I really do hope he’ll do more of this. There really isn’t anyone else drawing quite like him and I for one would appreciate some more. If for no other reason that to marvel at one of the greatest comic artists in the business, you should buy this book.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Juju · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's sad that I’ve been waiting to read this book for over 10 years. I remember flipping through these single issues at Austin Books, absorbing the insane art and promising myself to wait for what I imagined would be the inevitable collection. But while the Wachowski siblings experimented in Hollywood, their Burleyman imprint was left in limbo. This series didn’t get collected until 2014, then the small run quickly sold out and was only available online at many times the original price. So it was a happy day when I finally find a copy online, for a little less than the original cover cost, and I could finally satiate my curiosity whether Shaolin Cowboy was any damn good.

And it is nutso. This is Geoff Darrow just having fun and doing exactly what he wants, drawing whatever bizarre situation he can imagine. The Shaolin Cowboy is a badass martial arts master of few words (are there any other kinds?), who inexplicably rides around on a smartass talking donkey wearing a Hunter Thompson poker visor. This is one insane action sequence after another, the whole of the action seemingly taking place over several hours. One crazed day where he fights a rambling gang of thugs all with a variety of grudges against the Cowboy, 3 demon stooges, a possessed shark, and a killer crab. Yea, and Darrow draws it all in his humorously hyper-intricate style. The Cowboy has few lines, leaving the demons and the donkey do most of the talking. Which is just an excuse for Darrow to let his inner-5th grader loose to make puns and let the rapping demon make arcane threats. This is not graphic literature but, if you're luck enough to find a copy, it's definitely some of the most juvenile and insanely detailed comics fun you are likely to come across.

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Eastham Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 5/5 for writing this book is not, but the art of Geof Darrow truly just takes it over the edge. The detail of every inch of every page is truly incredible and the non-stop imagination from panel to panel will likely convince the reader to track down the other Shaolin Cowboy Hardcovers that Dark Horse has produced; the oversized format truly aids in the appreciation of this fantastic artist.

As for the story, the Shaolin Cowboy is simply the greatest fighter (although he doesn't look it) that has ever lived, resulting in anyone with a grudge or something to prove, plotting the Cowboy's demise. Resentful crabs, possessed skeletons, ghastly goblins and even sharks living in the belly of a giant creature toting around a city, aim to take on the Shaolin Cowboy . . . but only to their own detriment.

Quick and fun and packed with the some of the most wildly detailed art, promises the reader true value.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cross between axe-cop and one of those Moebius things from Heavy metal. Some of the fight sequences were incredible but on the whole, I didn't love it. Can't quite put my finger on it. The Wachowskis whom are doing Sense8 that I am watching right now were involved with this. Also some great covers and stuff.

I feel so out of my depth in reviewing this because it seems too far out from my comfort zone. I wonder how much popular culture cribbed from it and how much it cribbed from pop culture. This should be my type of thing given my love for authors like Ernst Cline but I lacked the grounding.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another comic that showed me what comics can do. Even if on a very low-brow level. Darrow has such an absurd and infuriating attention to detail you'd almost think he was an outsider artist. Yet, he's clearly thrived on a diet of Kung Fu, European Art and Westerns.

There's probably not a better choreographed violent comic out there (although Warren Ellis and Mark Millar sometimes come close).

This is a series that's sublime and worth the time to just look at. (But I'll admit the second series with all of the zombies is boring). I do just hope it does get a proper ending and get back to this storyline where it all started.

[Sam Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Visual Feast: A Narrative Nibble

This book is undoubtedly an artistic feat on a colossal scale. It's double page spreads, character designs, ambitious set pieces and pages bursting with masses of unique and gorgeously drawn characters - are awe inspiring and incredible.

I found the Zatoichi-inspired narrative to be wanting. I enjoyed the macabre, eclectic and often hilarious array of villains, but found their use; particularly in the third act, to miss the mark that first act villains struck so well. That said, all of the action was superb but the dialogue didn't strike it's target as satisfyingly.

A book worth picking up for the masterful art, even if the story lacks the same finesse.

[Marian · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where this odd series all began. This series since its inception as an actual indie was very similar to Samurai Jack. A lone wanderer who serves as one of the only sane people in an insane world. A bit of things come to the Dark Horse series like the Neo-Nazi King Crab and his company of weirdoes, the zombies the cowboy has to fight with a Dead Rising style chainsaw staff, even the city. Although some things got so abstract that some things had to go.
The actions still great but this makes it all look like a notebook showing off an artists ideas before settling on something.

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.)