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Snakehand
The Texas town wanted law and order.
What they got was Joe Wiley.
As a young man he roamed the border country with a pack of wolves who walked like men. Until fate stepped in to place him on another path. Joe Wiley took to wearing a badge and became a town tamer with a reputation for never backing down from a fight.
But the cesspool of vice, murder and corruption that calls itself Mercury Wells turns out to be the toughest challenge this lawman-for-hire has ever faced.
From Chuck Dixon (creator of the Levon Cade and Bad Times series) and John Neal (creator of Aym Geronimo ) comes a lean, mean series of action thrillers that sets the west ablaze.
What they got was Joe Wiley.
As a young man he roamed the border country with a pack of wolves who walked like men. Until fate stepped in to place him on another path. Joe Wiley took to wearing a badge and became a town tamer with a reputation for never backing down from a fight.
But the cesspool of vice, murder and corruption that calls itself Mercury Wells turns out to be the toughest challenge this lawman-for-hire has ever faced.
From Chuck Dixon (creator of the Levon Cade and Bad Times series) and John Neal (creator of Aym Geronimo ) comes a lean, mean series of action thrillers that sets the west ablaze.
180 pages, Paperback
Published December 14, 2021
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,513 books1,150 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 19, 2016
A great bloody western.
A feral child, turned comanchero, turned lawman for hire comes to town to bring the peace. The results are more explosive than anyone expects.
Great action.
A feral child, turned comanchero, turned lawman for hire comes to town to bring the peace. The results are more explosive than anyone expects.
Great action.
April 23, 2023
This is, I believe, Chuck Dixon's first foray into western fiction, other than the comics he wrote. Its written with art and help writing by John Morgan Neal, and is about a former feral kid who becomes an outlaw following a charismatic leader. Events do not go as planned, and both have to restart their lives in a new direction and now Joe Wiley is a town taming lawman who goes to the worst places and deals with the troublemakers.
This is a pretty smooth read with plenty of hard action and hard men dealing with hard times. Wiley is no Hopalong Cassidy (although neither was Cassidy, in the books) and he tends to shoot first and ask questions later. There are some odd unDixonlike parts, such as when Joe yells a warning while clenching a knife between his teeth, or a shotgun knocks a galoot flying off his feet.
The second Western by Dixon La Gringa is a bit better handled and I think Dixon wasn't quite at his most experienced writing prose at this point.
This is a pretty smooth read with plenty of hard action and hard men dealing with hard times. Wiley is no Hopalong Cassidy (although neither was Cassidy, in the books) and he tends to shoot first and ask questions later. There are some odd unDixonlike parts, such as when Joe yells a warning while clenching a knife between his teeth, or a shotgun knocks a galoot flying off his feet.
The second Western by Dixon La Gringa is a bit better handled and I think Dixon wasn't quite at his most experienced writing prose at this point.
December 20, 2017
Fun book. Not a classic western or at least what I think of as a classic western of the Louis Lamour variety but enjoyable.
September 19, 2016
a savage wild western. Bloodshed everywhere and at bottom a tale of retribution
October 17, 2016
Great Book!
This book has a lot of cation in it. I did enjoy it very much. Just wish the ending would have let me know what happen to Snakehand,or if he was caught.
This book has a lot of cation in it. I did enjoy it very much. Just wish the ending would have let me know what happen to Snakehand,or if he was caught.
March 28, 2017
A lifetime of friendship, a story of the West.
Lots of action from the beginning. Two people dealing with the raw ness of the West. This is a must read.
Lots of action from the beginning. Two people dealing with the raw ness of the West. This is a must read.
March 29, 2017
"JOE WILEY AND BEN TEMPLE"
A young man still in his teens who lived a very hard life. Literally fighting for scrapes of food thrown at the feral pack of kids who would kill over a piece of tough horse meat or whatever morsels of food was tossed out into the dirt. Joe Wiley meets a gun hawk by the name of Ben Temple, who takes him in and Joe Wiley rides with this gang until they
ambushed teamsters killed the drivers and took over the contents of the wagons. Ben and his gang went bonkers over what the wagons contained, which were blankets, crates of liquor all these items/goods were scheduled for the Indian reservation(how nice). All of a sudden gang members with the exception of the Indians who were in his gang didn't get ill, because they had settled further up the river and didn't celebrate with the main gang they didn't die, die a painful horrific death. The blankets were infected with small pox and the liquor was probably wood alcohol. Young Joe took care of the entire gang who "ALL" died with exception of Ben, who was blinded by the "BAD" liquor. All these men died and these people(Indian Affairs)were delivering death to the "INDIANS", it didn't matter if there were children, women and the elderly who led
would use these items....attitudes haven't changed much in the years past toward the Native Americans..Years passed and Joe Wiley and Ben were still riding the trail together but as hired gun for town's who needed lawmen. This is a fast moving and descriptive analysis of the old west. You know rich men who used equally greedy men to cheat settlers, native Americans anyone who got in their way. President Grant's brother was involved with this dirty deal. So you see, things haven't changed much, only the names. I'm looking forward to Book 2, hope you will feel the same way...keep your coffee hot..
A young man still in his teens who lived a very hard life. Literally fighting for scrapes of food thrown at the feral pack of kids who would kill over a piece of tough horse meat or whatever morsels of food was tossed out into the dirt. Joe Wiley meets a gun hawk by the name of Ben Temple, who takes him in and Joe Wiley rides with this gang until they
ambushed teamsters killed the drivers and took over the contents of the wagons. Ben and his gang went bonkers over what the wagons contained, which were blankets, crates of liquor all these items/goods were scheduled for the Indian reservation(how nice). All of a sudden gang members with the exception of the Indians who were in his gang didn't get ill, because they had settled further up the river and didn't celebrate with the main gang they didn't die, die a painful horrific death. The blankets were infected with small pox and the liquor was probably wood alcohol. Young Joe took care of the entire gang who "ALL" died with exception of Ben, who was blinded by the "BAD" liquor. All these men died and these people(Indian Affairs)were delivering death to the "INDIANS", it didn't matter if there were children, women and the elderly who led
would use these items....attitudes haven't changed much in the years past toward the Native Americans..Years passed and Joe Wiley and Ben were still riding the trail together but as hired gun for town's who needed lawmen. This is a fast moving and descriptive analysis of the old west. You know rich men who used equally greedy men to cheat settlers, native Americans anyone who got in their way. President Grant's brother was involved with this dirty deal. So you see, things haven't changed much, only the names. I'm looking forward to Book 2, hope you will feel the same way...keep your coffee hot..
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews