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Mutant, Texas: Tales of Sheriff Ida Red
The story of how Ida Red got her star—a tale as tall as Texas is wide. The sleepy town of Mutant, Texas, has had its share of disasters, some of which have caused them to...well, mutate. When their special features catch the eye of a traveling freak show, it’s down to Ida Red to find out who is attempting to harm the people of her town. From BATMAN’s Paul Dini and GOTHAM GIRLS’ J. Bone.
- GenresGraphic NovelsComics
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2003
23 people want to read
About the author
Paul Dini
726 books717 followersPaul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 25, 2019
Fun little read. The characters are likable and the story was cute. I would love to see this colorized in the future, the black and white. Was fine but I think Mutant Texas could really shine with color.
December 30, 2016
The lovechild of the kinetic slapstick of classic Tex Avery animated shorts and 50's sci-fi B-movie atomic-powered transformation: it's like the Hulk meets old-school Looney Tunes (you know, before Speedy Gonzales became politically incorrect and they had to edit out some of the more violent bits) in one charming Saturday-morning-cartoon package.
After an accident involving a satellite crashing into a nuclear power plant spews radiation (mixed with native mystic energy) over a small section of the Texas landscape, it provides an open door for animation maestro Paul Dini to cram in a ridiculous amount of fun, offbeat variations of the standard Western / cowboy clichés, infusing them with a lot of personality -- a stoic Clint Eastwood Man With No Name human cactus gunslinger, a feisty talking armadillo sidekick, a trio of no good coyote criminal brothers, and my personal favorite: Miss Donna Margarita Agavita Inebriata Mezcal, an anthromorphized female agave plant whose hundred-proof tequila kisses will lay any man low. Our purehearted heroine, Ida Red, is just learning she's got mutant powers, so there's a bit of superheroics to overlay the cowboy / funny animal material.
J. Bone's artwork and character designs are superb and a perfect fit with Dini's crazy idea-a-minute plots. Ida Red seems like you're reading an adaptation of an animated series, which is a good thing (until you realize the show doesn't actually exist). It's a fun romp and love letter to weird Westerns, appropriate for all ages if you've got kids and are looking for something to share with them they'll both enjoy -- like the classic Looney Tunes shorts, there may be a few gags that go over younger readers' heads but make adults chuckle.
After an accident involving a satellite crashing into a nuclear power plant spews radiation (mixed with native mystic energy) over a small section of the Texas landscape, it provides an open door for animation maestro Paul Dini to cram in a ridiculous amount of fun, offbeat variations of the standard Western / cowboy clichés, infusing them with a lot of personality -- a stoic Clint Eastwood Man With No Name human cactus gunslinger, a feisty talking armadillo sidekick, a trio of no good coyote criminal brothers, and my personal favorite: Miss Donna Margarita Agavita Inebriata Mezcal, an anthromorphized female agave plant whose hundred-proof tequila kisses will lay any man low. Our purehearted heroine, Ida Red, is just learning she's got mutant powers, so there's a bit of superheroics to overlay the cowboy / funny animal material.
J. Bone's artwork and character designs are superb and a perfect fit with Dini's crazy idea-a-minute plots. Ida Red seems like you're reading an adaptation of an animated series, which is a good thing (until you realize the show doesn't actually exist). It's a fun romp and love letter to weird Westerns, appropriate for all ages if you've got kids and are looking for something to share with them they'll both enjoy -- like the classic Looney Tunes shorts, there may be a few gags that go over younger readers' heads but make adults chuckle.
November 9, 2022
3 stars
Amazing art, cute story. Unfortunately this was only given four issues, hardly enough time to live up to its premise. Still, it's a fun read. Personally I've always preferred Ida Red to Jingle Belle and am glad to see her with her own series.
Amazing art, cute story. Unfortunately this was only given four issues, hardly enough time to live up to its premise. Still, it's a fun read. Personally I've always preferred Ida Red to Jingle Belle and am glad to see her with her own series.
April 30, 2014
neat little read wish there was more (is there?). got it when my library was discarding books so i got it free, great book for that price. seriously though good read overall.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews