Rio

by Doug Wildey

Doug Wildey was an acclaimed comic book and comic strip artist, as well as a noted animator. Very much in the school of Milton Caniff and Alex Toth, Wildley was an artist's artist, a storyteller of the highest order, and one with remarkable depth. While not known for any specific character (very much like Toth), Wildey worked in many genres - with western stories being some of his most memorable. In 1987 Wildey began one of his most personal works, Rio - the story of an aging cowboy and gunfighter, as well as special agent for the President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. This volume collects the entire Rio saga in one handsome collection, including the final, unfinished and unpublished Rio story.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Westerns

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. Terrific writing, great art - this book is western done right.

[Steve Chaput · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doug Wildey is one of the best artists in the comics field during his long career. His years working in animation gave us the characters in Johnny Quest, among others. For that alone he should be remembered.

Rio is a great western that Wildey created. His art style, similar to the one he used when working on Jonah Hex at DC. is perfect for this genre. His horses, scenic panoramas and tough cowboys create a very real world in which his hero rode.

Wildey did several graphic novels and another books collects the stories he did for Eclipse comics for an anthology series.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of an aging cowboy and gunfighter, as well as special agent for the President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. Collects the entire series first started out in Eclipse Monthly. Magnificently illustrated in a European style (I have no idea why the Europeans loved westerns so much). The author is an acclaimed illustrated and newspaper strip artist. This is considered his best work.

[Mhorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as any John Ford western

Created by Doug Wildey, creator of the great Jonny Quest, Rio is a lone gunman in the way of Clint Eastwood's man with no name. The plotting of the stories is tight, the artwork beautiful. Seriously, this is as much a favorite as Deadwood.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few months back, I picked up some Johnny Quest comics at the local bodega in one of those sealed "3 back issues for $3" packages. One issue was written and illustrated by Doug Wildey, who I was not previously familiar with. It was such a striking issue that I looked into his other

Rio is masterwork; it's a long semi-serialized but mostly episodic story of a gunfighter turned lawman named Rio. Wildey's art in this (especially in the later stories) is absolutely gorgeous. The best panels here are among the most wonderful comic art I have ever seen. The stories are also quite compelling. Despite being written in the 80s and 90s, Rio sits somewhere between the traditional western and the revisionist western in it's style. There's a few cringeworthy moments (mostly in the final unfinished story which has a Mexican gang as its villain) but he largely does a good job of bringing out the humanity in all his characters.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doug Wildey is a guity pleasure of mine as he co-created one of my childhood heros - Jonny Quest, in RIO, Wildey tells the tale of a reformed outlaw working for President Grant with "letters of marque" to stop the senseless killing of buffalo during the Reconstruction era.

Wildey's pencils are amazing, the rich detail and excellent composition make the book a joy to read. The story could have been extended out another 5 to 10 pages to give us more about Rio's background and what his "code" is (as every western hero needs a code). The dialogue is a bit soft... but overall, I enjoyed this.

I picked this book up after wanting it so many times when I was a kid and could never afford it. Now, I grab it for a song and a dance... worth the wait...

[Jefferson Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

His what-some-might-say crude coloring technique gives this book a great DIY feel. His mixed media approach and color pallete choices added with his classic illustatration style is a beauty to behold. Strong sequential narrative abilities combined with the western genre, Mr. Wildey is a comic craftsman. Get this.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some absolutely wonderful art and fairly good stories by Wildey. A large portion of the work here is unfinished, which is understandable, but an awful lot of the lettering is rough - looks like an artist's edition in many places. It seems the lettering could've been cleaned up, but I suppose this is what IDW wanted. A must for Western fans.