Biscuits and gravy! To celebrate the release of its second trade paperback, Chris and Shane Houghton have put the seventh issue of their all-ages comic “Reed Gunther” online to read for free. If you have somehow missed out on the praise the book has received on our site in the past, “Reed Gunther” is a wildly entertaining western about a foolhardy cowboy who rides a bear. Do you really need to know more than that? Hand a child a copy, and I guarantee that they will be laughing and engaged as much as they would when watching any quality kid’s television program — yes, even Adventure Time.
Like all-ages titans such as “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” and “Bone, “however, “Reed Gunther” is deserving of praise because it is, in fact, for all-ages. The Houghton brothers’ shared sense of humor is accessible to both the young of age and the young of heart, and does not at all come off as “juvenile” — well, at least not excessively. For any kind of storytelling medium, be it comics, books, or television, “all-ages” often means “for kids,” which then means simple and childish, lacking any wit or wonder — in fact, something that is not at all for kids of any age. “Reed Gunther” is not the simple diversion that most mass-produced children’s entertainment come off as; it is a clever book that does not lose its humor no matter what age the reader is, nor how many times it has been read. Share the free seventh issue with your favorite kid comics reader, and be sure to pick up the two trades if you’re left wanting for more western hijinks.
Would it help if I mentioned the the issue in question got a 9.0 when we (read: I) reviewed it?
