Written by Scott Chitwood
Illustrated by Alfonso RuizWhen two down-on-their-luck cowboys capture the most wanted outlaw in the West, they get more than they bargained for when they discover a Comanche shaman has infected him with an ancient zombie virus. If the zombie doesn’t kill them, the Comanche, rival bounty hunters, and other outlaws will!
I decided to review this book on a whim, mostly because the title jumped out at me. Dead or Alive has a premise that seems so obvious; it’s amazing it hasn’t been done already. Cowboys and Indians and zombies seems like a natural fit to me; especially given this year there was a movie based on a comic about Cowboys and Aliens.
All of that aside, find out how this book fared after the cut!
This book is an interesting concept. Not because it’s an unconventional western story about a pair of bounty hunters on the hunt for a terrible criminal who just so happen to be known as “El Muerto,” but rather it’s interesting because it’s rather conventional zombie story with heavy western influences.
We start with our heroes, Jed and Sam. They’re both down on their luck, and as it happens in stories like this, one of them is prone to have get rich quick schemes and this adventure is no different. Along with their tough lady friend Tess are pulled into a grand adventure with criminals, American Indians, the supernatural, and danger to be had all around.
While you can see the setup of the story sounds like any number of stories you’ve heard (heck, exchange horses for a Chevy Impala and you have a zombie episode of Supernatural), it works rather well. Mashing up western and supernatural themes has been done well before (The Sixth Gun, hello!), so it’s doubly nice to know that the sub-genre has a chance to thrive. One hopes that after this mini-series is done, a collection of similar series’ starring these characters will continue on, as it’s that rich of a resource.
While it’s a great concept, the book lives and dies by the skills of the writer, Red 5 co-founder Scott Chitwood. He even does a great job setting up the storyline, with likable characters that are reminiscent of those Winchester Brothers (by far not a bad thing) and even does something the creators of Supernatural can’t seem to do, and that’s create a female character who appears to have the longevity of the other main characters . Tess is probably my favorite character after the first issue, as she is clearly a lady of the 19th century, but is tough as nails and doesn’t take the nonsense that the Jed seems to spew on a regular basis. Sam is actually the quieter, more thoughtful of the two, so he’s seen as generally favorable in the eyes of Tess. I wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s a romantic love, but I would not be surprised if there was a relationship blossoming somewhere down the road.
There are a few problems with the story, but it’s a problem that’s genre-wide. American Indians have always had a problematic depiction in western stories, and here it’s no different. The catalyst for the supernatural themes comes directly from an American Indian medicine man who practices dark spells for whatever reason. It feels a little…convenient to make it an Indian Problem, when it could have been anything more interesting. Even the idea of there just being zombies for the sake of being zombies (akin to The Walking Dead) seems like it would have worked just as well, without a concept that some might find offensive. Even the depiction of the main criminal as being Mexican struck me as a little unnecessary.
When it comes to the art, Red 5 Comics has a style that seems present in all of the comics I’ve read. From Atomic Robo to the book Drone I reviewed a couple years ago all have a bright, sketchy look to them that strangely works very well for the stories they’re trying to tell. Dead or Alive is no different. Alfonso Ruiz’ pencils and Garry Henderson’s colors make the art reminiscent of Georges Jeanty’s work on the Buffy books (which I adore). The only issue I had with the visual depiction in the book was the lettering and speech bubbles, which looked quite drab comparatively. Gray speech bubbles just look to grungy and dreary unless it’s used to describe a specific type of speech. But since everyone talks in gray, it ruins otherwise lovely art on every page. Lettering is important people; don’t forget that for a second.
With only a couple hiccups, this is a quite enjoyable book to read. If you’re looking for something just a bit different from what you’re reading (or if you like All-Star Western or that Red Dead Redemption DLC from last year), you should definitely check it out. I’ll be reading on from here.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Buy (7.5 if you don’t mind grungy lettering.)
