Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Top 10 Covers of 'The Massive'

      Nick Hanover
      December 23, 2014
      Columns, Top 10
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • 140 Character Reviews 6/17/15

      Nick Hanover
      June 18, 2015
      140 Character Reviews, Marvel Comics, Reviews
    Recent
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • Collecting Profile: Jack O’ Lantern

      nguyen ly
      October 31, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • 2.5

      REVIEW: The Goddamned #1 is Every Bit as Tired as Its Lead Character

      Nick Hanover
      December 31, 2015
      Image, Indie, Reviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 2.0

      Review: The Super Support Group #1 Needs Medical Attention

      Nick Hanover
      November 8, 2018
      Indie, Reviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Riley Rossmo: Infecting the Ecosystem with Rebel Blood

      Nick Hanover
      March 22, 2012
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Could the Cream of 1970s Comics Artists Almost Have Plummeted to their Doom?

      Nick Hanover
      July 3, 2014
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Comics Bulletin Exclusive Preview – Winter World #6 from IDW

      Nick Hanover
      January 23, 2015
      News, Previews
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • 'The Art of Fantasy, Sci-fi and Steampunk' is a Lush, Beautiful History of Fantasy Art

      Nick Hanover
      May 23, 2018
      Books, Reviews
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist
  • Collecting Profile: Transformers
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

All-Star Western #2

Nick Hanover
November 3, 2011
Reviews

What happened? There I was, loving the shit out of All Star Western’s first issue and along comes Issue Two, not exactly ruining my starry eyed attraction but certainly dampening it. The appeal of the series’ debut for me was that it took the basic outline of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell and added Jonah Hex and Gotham City to the mix as well as some sharp wit and gallows humor. Only a single issue later, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have seemingly abandoned that template altogether in favor of a storyline that may as well have come from a Bat book, with an old timey setting and sepia tones being the only differentiator. 

Starting right where issue one left off, as Jonah Hex and Doctor Arkham prepare for an attack by a deranged criminal cult, the problems become unmissable once DC’s infamous Crime Bible becomes a major part of the plot. Apparently it wasn’t enough to have Gotham’s elite 1% running a clandestine organization together, Illuminati-style, they also had to be tied to the Crime Bible as well, which Doc Arkham is able to detail the origins of thanks to a conveniently placed book featuring “a study of criminal psychology by Hugo Munsterberg, a German psychologist…”

All-Star Western #2

That segues directly into the larger problem of this issue, which is the hilariously explanatory dialogue. Doc Arkham can be given some lenience since his dialogue in issue one was occasionally heavy on the lecturing, a logical angle given his personality and profession, but even Jonah Hex falls prey to this dialogue tactic, making awkward mini-speeches about classism that could have come straight from any number of 1% memes. Speaking of that 1%, the “Lords of Crime” get the worst of the dialogue this issue, sounding like vaudeville caricatures rather than real characters. My secret favorite moment of the issue is this panel, where the usually excellent Moritat has war hero Mr. Hammersmith pose as though he’s getting ready to fight Dudley Doright, with some campy dialogue from Palmiotti and Gray finishing the effect:

All-Star Western #2

Not that it’s all clunky slogans and thin characterization this issue, though. Moritat provides some marvelous fight sequences, particularly with Jonah Hex taking on the Crime Bible henchmen singlehandedly and the issue’s ending has a nicely tense brawl that even features some daredevil moments by none other than Doc Arkham. It’s too early to count the series out completely, but it would be to the book’s benefit if the more generic “hero versus stereotypical gang of villains” angle was minimized in favor of the far more unique and interesting unlikely duo story that made up the bulk of issue one. There’s also the little problem of the story being truncated in order to fit in a pretty bland back-up story featuring El Diablo, a character I’ve never encountered before who comes across as the hybrid of Etrigan the Demon and Zorro that exactly no one asked for. We’ve got plenty of generic action hero stories already guys, let’s just get back to breaking new ground.


When he’s not writing about the cape and spandex set, Nick Hanover is a book, film and music critic for Spectrum Culture and a staff writer for No Tofu Magazine. He also translates for “Partytime” Lukash’s Panel Panopticon.

All-Star WesternDCGabriel BautistaJimmy PalmiottiJodi BernetJustin GrayMoritatNick HanoverRob Schwager

Share On:
Tweet
Captain America & Bucky #623
Chuck 5.01 “Chuck vs. the Zoom” Review

About The Author

Nick Hanover

Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he’s the last of the secret agents and he’s your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Loser City as well as Ovrld, where he contributes music reviews and writes a column on undiscovered Austin bands. You can also flip through his archives at Comics Bulletin, which he is formerly the Co-Managing Editor of, and Spectrum Culture, where he contributed literally hundreds of pieces for a few years. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd .gif battles with Dylan Garsee on twitter: @Nick_Hanover

Related Posts

  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man

    nguyen ly
    December 26, 2020
  • Collecting Profile: Streaky the Supercat

    nguyen ly
    October 24, 2020

Latest Reviews

  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
  • 4.5

    Micro Review: Commanders in Crisis #1

    Jason Jeffords Jr.
    October 12, 2020
  • 3.0

    Review: GHOST WRITER Fights the Spectre of Unevenness

    Daniel Gehen
    September 3, 2020
  • 3.5

    Review: Strange Skies Over East Berlin

    Yavi Mohan
    August 11, 2020
  • DRAWING BLOOD: A Hyper-Stylized, Fictional Autobiography

    Ben Bishop, Brittany Peer, David Avallone, Drawing Blood, Kevin Eastman, Tomi Varga
    August 9, 2020
  • 3.0

    Alien: The Original Script #1 – This One’s For The Fans

    Jason Jeffords Jr.
    August 7, 2020
  • Singles Going Steady: Why? Lettering!

    Daniel Gehen
    July 28, 2020
  • 4.5

    X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR #4 is a Finale of Moral Questions

    Daniel Gehen
    July 22, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders