Streets of Glory #5 - Avatar

This book is a conundrum. Overall, it's a Western. It has all the brutality, language and attitude of a down and dirty Western. However, there's also this soap-opera type aspect to it. This whole thing with Ben Dunn. His lost love, from 20 years ago . . the child he didn't know about, and the guy who's recently lost his brother and he's taken under his wing. But then there's this whole drama about this town that Ben's been stuck in for a little while now, Gladback. There's a lot of human interest here, and the town seems to be in transition. It seems that it could be on the brink of destruction, or the dawn of something new. It all depends on the forces working within it, both from inside and out. I really like the feel that Garth Ennis has given this book. Really, I picked up the first issue on a lark. Garth Ennis has been putting out a lot of independent stuff, so I'm not really sure why I decided to pick up this one. I think, at the time, I was really enjoying Loveless and Jonah Hex, so I thought "Hey! Another western. Why not?" I don't really know. But I'm glad I did. I've thoroughly enjoyed every issue of this series so far. Also, I think Mike Wolfer's art has improved tremendously since the first issue. It's not perfect. There's some things he could improve upon, but . . the style and overall feel it's brought to this book is absolutely flawless. Garth couldn't have asked for anything more when he had the vision of this book. However, on a sad note, we may be down to the last issue. At first, I didn't realize that this was going to be a mini-series. But . . it is . . and apparently #6 is the finale. That's sad. But . . I have the feeling we may see these characters again in the near future. I don't have anything specific, but it just seems that the creators had a really good time with this book, and, really . . this story-arc was just the tip of the iceberg. I think these characters have a lot more stories in them to tell. Personally, I can't wait to read them.

Streets of Glory #4 - Avatar

I definitely like this book. Of course Garth Ennis brilliantly does the scripts. Mike Wolfer is ok on the art. It's not fantastic, or flashy. But, he does show improvement with every issue. It's just some of his facial expressions are a little skewed. And the flow of his frames is a little shaky sometimes. But all of that takes time and experience. So with some more issues under his belt, I think he'll be fairly impressive in a short period of time. The thing I like about this book is that it's so raw and realistic . . . almost to realistic . . . in it's adaptation of the wild west. Sadly, though, it's only a mini-series. Something I just figured out. But it's only going to have 6 issues. However, as with other titles of Garth's and Warren's and Alan's, with this company, if there's a demand for it, I'm sure there will be a follow up series. Basically, it's an accounting of this guy Pete, who ran in to Joe Dunn, shortly after his brother was killed. It was his first trip to the west. Joe is a famous and ruthless bounty hunter. For some reason he's taken a shine to Pete and, I think, ultimately he's trying to protect him. However, just by being associated with a man like Joe, has led him in to some very dangerous situations. Anyways, this story is being told to us by a much more mature Pete as he's in a diner telling it to his waitress. So it's kind of a "first-person", once removed, kind of thing. Anyways, it's a nice piece of fiction by Mr Ennis, and I'm just glad that we don't live in those types of times anymore.

Streets of Glory #3 - Avatar

What a truly gruesome book. But, I guess, that's the realities of the old West. There's a saying that goes, "Character is defined by what you do when nobody's looking." Well, all these people that lived out in the wild west . . were there on their own. Nobody was looking. Some people tried to extend the boundaries of civilization, and some people took advantage of the situation. Some survived. And some didn't. This story seems to be about both. In this issue they're focused on an Indian named Red Crow. He was Apache, and he seemed to have a taste for the savagery and butchery that was their stereotype. This is another one of those stories that bounces around in time. It's actually being told by Pete, who is now an old man. But the stories he's telling are of when he first met Colonel Joe Dunn, and his buddy Tom. Which was also when he first came out to the wild west. He knew him by reputation, and, I think, he probably decided that if he was going to survive, he'd probably do best by sticking to his side. Which he does when he decides to go out with the Colonel on a hunting party to track Red Crow from his most recent attacks. Joe has tracked Red Crow before, so he knows some of his tactics, but the Sheriff has sent along some of Mr. Morrison's associates. They say they want to help find Red Crow, but they seem to be hampering the Colonel every step of the way. The issue ends when they are surprise attacked by Red Crow as he scalps one of the men. Garth Ennis writes this book, so you just know the story is going to be great. The surprise though comes with the artwork of Mike Wolfer. I didn't really like him at first, but, surprisingly, after only 3 issues, he seems to be improving dramatically. This is a completely different kind of series. I'm not really sure if I like it. But, it is interesting. So I'll stick with it for a while to see where it goes. It should be an interesting trip.

Streets of Glory #2 - Avatar

This is an interesting book. I haven't really got the whole feel of it yet, but I like what I've seen so far. I just can't believe it's 2007 and I'm reading 3 western themed titles every month. Loveless, Jonah Hex, and now this book. Amazing! It seems to me like this Joseph Dunn, the title character, is a bit like a Jonah Hex type character. Although he claims that he's not a bounty hunter. I guess he just a guy, who fought to free up this land for his government, and now he's kind of a wandering vigilante. Kind of like he's policing his territory. He's already taken one young man under his wing, Pete Lorrimer, whose brother Frank was killed right in front of him. The only reason Pete didn't share his fate, was because of Joseph's intervention. And they've gone to look up Joseph's buddy, Tom McKinnon. He's a saloon owner now in Gladback, but they served together during the war. This issue 2 obvious threats blow in to town. One is one of the countries richest men, Charles Morrison. He's built his money with the railroads, and he claims he's in town on business. He seems amicable so far, but, you know what happens when someone messes with a man's business. The other threat is veiled by a man's torture. He's a farmer who comes wandering in to town who's been tortured, and by all accounts, should be dead from his suffering. But the threat is actually in the form of an Indian, Red Crow. Joseph immediately recognizes his torture tactics and realizes that the monster that he thought dead, is still walking amongst them. I like Garth Ennis' story-telling abilities, but these first 3 issues have mostly been about the set-up. We haven't really got into the meat of the story yet. And Mike Wolfer's artwork is . . . ok. It's not great, but it does show glimpses of brilliance. So I definitely think he's going to get better. Right now I'd probably give the book a B+, but, depending on where the story goes from here, that assumption could definitely rise.

Streets of Glory #1 - Avatar

This is truly a wicked book. I wasn't sure about Mike Wolfer's pencils, when I saw the preview, but I really think he's going to be a superstar. He's not there yet. But . . . . he's damn close. There are some panels in this book that are brilliant. But the consistency isn't there yet. But I really think as we watch this series progress, he's going to get a lot more attention. And of course you all know how brilliant Garth Ennis is. So the combination, on this series, should be pretty incredible. The reason I call this book wicked, is because the blood scenes in it are incredibly graphic. The scene where the guys jaw gets shot off his head and lands in our storytellers lap, Pete, actually gave me the willies. Eeuugh! That's not really my cup of tea. But, I understand it's necessity in order to express the true graphic nature of the "wild-wild west". It wasn't like Gunsmoke or Maverick. It was gruesome, and ruthless, and pretty much lawless. Which is what Garth wants to express in this series. Well . . . he's doing a damn good job of it. It's really to early for me to comment on the story to much. I don't really know where they're planning on going with it. But, from the looks of what I've seen so far, it looks like it's going to be a thrill-ride every step of the way. I can't wait.

Streets of Glory - Preview - Avatar Press

This is another addition to the Western titles on the rack now. Currently I'm reading Jonah Hex, and Loveless. But it looks like I'm going to have a third now. This is actually a preview, so it only give us about 6 or 8 pages of the story so far. It looks like it's going to be a pretty realistic one. Which is going to make it bloody and gruesome. And with Garth Ennis writing it, you know that it's going to give us something to think about also. The best part of this particular issue, is in the back where Garth has printed a letter talking about why he loves the Western genre so much. He has a list of his favorite Western movies. And talks a little bit about the difference between them and reality. Which, I think, is what he wants this book to show. He wants it to be a truer account of what the times were really like. If terrorists and mercenaries wanted to see how good they really were, we should send them back to this time of American History, and see how long they'd really last. Anyways, it should prove to be an interesting book. I can't wait for the first issue to come out. Also on Garth's recommendation, I think I'm going to check out Strange Killings by Warren Ellis also. Garth and Warren are 2 of my favorite writers. So if Garth recommends it . . . . it's gotta be good.