"Justice never sleeps," said Phil the bear, counting a wad of money. "If the pay's right, it's got *+a#%!* insomnia," responds Meg, the sexy, elfin bounty hunter in Far West, a new graphic novel from NBM Publishing.

Both Meg and Phil are tracking a train-robbing forger with a $10,000 reward on his head. A fire-breathing dragon the size of a small office building complicates his capture. A Western setting dumped into the middle of Fairyland enriches his story.

Yep, pardner, these rustlers and cowpokes rub elbows with elves and goblins as they saunter into a saloon, and without one word of explanation from the author. And, dagnabbit, it shore is fun!

Far West reprints the first four issues of a comics series in a deluxe format including a gallery of rejected covers, pin-ups and a never-before released story. West is distinctive and fun because Richard Moore's art is lively and imaginative, his visual storytelling is flawless, and Miss Meg unnecessarily flashes pieces of skin as often as she flashes her gun.

Naughty, naughty, Richard -- 40 years ago, West would have been labeled soft-porn.

It is also distinctive and fun because Moore has mixed John Wayne with Frodo the Hobbit in his plot pot. His dialogue and characterizations are lively and imaginative, and Miss Meg spouts needless profanity with the worst of 'em.

Silly Richard -- 40 years ago, that profanity would have been labeled trash and banned from libraries.

The excuse used by writers and artists to begin adding sex and profanity to the arts was that it created an accurate portrayal of reality. Wonder how that reasoning works way out west and over-the-rainbow in Dodge City, Fairyland?

Far West is recommended for readers not offended by profanity or titillated by today's standards of sexuality in art.

[ by Michael Vance ]
Rambles: 5 October 2002