Monday, April 30, 2012

The Grave Doug Freshley by Josh Hechinger YP FIC HECHINGE


Doug Freshley keeps his promises.  When the Delancey gang attacks he promises his friend and employer Shane McNally to keep his son Bat McNally safe.  And he certainly isn’t going to let something like being dead stop him.  After a bullet in the head kills him he gets right back up and uses his new found power of not dying to hunt down every last rotten Delancey and bring them to justice, but when he’s done he has a duel with Death to deal with…literally.

This book does a wonderful job upending the conventions of both westerns and zombie stories.  Sure, there’s the good guy getting the bad gang element of the western, but it’s handled with humor and irreverence.  And Doug is far from the normal zombie or undead.  He looks and acts normal; he just can’t die without keeping a promise.  The kooky and oft kilter plot is well matched by the art, which has simple and exaggerated artwork that is a mix of classic western comics and cartoon design.  Best yet, Hechinger tells a story with a beginning, a middle, and GASP an actual end without stringing it out interminably.  He leaves room for further adventures, but rewards readers with a very satisfying story.  Check it out.  It’ll be the best zombie western comic you read this year!

Check our catalog for The Grave Doug Freshley here.

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