The western is a genre that has come and gone in comics, and it seems to be one of the toughest sells in the current market. Ostrander now has two solid westerns under his belt, and a good start on a third one, so while I don't expect the western genre as a whole to see a resurgence, maybe word will get out that when Ostrander writes a western, readers should pay attention. This is a sequel of sorts to Blaze of Glory, but those who haven't read it won't find themselves left out, because I don't remember much of that series and I had no trouble following the basic revenge plot that drives the first issue of Apache Skies. With beautiful, painted (or at least painted style) artwork, a pair of driven protagonists, and a solid plot at its core, Apache Skies is off to a great start.
The narrator is a tricky bit of business that only works in certain genres. In some genres, having a narrator relay some exposition or commenting on the scenes can be distracting, or even goofy. The western, with its history of dime novelists and barside bullshitters, is an ideal place for the narrator, and so Ostrander both immediately establishes the genre and serves up some exposition with the use of narrative captions. Even if you've never read Marvel's western characters before, you'll have no trouble immediately grasping who these characters are.
Another big part of successful westerns is mood. The slow and deliberate pace that unveils into a gunfight is a big part of what makes Clint Eastwood or John Wayne flicks work, and the opening scene in 1886 is a great example of that kind of thing. Ostrander and Manco give their protagonist just the right air of menace and mystery before revealing who it is and the kind of prowess that accompanies that air. I also enjoyed their take on Rawhide Kid, who has a sort of rough-and-tumble Robert Redford feeling going for him.
Manco and Ostrander have paced this book out beautifully. Gunfights can take pages, threatening or friendly exchanges plenty of time as well, and there's never a sense, even with only four issues to tell the story, that they're rushing through things. Manco's work is also flat-out gorgeous, more fully rendered and detailed than I'm used to seeing him, looking more photo-realistic than usual but still maintaining the gritty and dark feel that is so important to the tone.
My taste in western movies varies, as I like everything from the popcorn/comedy approach of Shanghai Noon to modern/action of Tombstone to the darker and grimmer Unforgiven, as well as having an appreciation for Clint Eastwood's older works. But no matter where your appreciation for the western genre comes from, I'll bet you will enjoy Apache Skies. And if you don't have a fondness for the genre... the odds are still good that Apache Skies might fix that for you.
