Dojo Classics - The Lonesome Rider!

I know the greatness of Kubert, and it's amazing to me that this wonderful talent just seems to improve year after year after year. His Fax From Sarajevo and Yossel are properly seen as masterworks in the form by one of the great talents the field has produced. No doubt.

But as wonderful as his Tarzan and Tor and Rock are, arguably my favorite Kubert work is Tex The Lonesome Rider. I picked this up a few years ago and I was immediately swept away by the scope and emotional power of this deceptively simple western tale written by Claudio Nizzi. It's got the tropes you expect, a stranger of strong moral convictions finds evil in the vast landscape of the west and seeks to right wrongs or at a minimum avenge them.

The narrative is driven by the images, much like Sergio Leone's movies. We know Tex Willer by his posture and his behavior, not so much by what he says. Actions speak louder than words in the situation and they do likewise in the presentation of this story. There is mighty evil in this story and likewise mighty good. The very stuff of magnificent narratives.

If you haven't read Tex The Lonesome Rider you are in for a treat. I give it my highest recommendation.

UPDATE: The Lonesome Rider has been re-issued by Dark Horse as a hardback comic volume. Here's a link with details. It's been many years since I first read this yarn but the impression it made still remains.

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