Saturday, 1 August 2009

Spaghetti Western. Scott Morse (Writer & Artist). Oni Press (2004)


A really clever and substantial comic that manages to be drenched in the spirit of the spaghetti westerns while the action takes place in a contemporary urban setting. Two men in western garb, ride on horseback up to a bank and attempt to rob it. Unsurprisingly the robbery does not go to plan, the way is does not go to plan is creatively presented by Scott Morse. The planning for the robbery is unexpected and sharp and the resolution is thoughtful and completely satisfactory. The story is very slight and does not try to be more than it is, it is an carefully constructed incident rather than a full blown drama and it is not stretched into something it is not. The book is drawn in single panel pages which assists with the pacing, a greater number of panels would have hurried the story too much and detracted strongly from the atmosphere. Like the films it is not in a hurry to get to the action, it uses an extended focus on the cast to create drama as much as the actions. The sepia tones used are perfect for the rather impressionistic artwork, the details are sketched in rather than presented, the focus is on the faces of the cast.This comic is a quick read, it contains a considerable creative intelligence and artistic weight , Scott Morse is a very talented comic book author, this book is a flavoursome pleasure.

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