- Title: The Man with No Name #1
- Comic Vine: link
“Saints and Sinners” begins the new series by Christos Gage and Wellington Dias with our hero walking into town only to find an ambush waiting for him.
Of course such a thing isn’t going to keep our hero down for long, and he takes care of business with his usual flourish. But news that not only the Union Army but also the Confederacy are both after his head (the first for blowing up a bridge, the second for the small matter of the gold he’s currently carrying – from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) leads the Man with No Name to hit the road and journey out into the desert.
Our hero’s flight is interrupted however by an attack and a dying priest who makes a last request which will only further complicate our protagonist’s life.
The art of Wellington Dias and colors of Bruno Hang give the comic a somber, slightly dirty yet still vibrant look which works quite well. I was also impressed with the use of light and shadow throughout the issue including several stand-out panels.
The writing is a trickier matter to discuss as the best parts of the book include no dialogue, though I give credit to Christos Gage for the pace of the narrative, and giving a strong introduction to the character without the need for much dialogue or any flashbacks. I’d actually like to see even less dialogue in future issues, as it seems to slow the storytelling down.
Dynamite Entertainment is certainly becoming a publisher worth keeping your eye on. With the Lone Ranger and Zorro, and now the Man with No Name (plus Buck Rogers on his way) they’re carving themselves their own little patch of the comic book landscape. This first issue is a curiosity. Will it become more? We’ll have to see where the story goes from here, but, for the art alone, it is worth picking up.