COWBOYS & ALIENS Graphic Novel Review

Oct 19, 2016
2 min read

Nile Fortner’s BOOGIE BUDDHA Presents…BAT-AZZ Comics!

COWBOYS & ALIENS Graphic Novel Review

Cowboys & Aliens By Andrew Foley , Dennis Calero (Illustrator), and Luciano Lima (Penciller)

“1873. Arizona.

An era when all a man could count on was his horse and his six-gun, and Indians fought a losing battle with European settlers.

Until somebody else entered the fight, an invader who saw all humans as slaves, and was determined to conquer our world.”

Now many people, including myself will tell you that the book is usually better than or different from the movie. For instance, the movie Wanted is different from Mark Millar’s comic book series of the same name. Even though the film was different from the comics, the movie did try to at least stay somewhat true to the story. Now, I only read this graphic novel because I feel like I am one of the few individuals who actually enjoyed the movie Cowboys & Aliens. The movie had interesting visuals, characters that you can get behind, surprises, mystery, and had entertainment. The graphic novel however, has very little of those things, and I can see why the movie change a lot from the graphic novel.

Cowboys & Aliens is an interesting idea to create. It is different, sounds fun, and should have made for a far superior read. The reader gets a quick prologue we are quickly thrown into action without much warning. Moreover, from there, the ride does not stop until the end. This is what hurts the story mostly. There is no exploration into characters, their motives, the setting or anything. It is just mindless action with no real characters the reader can connect to, the motive is just shoot at aliens, and just a bore.

While this was not terrible, I think that it works a lot better in concept than in execution. This actually seemed like a series of concepts ties with a loose story. I think that the only way to do this justice would be through a longer, more elaborate narrative. That way we get depth in characters, aliens with a clear motivation as to why they are here and overall a better book. The artwork is good, but I just wish the story could have been better. I believe they thought the title, and concept alone would be enough to get people invested.

So these are my final Bitchin’ Buddha thoughts on the graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens. Stick to the movie. This may not be the worst thing you and I have read. On the other hand, it is far from the best or even good. The graphic novel is has a bland story, very bland characters, and this book could have been so much more. I believe Cowboys & Aliens the graphic novel earns a…

5 out of 10.

This review is brought to you by Boogie Buddha, and remember don’t just get down, but get Boogie. Thank you all for reading and or viewing, and I hope you all have an amazing day as always. :)