Open the pages of any good Larry McMurtry western (say Streets of Laredo, Lonesome Dove or Dead Man's Walk) and you'll find a nice balance of friendship, adventure and wit filled banter that works its way through the conversation and life of each character presented. His tales offer fans a classic western theme that's dusty, humorous, adventurous and, in the end, quite fun.
I was reminded of McMurtry when reading The Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson. Something in the banter of the lead characters Clark and Jefferson took me back and made me reminisce about the legendary cattle drive of Lonesome Dove. It made me long to re-experience the adventures of Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae. Call and McCrae's humor and friendship seems ever present in the friendship and humor of Sheriff Clark and Deputy Jefferson. Bringing back that emotion won points with me from the start. Those moments, when they hit their stride within the story, are noteworthy and deserve a fair bit of praise.
What's the series like? Let me break it down for you. Start with the general flavor of McMurtry. Next, drop in a full serving of man-eating, big teeth, bug-eyed, killer aliens. From there, sprinkle the mix with a zombie-esque "they're-coming-from-every-direction" classic horror tone and you're getting close. Finally, bring it all home with sold, classically wild western humor and you have my initial impression of the Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson. In this title writer Jay Carvajal and artist Mike Borstel mix those elements in a way that works quite well. The first three issues were an entertaining read.
Okay, let's have a little fun. It's not often I get to lead a review by stating, quite openly, that an issue stinks and have it still come out a positive review. In this case, that description fits the first issue of The Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson quite well though not in the way you might expect as the story itself is quite good. You see, within that story there's a running joke involving frequent encounters with horse manure and hiding out in an outhouse that kind of saturates the kickoff issue. This humor just drips off the page and the way in which Clark and Jefferson survive their first encounter with the aliens is a comic scene I'm not soon to forget. Though the comic isn't a scratch and sniff (which in this case is a REALLY good thing), the smell of these two heroes as they survive issue #1 jumps off the page in several jaw-dropping, dung-filled moments. Confused? Grab issue #1 and you'll completely understand.
Through the first three issues of the Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson, we jump from a traditional western story standard into a world of science fiction and it happens an issue and a step at a time. We begin in Sagebrush, Arizona (a standard small, old west town) with Sheriff Clark mourning his dead wife and working to apprehend a dastardly set of cattle rustlers. The expected chase that follows gives the reader a chance to get to know the two lead characters. In the end they find themselves out on the open plain and hip deep in trouble.
As the aliens enter the story, it comes in an indirect way reminiscent of early, old-school X-Files alien encounters. It's a series of blinding lights through cracks in the woodwork, a trail of mutilation and a growing tone of tension.
Here you find yourself, as a reader, out in the old west and you quickly feel the tension build and the world close in on you. As the action increases, the visuals and the fact that the author, Jay Carvajal, held a few things in reserve really scores a nice payoff. I liked that Mr. Carvajal chose to hold some visuals back for the second issue allowing the tone within the story to build. In the end, there are moments that are downright creepy and that's the work of solid storytelling.
In issue two, the creator's get to enjoy presenting their very own last stand at the Alamo, of a sort. In this issue, more characters are introduced, we get to meet the leading lady (Deadeye Mary) and we witness the first real battle with the aliens. They are a ferocious little bunch. Forget aliens vs. predator... this is aliens vs. the wild west and I think the aliens may be winning.
In issue three we switch gears toward an increasingly sci-fi tone as the frontiersmen take the battle to the aliens and, ultimately, right onto the heart of their ship. Here they recruit from some unlikely allies and the battle rages on toward issue #4, the conculsion of the series.
Overall, Jay Carvajal's story is well paced and seems to change gears at just the right moment to keep the tale interesting, funny and fresh. Marc Borstel's art style reminded me a bit of Steve Dillon (of whom I'm a fan). Borstel mixes the open prairie with the the emotion of the characters quite well and, visually, was a solid draw for me to the comic.
I look forward to issue #4 of the story. It promises to be filled with cowboys, indians, aliens, dynamite and lots of gunpowder. What more can you ask for?
While writing this review, we stumbled across a preview trailer for the series on YouTube and
felt it would make a nice companion visual for our comments. Enjoy...
Open the pages of any good Larry McMurtry western (say Streets of Laredo, Lonesome Dove or Dead Man's Walk) and you'll find a nice balance of friendship, adventure and wit filled banter that works its way through the conversation and life of each character presented. His tales offer fans a classic western theme that's dusty, humorous, adventurous and, in the end, quite fun. 
Okay, let's have a little fun. It's not often I get to lead a review by stating, quite openly, that an issue stinks and have it still come out a positive review. In this case, that description fits the first issue of The Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson quite well though not in the way you might expect as the story itself is quite good. You see, within that story there's a running joke involving frequent encounters with horse manure and hiding out in an outhouse that kind of saturates the kickoff issue. This humor just drips off the page and the way in which Clark and Jefferson survive their first encounter with the aliens is a comic scene I'm not soon to forget. Though the comic isn't a scratch and sniff (which in this case is a REALLY good thing), the smell of these two heroes as they survive issue #1 jumps off the page in several jaw-dropping, dung-filled moments. Confused? Grab issue #1 and you'll completely understand. 
Through the first three issues of the Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson, we jump from a traditional western story standard into a world of science fiction and it happens an issue and a step at a time. We begin in Sagebrush, Arizona (a standard small, old west town) with Sheriff Clark mourning his dead wife and working to apprehend a dastardly set of cattle rustlers. The expected chase that follows gives the reader a chance to get to know the two lead characters. In the end they find themselves out on the open plain and hip deep in trouble. 
As the aliens enter the story, it comes in an indirect way reminiscent of early, old-school X-Files alien encounters. It's a series of blinding lights through cracks in the woodwork, a trail of mutilation and a growing tone of tension.
