COW BOY: A BOY AND HIS HORSE

The Wild West setting provides lots of opportunities for action, adventure, justice, and violence. In the comic book Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos, the Wild West gets something new: a little kid.

Boyd Linney was born into a family of outlaws. He chose a different path for himself, becoming a bounty hunter and focused on capturing and turning in his wayward family members for the reward. However, he didn't wait long to pursue his vocation: Boyd is heading after his kin at the ripe young age on ten years old. Riding his horse Cee Cee (who's so much bigger than Boyd) and armed with a toy horse-based shotgun, Boyd travels far across the U.S. (and Mexico) pursuing his family.

Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse is a simple idea that works pretty well. Boyd is in many ways the typical tough-guy cowboy except for his age and size but who simply follows the creed "Justice ain't got no age." Boyd is far from perfect -- facing both errors in judgment and moral questions in his quest -- and yet his determination to do good (and make some money along the way) is appealing. This is helped by the artwork of Eliopoulos, who makes Boyd look like he'd be at home playing in the world of Calvin and Hobbes.

Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse is a simple story that's nicely told. I look forward to the next collection in this series (which will hopefully have the foreshadowed meeting between Boyd and his criminal mother), and I enjoy rereading my hardbound copy of the story of a little kid with a big gun.

Overall grade: B

Reviewed by James Lynch