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All Aboard for chilling thrills in the Wild West, with WESTERNoir – collected!

By John Freeman on September 24, 2020

Independent British comics publisher Accent Press are currently running a Kickstarter collecting the first four issues of their gothic Western title, WESTERNoir.

On offer and on target for success is a trade paperback that collects the first four issues of WESTERNoir, written by Dave West and Gary Crutchley, with art by Gary.

Coloured for the first time, by 2000AD colourist Matt Soffe, with additional stories never seen before, creating something of an epic production, to say the least.

*Sample pages from WESTERNoir, strip pages coloured by Matt Soffe*

“We’ve expanded the first book, adding even more explosive pages, and created brand new tales specifically for this collection,” Dave explains, “that will bring the total page count to 196 monster-hunting, critter-killing, thrill-packed pages.

“It is a veritable monster of a book!”

For those who came in late, WESTERNoir centres on Josiah Black, a man who’s has been many things in his life: farmhand, cowpoke, sheriff, rebel outlaw, killer, and now, drifter.

Approached by an enigmatic woman asking for his help he reluctantly agrees, setting him off on a trail of murder, mayhem and monsters that will change his life forever.

The world of the Wild West he lives in, it turns out, is not what it seems. Hell-spawn critters roam the land, masquerading as ordinary folk, preying on the innocent. The job of putting an end to them falls on Josiah and his trusty six-gun.

Created by Dave West and Gary Crutchley, this much-applauded mini-series has been a top seller on the convention circuit for many years with the early individual issues having long since sold out.

The collection is primed and ready to go – but without the conventions to sell it at, the Accent Press team decided turned to Kickstarter once again to realise its release.

“We’re ready and eager to send this beast to the printers,” Dave says, noting printing this monstrous tome won’t be cheap, so they need help to assist with the printing costs.

“Creating this book has been an absolute labour of love, and we can’t wait to get it into your hands.

“From its early inception through to brainstorming the scripts, (in the local saloon of course) the story has been on quite a journey. Accent UK’s talented designer Andy Bloor has helped us produce a book that looks as professional as any on the shelves of your local comic store.

*One of the Stretch Goal Art Cards on offer*

On offer to backers – with tiers created specially to minimise the pain of postage costs for fans outside the UK and European Union – are a whole heap of inventive extras that won’t be for sale anywhere else.

These include your very own wanted poster tailored to the individual Backer (you can even request the crimes you’re accused of and the bounty on your head); and a copy of Jim Wilson’s Bestiary, filled to the brim with monsters and what to do should you encounter them in the wild.

If gothic western is your thing, then check out WESTERNoir today.

• Check out the WESTERNoir collection here on Kickstarter

• Find out more about Dave West’s work on his Strange Times blog

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.