Steam-powered death machine.
The stability of late 19 century Gotham is less than perfect. With a corrupt police force and mayor not to mention the presence of two powerful secret crime organizations poised ready to wipe each other out the light at the end of the tunnel seems far off. Yet our three western heroes find themselves mixed up in all this chaos as the Court of Owls and the Crime Bible fire the first shots of a gang war to shape the future of Gothams’ criminal underworld in All-Star Western #11.
We open up with Amadeus Arkham narrating to us the events that have occurred over the past few issues from the arrival of Tallulah Black in to seek revenge on Lucius Bennet (the man who killed her family and took her land), the murder of Officer Bard and Mr. Rennington from inside a closed prison cell with the only clue being an Owl Feather, and finally the murder of Thurston Moody in New Orleans by a woman dressed as an owl. Arkham looks over the old Court of Owls rhyme believing that it is the work of the mysterious, almost mythical, Court that is responsible for these murders and then goes onto say how having two secret societies in Gotham will eventually lead to conflict between the two groups. Meanwhile in a carriage passing near Cobblepot Pass Lucius Bennet talks about his current land contract against the ’ when the carriage is Stopped by Tallulah and Hex. A gun fight breaks out, only to be interrupted by a third party member. A Talon of the Court of Owls. How can this end? Pick up All-Star Western #11 to find out.
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray cannot disappoint as the writing of this issue continues the pattern of strong stories seen in this series. In this issue the focus is placed on Tallulah, as it is her revenge story that’s being told as she finally goes face to face with Bennet once more but as we’ve grown to learn a simple revenge story cannot happen in this series without the other powers of interfering. The use of the Court of Owls in this series is brilliant, with the court already having a presence in since the construction of the city and the Crime Bible now moving in on their territory. Apart from gaining an insight into the Crime Bibles upper echelon of colourful figures we also get an idea of how far the corruption runs through Gotham with a lovely description of Mayor Cobblepots recent under the desk activities, not to mention how much on the edge people are with the upper echelon of the Crime Bible wondering if certain persons of Gotham are part of the mysterious Court of Owls or not. This confusing web of thought is then put up against the more straight forward thinking of Hex and Black who are just looking to survive and escape . Palmiotti and Gray have created a bleak that looks like it’s on the verge of collapsing into anarchy. This is made even better with the fantastic artwork of Moritat (Justin Norman) that really adds life to the characters and the setting. I truly cannot say more about the art other than “just go and look at it”. It’s fantastic and I cannot imagine this series being drawn by anyone else right now and resulting in the same way. We then move onto the second feature “Dr. Terrence 13”. Once again set in 19 century Gotham, 1881, Dr. Terrence is asked by the police force to aid them in a supernatural crime, yet knowing Palmiotti and Gray the response of Dr. Terrence is not what people who are familiar with the “13” family will expect. Once again a great second feature with great art by Kolins with a conclusion that I’m looking forward to read next month.
In conclusion I give All-Star Western #11 a 5/5. Full marks. This issue (if not the entire series so far) had had my attention caught straight from the beginning with great writing and beautiful art. Concepts brought up in other series are utilized brilliantly here and we get a great look into the dark that was. So if your not reading this issue or this series why not? So once again, All-Star Western #11
5/5
