All-Star Western #14 Review
***SPOILER FREE REVIEW***
For a good while now, Gray and Palmiotti's All-Star Western has been one of my favorite series, combining fun dialogue, interesting characters and great story, along with Moritat's unique and vivid art. I especially loved the last arc, and the introduction of Tallulah Black, who is a whirlwind of fun. Unfortunately, this new arc has bit a bit of a letdown.
Issue #14 continues the arc started in the previous issue. There's a lot of great dialogue (as can be expected from a Gray and Palmiotti comic) and some strong character moments. However, the plot doesn't progress all that much this issue, and this issue reads slower than the break-neck pace that earlier issues of this series achieved.The best part of this issue however is the cliffhanger ending, which kept me interested in the next issue
Moritat's art is still good, but this isn't necessarily his best work on the title. Some panels seem off, and the action sequence with the Barbary Ghost was really confusing to follow. Moritat is normally great at drawing action and characters, but his art is off for some reason this issue.
I'll be honest, I didn't read the backup. Last issue, I really disliked the backup and didn't have time to read it before posting this review. In my opinion, All-Star Western would best be serviced by dropping the back up features, unless that they have a significant number of characters they would like to introduce/re-visit in the New 52. At $2.99, I think this book would be better priced to sell more copies.
Overall, All-Star Western #14 is a bit of a disappointment. It's not a bad comic at all, it's still good. It's just that many of the preceding issues were so well written and drawn, that a down issue of this series feels worse than normal. Hopefully, Gray, Palmiotti and Moritat can all bring back their A game that made that makes this title so much fun.
