Review: Bat Lash (Guns and Roses) by Peter Brandvold & Sergio Aragones – Art by John Severin

Bartholemew ‘Bat’ Lash is one of the greatest heroes of cowboy comics; his drinkin’, fightin’ and gamblin’ adventures have thrilled generations. And now he’s back!

Life for Bat Lash is looking good. His family’s farm is on the up, the local card-sharps have been taken for a ride, and he has the love of a good woman – Dominique, daughter of a wealthy landowner. But Dominique has been promised to the vicious local sheriff, and Bat’s love for her will cause everything in his life to change…

More than once, Bat Lash is gonna have to go for his guns!

- Publishers Blurb

My Thoughts

I’d never heard of Bat Lash before, so even though this one is a new version telling the story of the origins of the hero Bat Lash (the original apparently first appeared in 1968) I had nothing to compare it to. So, when I was looking for some graphic novels to read for last weekend’s readathon. I simply picked it up because it looked the best of a very sorry selection at the library.

What I found was a very fun introduction to the ‘legend’ with crisp story telling, and some excellent (if not particularly stand-out memorable artwork). It’s obvious from the start this is a western out to entertain rather that simply be serious all the time, with plenty of humour and quips to balance out the darker moments.

I really enjoyed the prequel, however I don’t think I’ll be searching out any of the original series.

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