Don't let the title fool you. Six-Gun Gorilla #1 may sound like something a 10-year-old (like me) would have thought up while doodling on his Science notebook...okay scratch that, it's pretty much like that, and it's awesome.
Writer and creator Simon Spurrier introduces us to this strange sci-fi western, where a civil war is raged on a strange planet using even stranger technology, where the action isn't just brutal, it's POV-televised to reality show junkies, and where a soldier named called Blue-3425 is on a suicide mission in exchange for a nice payday when he croaks...that is, until he meets a wandering gunslinger who just happens to be a dual-wielding silverback gorilla!
Spurrier takes the time to world-build in this ish, but it's surprisingly not as boring as it sounds. From the get-go we're thrust into a civil war that takes absolutely no prisoners, and we learn a lot about the technology, the time period, and what's going through the mind of these soldiers who are all-too-willing to die, and I don't feel lost in it at all, which speaks volumes about Spurrier's skills in keeping things crazy yet interesting. Crazy being the operative word. I especially love the way he takes the time to flesh out each character, even the disposable ones, with their own back stories and ticks, right down to their accents!
But Spurrier's witty dialogue and crazy ideas can only go so far without the art to go with it, and artist Jeff Stokely fits the bill nicely. Stokely's art has lots of character, and it's got this manic energy to it that I absolutely love. Every gun shot, every whizzing blade is drawn with a sort of frenzy and verve I don't see very often, and it compliments Spurrier's ideas well, resulting in a two-fisted team-up of a comic that looks as well as it reads.
This first ish holds more questions than answers, but the entire package is interesting enough to make me want to know more...something a good first issue does. And besides, who can say no to a revolver-wielding gorilla?
Six-Gun Gorilla #1 has loads of wit, character and awesome...and we're only at issue one! This is splendid work from Spurrier and Stokely, and I can't wait to see what surprises he has in store for us next. If you're hankerin' for a primate pistolero story, you can't go wrong with this. Six-Gun Gorilla #1 gets a 4.5 out of 5.
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