Listening to a lot of CBMFP episodes, I’ve heard this term thrown around a lot and after reading The Shaolin Cowboy #1, I can use it myself…This book is an absolute romp of a story to read.  Over-the-top action with tons of profanity, zombie killing, and a good dose of humor, this is a book that doesn’t take itself seriously at all and is just enjoyable. Most of the time spent reading this first issue is catching up on the hilarious story.  It was originally a seven-issue series that started in 2004, but is being kept alive now by Dark Horse (it seems to be that it’s planned as an ongoing).  I’ll leave the catching up to you, whether you decide to go back through the original issues or just read the synopsis they give at the beginning of the new #1.

Basically, it’s been six years since the last happenings of Shaolin Cowboy, and the Cowboy himself rises from the middle of the earth wielding a pole that has a chainsaw attached to each end.  His hands are bloody, he has a black eye, and he picks what looks like a chicken bone from out of his nose, but he’s ready to spring into action.  Most of the book just focuses on the Shaolin Cowboy showing off his moves, but the art is very good so these portions are enjoyable.  He runs to escape a horde of zombies while a group of annoying tools in a car make fun of him.  He ends up escaping the horde, while the car full of idiots ends up getting stuck in it.  Shaolin Cowboy majestically makes his way atop a large boulder with a great vantage point to the horde of zombies and takes aim at them with his chainsaws.  A large amount of them are decapitated, and Shaolin Cowboy’s weapon of choice seems to have a boomerang-like quality to it.  As he jumps down to the hood of the car, he catches it and makes a safe landing onto the road.

One of the guys in the car was recording video of this incident, and it goes viral on “Ewe Tube.”  In space, it seems as if a group is using satellites to try to find Shaolin Cowboy, and a woman sees the viral video.  A man in the room says she better be sure it’s him before they tell K.C. (I believe this stands for King Crab, mentioned in the foreword).  If they do come to the conclusion that Shaolin Cowboy is alive and well, he could be in danger.

There’s a lot to like about The Shaolin Cowboy.  It’s whacky, over-the-top, and at points laugh-out-loud funny (for example, the one satellite’s name is CHENEY666).  If you don’t enjoy this book, you’re already dead.

Score: 4/5

Writer/Artist/Creator: Geof Darrow Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: Still 399 Cents Release Date: 10/9/13