''Shaolin Cowboy'' is an
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
series
Series may refer to:
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* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
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created, written and drawn by artist
Geof Darrow
Geofrey "Geof" Darrow (born October 21, 1955) is an American comic book artist, best known for his work on comic series ''Shaolin Cowboy'', '' Hard Boiled'' and ''The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot'', which was adapted into an animated televisi ...
(with the exception of the opening dialog in the issues of the original 2004–2007 run, written by
The Wachowskis
Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...
). The book was published irregularly by
Burlyman Entertainment
Burlyman Entertainment is a comic book company created by The Wachowskis, best known as the writer/director duo behind the '' Matrix Trilogy''.
History
"Burlyman" was ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''Revolutions production codename. According to th ...
.
The last issue ''Shaolin Cowboy'' #7 hit the stands in May 2007, a year after #6 went on sale.
At the 2011
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
and
New York
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* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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Film and television
* '' ...
Comic Cons,
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
announced that they would be publishing three new ''Shaolin Cowboy'' comics, starting with a new Number One. The first issue of the new Dark Horse series has been solicited for release on October 9, 2013 as an ongoing series.
Dark Horse in 2012 ran a $15 "The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine" with art by Geoffrey Darrow, Gary Gianni. ''The Way of “No Way!”; Time Factor; The Shaolin Cowboy’s Helpful Hints''
In 2017,
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
published a new 4-part series, written and drawn by Darrow, called ''Who'll Stop The Reign?'' The series ran from April to July 2017 and was colored by Dave Stewart. Variant covers for the issues were produced by
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...
,
Frank Cho
Frank Cho, born Duk Hyun Cho, (born 1971) is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer and illustrator, known for his series ''Liberty Meadows'', as well as for books such as ''Shanna the She-Devil'', ''The Mighty Avengers, Mighty Avenge ...
,
Sergio Aragones
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* ''Se ...
and
Genndy Tartakovsky
Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...
.
Plot summary
The book is about an unnamed former
Shaolin monk who wanders the land with a talking mule named Lord Evelyn Dunkirk Winniferd Esq. the Third. Having been "asked" to leave the Shaolin temple, he has since had a bounty placed on his head, which many are eager to collect. Given the Shaolin Cowboy's prowess in
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
, however, this will be very difficult.
Taking place in an unspecified time setting (as the first issue notes, "the day after yesterday and a week before tomorrow"), the book features extremely detailed artwork and equally violent and absurd action scenes; in one, the main character battles a giant shark with a human head in its mouth using two chainsaws tied on the ends of a long stick – which all takes place in the stomach of a lizard, on whose back a city is located.
Collected editions
Six issues of the Burlyman seven issue series were translated into
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and collected into a number of
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
by
Panini Comics
Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectable stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hunga ...
:
*''Volume 1: La vengeance du roi crabe'' (collects issues 1 & 2, 60 pages, May 2008, )
*''Volume 2'' (collects issues 3 & 4, 70 pages, November 2008, )
*''Volume 3'' (collects issues 5 & 6, 48 pages, April 2009, )
Burlyman released a 208 page trade paperback called ''Geoff Darrow's The Shaolin Cowboy'' on December 3, 2014 that collected their entire 7-issue series.
Dark Horse released a 144 page hardcover called ''The Shaolin Cowboy: Shemp Buffet'' on March 4, 2015 that collected their first entire 4-issue series.
Dark Horse released a 128 page hardcover called ''The Shaolin Cowboy: Who'll Stop the Reign?'' on October 25, 2017 that collected their second entire 4-issue series.
Dark Horse reprinted all seven of the original issues of ''Shaolin Cowboy'' as published by Burlyman in a hardcover edition on July 18, 2018, titled ''Shaolin Cowboy: Start Trek''.
Awards
''Shaolin Cowboy'' was nominated for three
Eisner Awards
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
in 2005 for "Best New Series", "Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team", and "Best Coloring".
2005 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
the Comic Book Awards Almanac
Notes
References
*
*
{{Refend
External links
at Burlyman Entertainment
Dark Horse Comics superheroes
Buddhism in comics