I’ve been kicking it up North the past few days, miles from civilization and without a ride. Like any former Beaver I came prepared, packing a Spaghetti Western 20-pack to amuse myself. Tonight while Mom was harvesting rotten pineapples on Facebook, I decided to watch Johnny Yuma. About halfway in, I noticed that it was past Mom’s bedtime and that she had once again neglected her virtual farm, this time for the dubious charms of Johnny. She said she was heavily invested by this point and was going to ride it to the end, which was a shame because Johnny Yuma was mostly boring, overlong and not a very good representative for the genre. I was wishing I had some Leone or Corbucci on hand.

The best part of the film came just before the big showdown, with Johnny stooping it with a giant bottle of beer while he waited. That’s just what amigos did before they invented the 7/11. When his rival showed up, Mom asked me what the rules of engagement were. The internal consistancy of Spaghetti Westerns are at least a few times removed from that of an American Western, and even those have little resemblance to reality as it is. Spaghetti Westerns are from another planet, man. How do you even begin to explain?

I was rooting around the internet for Tony DeZuniga stuff the other day, as you do, when I stumbled across these images for a comic entitled Wild Days. I was surprised that I had never heard of it, and thought for a moment that they might be pages from his upcoming Jonah Hex graphic novel, but it turns out they’re from indie publisher A First Salvo.

I can’t tell if A First Salvo is still a going concern, and if they are whether they’re still considering publishing Wild Days, but it would be a damn shame if a Tony DeZuniga western was left out in the cold, especially one that looks as promising as this.

Just finished off a Man With No Name marathon, so that’s one more thing to cross off the bucket list. I’m not very ambitious. I didn’t realize it going in, but having it take place on a Sunday was oddly nostalgic. Good times, and a great excuse to post a Lee Van Cleef beer commercial.

J. and I visited a local comic shop I hadn’t been to in ages, not since it moved from its original location. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I walked away with something even better; Tex, The Lonesome Rider by Claudio Nizzi and Joe Kubert. I haven’t finished it yet, but I couldn’t wait to share a few of the many treasures found in over 200 glorious pages of a black-and-white Kubert western.