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Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Andrew Cosby & Michael Alan Nelson
Artist: Christian Dibari
Cover: Leonardo Manco & Matthew Wilson

“Pale Horse pt 2”: There’s something about a failed mission that just pisses everyone off, and Thomas Shepard is in no mood for excuses. However, that’s all his top men give him when it’s found out that Cole killed their hired guns and is still alive and well. So Shepard figures the only way to kill an expert is to hire one yourself, and so enters a new player in the game, one that has ties to Cole and knows the man pretty well.

While Shepard is plotting his enemy’s demise, Cole is headed to a whore house to get information from a certain young woman who was mentioned by one of the men he killed in the first issue. After dealing with a few thugs, Cole finally gets the info he wants after speaking with Abigail, and is headed out of town when his trail is picked up by a posse. This forces him into Sioux territory, thinking that he’ll have a better chance dealing with them than the people chasing him, and it pays off because they quickly turn away. However, Shepard’s mystery man has caught up with Cole and actually sheds a little light on why Shepard wants him dead. So after a quick exchange of words and bullets, each man is wounded and Cole finds himself taking refuge in a cave, only to be found by two Sioux who don’t seem to have his best interest at heart.

This second installment of Pale Horse does a decent job at expanding on the story and giving you a reason to stay invested in it. We find out a bit of Cole’s background, and that of his wife who was murdered last issue, as well as the motive (albeit a little vague) of Thomas Shepard for wanting Cole to take a dirt nap. It’s a solid piece of storytelling from Nelson and Cosby, but if the actual reveal doesn’t hold up to all of this mystery, then it will be a bit of a let down. One thing that I’m glad to see is that the dialog has been done well and fits without trying too hard to be “authentic.” No exaggerated southern drawls or insulting broken English spoken by the Sioux characters, because sometimes that just takes away from the flow of the story.

When it comes to the visuals I’m a bit on the fence. At times the characters are a bit exaggerated, but it’s not too cartoony to where it distracts and pulls you out of the story. However, the backgrounds were sparse and just unimpressive, and when you have a book like this set in the Old West, then that is just as much a part of the story as the characters and gun fights. Atmosphere plays a big part in period pieces in my opinion, and if it wasn’t for the depiction of the characters’ clothes and dialog, then you really couldn’t tell where the story took place.

With two more issues to go I’m going to ride this one out, because I’m really interested in seeing how Cole pulls through this tale of death with his three-year-old son in tow. Plus he’s got the potential to be a serious force to be reckoned with, being that he is a former Union spy who posed as a slave and was still able to get his job done. He’s got some information that has conspiracy written all over it, and a very important man who wants Cole dead and buried along with that information. Added to the fact that any man that can make a three-year-old kid sit still and wait on a horse while he goes into a brothel to get information is pretty cool if you ask me.

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