Gus & his Gang - Chris Blain

A nifty little cowboy graphic novel with absolutely none of the cliches you usually get.

Gus is a long nosed outlaw & lothario - he's very successful at the former, less so at the latter - who also has a soft spot for interior decoration and an eventual hankering to be a writer. His gang consist of the hapless but loyal Gratt who is Gus' foil for most of the book. The majority of the narrative though is concerned with the life of Clem who bounces back and forth between his authoress wife Aja and his daughter Jaime and his photographer girlfriend Isabella and her rampant ways.

The storytelling is spacious and the characters human. Each chapter is a tiny snapshot and often manages to be both funny and a little teeny bit sad sometimes too. Clem is a fabulous creation though, as is Isabella and her reaction to her bank robbery was very funny indeed. I loved how Blain managed to find the balance with wife and mistress. Both are good people and you wish and hope that Clem will continue to love them both equally.

It's never going to be top of my comic list but this was a great fun read. First Second press are producing so much good stuff with two Eddie Campbell books so far and now this too.