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dantastic's review against another edition
5.0
When the vigilante Red Mask stops a lynching and sends some KKK members to the grave, he goes on the run with a young boy named Turon. The remaining Klansmen chase Red Mask and Turon all the way into a Lost World in the bowels of the Earth...
I've been a Joe Lansdale fan for thirty years at this point and I enjoyed the Lansdale/Truman/Glanzman collaboration on the three Jonah Hex series they did for Vertigo so I have no idea how this slipped under my radar around the turn of the century. Fortunately, I grabbed it during one of It's Alive press's "help us not go out of business" sales.
The book grabs you by the genitals with a brutal lynching and doesn't let up, twisting them a little more every couple pages. The Red Mask could end a drought with all the blood he spills by the time the Lost World part of the book comes into play.
The writing is vintage Lansdale, a harsh judgement on racism punctuated by hilarious dialog and extreme violence. Sam Glanzman had to be around 70 when this came out but his gritty artwork is top notch, reminding me of Joe Kubert, although they probably shared influences. The dinosaurs were just bloody icing on the cake of corpses.
I went into this cold so I had no idea there was a Lost World component, although it wasn't incredibly surprising since Uncle Joe has been known to weave a Lost World yarn or two in his day. I'm glad to hear the sequel is in the works since this book ends a little abruptly.
Red Range hits all the buttons for me. White supremacists gets their brains splattered everywhere, there is hilarious crude humor, and dinosaurs to boot. Five out of five stars.
I've been a Joe Lansdale fan for thirty years at this point and I enjoyed the Lansdale/Truman/Glanzman collaboration on the three Jonah Hex series they did for Vertigo so I have no idea how this slipped under my radar around the turn of the century. Fortunately, I grabbed it during one of It's Alive press's "help us not go out of business" sales.
The book grabs you by the genitals with a brutal lynching and doesn't let up, twisting them a little more every couple pages. The Red Mask could end a drought with all the blood he spills by the time the Lost World part of the book comes into play.
The writing is vintage Lansdale, a harsh judgement on racism punctuated by hilarious dialog and extreme violence. Sam Glanzman had to be around 70 when this came out but his gritty artwork is top notch, reminding me of Joe Kubert, although they probably shared influences. The dinosaurs were just bloody icing on the cake of corpses.
I went into this cold so I had no idea there was a Lost World component, although it wasn't incredibly surprising since Uncle Joe has been known to weave a Lost World yarn or two in his day. I'm glad to hear the sequel is in the works since this book ends a little abruptly.
Red Range hits all the buttons for me. White supremacists gets their brains splattered everywhere, there is hilarious crude humor, and dinosaurs to boot. Five out of five stars.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
I've been a huge fan of basically everyone involved in this project for years, so when I got the chance to receive a review copy, I jumped unhesitatingly at the chance.
Red Range is a reprint/reformatting/re-release of an original graphic novel from 1999. Combining completely over the top violence, horror, camp and humour, it explores (explodes) racism and societal violence. If the new cover weren't enough warning, this is not for the faint of heart. In the introduction, Richard Klaw talks about his shock and disgust reading the work for the first time. He describes his reaction as visceral, and I think that's a very apt word choice. I literally recoiled reading the first page. I have absolutely no doubt that that was the author's and artist's intention.
The intro and afterword are well written and historically interesting. The main body of the work is also well done, but very difficult to read in places. It is shocking and graphic and ugly.
The narrative is unrelenting and fast paced. There were places when I read something and thought 'Wait, what?!'. The last quarter of the book is weirdly violent or possibly violently weird. I could definitely see this as a pilot issue for a series. I would pay good money to read it. :) I've dinged a half a star for the fact that it just sputters to a halt at the 'end'.
Emphatically not for the squeamish or easily offended. The book is every kind of violent there is (including implied bestiality, sexual and racial violence, horrible language, etc etc).
Available in hardcover, electronic, and paperback formats, published by IDW Publishing and released 20 June, 2017.
Four and a half stars for what it is.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
I've been a huge fan of basically everyone involved in this project for years, so when I got the chance to receive a review copy, I jumped unhesitatingly at the chance.
Red Range is a reprint/reformatting/re-release of an original graphic novel from 1999. Combining completely over the top violence, horror, camp and humour, it explores (explodes) racism and societal violence. If the new cover weren't enough warning, this is not for the faint of heart. In the introduction, Richard Klaw talks about his shock and disgust reading the work for the first time. He describes his reaction as visceral, and I think that's a very apt word choice. I literally recoiled reading the first page. I have absolutely no doubt that that was the author's and artist's intention.
The intro and afterword are well written and historically interesting. The main body of the work is also well done, but very difficult to read in places. It is shocking and graphic and ugly.
The narrative is unrelenting and fast paced. There were places when I read something and thought 'Wait, what?!'. The last quarter of the book is weirdly violent or possibly violently weird. I could definitely see this as a pilot issue for a series. I would pay good money to read it. :) I've dinged a half a star for the fact that it just sputters to a halt at the 'end'.
Emphatically not for the squeamish or easily offended. The book is every kind of violent there is (including implied bestiality, sexual and racial violence, horrible language, etc etc).
Available in hardcover, electronic, and paperback formats, published by IDW Publishing and released 20 June, 2017.
Four and a half stars for what it is.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
kryten4k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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