Tag: Comic

Comic Six: The Splendid Fleeing of Joe Iowa From the Elm County Authorities

Posted on May, 2025 by JS

Salutations scoundrels, 

“Western” is the word we apply to a wide genre of film and literature. For some, it’s cowboys and vistas, for others it’s shootouts and big hats. Some view it as a historical drama set in a specific time and place, others view it as adventure fiction across a swath of media. 

I’ve operated within the Old West genre for a handful of years now and my opinion on it shifts seemingly monthly. It’s an odd mix of reality and fantasy, something that brushes against magical realism at times. The places and people often strive for authenticity, but the actions around them strain common belief. I’ve written before in my Project 100 reviews: while I see Westerns as a huge umbrella of story-types, there’s a hazy – though apparent – distinction between the stories taking place under the sun at high noon and those that simulate the themes, locales and people of a particular place and time. 

“The Splendid Fleeing of Joe Iowa From the Elm County Authorities” is something cooked up with the latter in mind. As the title indicates, our hero is Joe, a common criminal and deviant, and the concern is getting away from the five-oh scot-free. This is a quick, snappy comic that’s bullish on the drama and intensity. Set in the recent era, the goal was to keep the focus on the “outlaw” but to update the context and setting. I’m very happy with how this story came out, it really scratched an itch. 

My collaborator on the project is the talented Matías De Vincenzo. I absolutely love his approach to the page, a fierce style that’s not afraid to push the limits of stature and anatomy while still executing a script with cinematic clarity. There’s a tension to his line work that’s kinetic and heckin’ interesting, an animated grit that blends extremely well. Matias was a pleasure to work with, and fast too! (Always a welcomed skill in the world of comicking.)

Frankly, I could have penned another twenty pages of this story. As I was scripting, It felt like a feature film at times, a criminal and his speedy horse dramatically evading capture, but alas, here at All-True Outlaw we try our best to adhere to satisfying bursts of quality fiction. 

Per usual, I’ll remind you that you can find us over on Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. Thanks, always, for the follows, likes and comments.

 

Westward!

~Jamil

Comic Five: Trees to Gold

Posted on April, 2025 by JS

My dear dastardlies,

When I started to build the idea of All-True Outlaw a prime goal was to adhere to the short form.

As a writer, especially one looking to breakthrough in the comics game, it is crucially important to finish the project one starts. To give the reader something digestible and complete. Anyone familiar with the medium of comics, or even the trade of storytelling, knows a novice can get mired in the allure of the epic tale. Worldbuilding is a fascinating and cathartic experience, and nearly every writer wants to create a place that a reader can get lost inside of. However, the likelihood of completing a grandiose, lengthy epic in comics is pretty unlikely. So, it’s vital to make sure what you’re doing, and what you’re trying to say, is coherently digestible. In so many ways, short comics are the way to go.

So naturally, upon completing the script for “Satterwhite & Fosgrove”, I pretty much immediately plotted the next handful of stories about these characters and where they would go next. I’m smart!

As you may remember from the first story, two Pinkerton agents were discovered by another bounty hunter in the uncultivated lands of rural Missouri. After some exposition drops detailing the duos’ chase for the notorious outlaw Jesse James, the three private detectives engage in a violent altercation, resulting in the death of the bounty hunter, which allows Kip Satterwhite and Robert Fosgrove to escape with a “map” stolen from a wealthy Confederate family.

This next comic, “Trees to Gold” follows Fosgrove as he chases a suspected criminal into the Kansan forest. It’s based, partly, on “Billy and the Bear”, a story my grandmother Josephine used to tell me as a child. Mauro Bueno once again draws this comic, and damn, he absolutely kills it at every turn. This is a dark story, from look to mood to actions, and Mauro executes the detective noir elements with adept skill and brains. Whether it be hushed stalking, or loud battles with beasts, every page is a brilliant example of the capabilities of comics and the collaboration process.

We also welcome back Nikki Powers on this story, and I can’t say enough about her efforts in lettering this piece. I have a tendency to go easy on dialogue in some portions of a story, and then backlog those precious words and sentences in another place. While that’s effective for the tension of plot and pacing, it can be burdensome on a letterer to make the talky parts work as they should. Nikki takes care of it, though, ensuring the ideas get across when I get too verbose in the word balloon area.

Editor Claire Napier continues to help mold the overarching Satterwhite & Fosgrove story, as well. From script clarity to the punching up of themes, her contributions are hidden but true. Risks are taken in “Trees to Gold” — something sinister is revealed at the end of this tale, and Claire has helped guide my vision and make sure Mauro and Nikki know exactly what should go on the page and where. I appreciate her astute eye and ear.

I am very eager for you all to read this story, which I consider one of the best things I’ve ever written. While we crafted it to be consumable and poignant in its current form, the plotlines, character moments and themes presented here will extend into more Satterwhite & Fosgrove stories, hopefully culminating in a satisfying longform piece.

If you enjoy what we’re doing here please be sure to follow us on the socials (Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook) and please forward the comics to anyone you think may be interested. Every share, like, comment and emoji extends reach and will spurn more art and more story.

Nice talking at you again! Be well.

Westward!

~Jamil