Tag: James gang

Comic Fourteen: East of Hesperia

Posted on January, 2026 by JS

Ciao Westerinos,

The fifth chapter of Satterwhite & Fosgrove just pulled into the station!

(You can find the first four: here, here, here, and here.)

Given the Old West time setting and detective subgenre, placing our Pinkertons in the morass of a train murder mystery felt like an obligation.

In this story, Kip and Foz travel with a cartel of Pinkertons toward Denver, Colorado to combat a workers’ strike. On the way, they find themselves thrust in the middle of a murder of one of their fellow operatives, which throws their treasure hunt plans into mild chaos.

This story follows in the footsteps of stories like Strangers on a Train, Murder on the Orient Express, Five Red Herrings, Bullet Train and hell, even Snowpiercer. There’s a certain magic to these tales, a confined space rife with danger that also has pressure element of characters continuously moving across landscape. We tried to capture that sense of urgency and unknown in this story, all while dropping in juicy bits of exposition and background and interplay between our two leads.

To say this is one of Mr. Bueno’s best works would be an insult to his other efforts on the Sat/Foz Chapters 1-4, but man, did dude bring the heat on this story. Whether it be powerful locomotives, somber moments of reflection, brutal uppercuts to the midsection or illustrated scenes from the Aeneid, Mauro brings it at every turn. He takes every aspect of the script and enhances it, all while making sure the story beats properly conveyed.

The usual flowers are given to letterer Nikki Powers and editor Claire Napier. This story wasn’t as difficult to letter as previous installments in this series (I learned some lessons) — I think there was only one sequence that needed some paring, and overall the choices Nikki made serve the story very, very well. Claire challenged the script in prudent ways, making sure the characters and their motives had clear intent, even in the short term. There is a tension building in this story that will pay off in future chapters, and she made sure the stepping stones toward these big moments were apparent and well placed.

We’re quickly approaching the midpoint of this Western Noir, and I’m eager to show you the rest!

 

Westward!

 

~Jamil

Comic Ten: Brotherhood

Posted on September, 2025 by JS

Top o’ the day toadies,

We venture into Autumn with a new chapter of Satterwhite & Fosgrove! If you need to get caught up you find the first three comics: here, here and here.

When we last left the titular duo, Satterwhite was finishing up a double murder investigation in Kansas City, and Fosgrove was chasing a bounty through the woods, but then was left to rot in a giant hole. In this story, we find them reunited, only to be thwarted by a group of thieving bushwhackers.

Any serious writer knows that reading is a huge component of the craft. It spurs you on, either through inspiration or envy, and it draws you in, into new worlds and fresh concepts. Reading is the thread in which the writer weaves their tapestries.

I’ve read, and continue to read, a healthy stack of books in preparation for writing All-True – specifically Satterwhite & Fosgrove – and have gleaned a lot of nuggets of truth and myth from those experiences. What’s interesting is how these details make their way into the story.

Many books, fiction and non, are part of the Satterwhite & Fosgrove elixir. They may not come to the forefront of plot and character, but they’re found in the filigree of every page and panel. Like, when reading about the history of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, there are so many interesting factoids on Allan Pinkerton’s successful PI business and its transformation into an army for private capital. The books on forensic science and violent crime helped develop how deductive reasoning may have gone down 150 years ago. Ruminations on the spy novel and its role in American literature help guide the story along the track from mystery to resolution. Writings on Jesse James, his life, his family and the political world he was born into provide depth and authenticity to this period piece. Rereading the Aeneid helped guide the ideas behind the central adventure of the story, as well as tether the comic’s themes to the past. And of course, several comic books, from Jonah Hex to Stray Bullets to Suicide Squad not only contributed plot ideas, but also a visual coda. Not a lot of the above is prudent to the adventure tale of two detectives in the West, but we’ve tried to squeeze it into the nooks of the story.

I would be remiss not to gush about the rest of the team on this comic. Mauro, already equipped with vast talent, seems to improve with each chapter. He navigated these text-heavy pages wonderfully, and there’s a fight scene towards the end that is basically perfect. The wordier segments were astutely handled by Nikki; only a few lines of my precious dialogue were cut. Editor extraordinaire Claire has been a guiding voice since the first script, and her suggestions on how to think and rethink these characters and their motives shows up subtly all over the place, even outside of the comic page. Overall, I am blessed to have such insanely skilled collaborators on my longest, and most complex, story.

If you have any suggestions on further readings on the Old West and its people, feel free to hit me up! My “To Be Read” pile is massive but I’m always looking for new entries.

 

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