By Brian Azzarello & Danijel Zezelj (Vertigo)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1625-2
This Vertigo interpretation of the classic DC Western avenger dates from a 2001 4-issue miniseries, and is an early precursor to the superb Loveless (for which see Loveless: A Kin Of Homecoming ISBN: 1-84576-337-8 and Thicker Than Blackwater ISBN: 1-84576-453-6). Moses Stone is a gunman turned sheriff in the frontier town of Bollas Raton. His awesome reputation, as much as his actions, serves to keep the town peaceful, and he’s perfectly content not shooting anybody.
Then one night the awesome and terrifying El Diablo comes to town and exacts a gruesome vengeance on a band of outlaws yet inexplicably refuses to kill Stone when he tries to halt the carnage. Unable to understand or let it lie, sheriff and posse trail the vigilante to the town of Halo, New Mexico where the bloodshed continues and a ghastly secret is revealed.
Although a deep, brooding mystery with supernatural overtones, fans of the original western avenger (created by Robert Kanigher and Gray Morrow for Weird Western Tales in 1970) will be disappointed to find that tragic Lazarus Lane – brutalised by thieves, struck by lightning and only able to wake from his permanent coma at the behest of an Indian Shaman – is all but absent from this darkly philosophical drama. There’s an awful lot of talking and suspense-building but thanks to the moody graphics of Danijel Zezelj the tension and horror remain intense and when the action comes it is powerful.
The star is a force but not a presence in El Diablo, but the tale of Moses Stone is nonetheless a gripping mystery-thriller that will chill and intrigue all but the most devoutly traditional cowboy fans.
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