112. Cowboys & Aliens by Fred Van Lente & Andrew Foley

Cowboys & Aliens by Fred Van Lente & Andrew Foley* (Canada) - (US)

Pages: 103
Ages: 15+
Finished: May 8, 2011
First Published: 2006 (Feb. 22, 2011 - this edition)
Publisher: itbooks
Genre: graphic novel, science fiction
Rating: 3/5




First sentence:

Every conqueror believes himself moved by a higher power.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Harper Collins Canada.

Reason for Reading: I'd heard about the upcoming summer movie starring {sigh} Harrison Ford so thought I'd read the original comic book the movie is based on first.

This is a rather unusual tale as one could guess from the title. We join a group of settlers led by a priest who are traveling west to claim some land they have bought to start a new life. They are attacked by Indians and one of their two guides goes off to get help from the nearby Fort. Indian attacks end up being the least of his worries when he finds the fort under attack by intergalactic space invaders who see all other life forms as slaves and they have arrived to to take humankind into slavery and take over our world.

The book is full of action and low on actual story. Characters have relationships with each other but the reader never gets close enough to care about any of them. There is action, though. Did I mention that? Lots of it. Starting off with the brief Indian attack, then going full out as the Indians and white men join forces against the bigger threat of the aliens who have awesome cool weapons compared to their arrows and gunshot rifles. Obviously comparisons between how the Indians were treated by European explorers and settlers and the alien threat to mankind are made several times. An entertaining hour's read but nothing that especially grabbed me. I think this has great potential to make a better movie than book. But by all means read it before the movie though as it looks like there are certainly going to be changes afoot. Such as: I see no priest in the list of characters and Harrison Ford's character does not exist in the book.

*Andrew Foley is a Canadian.