"The Good, The Bad and the Uglier"

Licensed properties are currently the "hot item" in terms of comics these days. While more and more comic book properties are licensed into film, more and more film/TV properties are licensed into comics. In the past few years alone we have seen the re-emergence of Transformers, G.I. Joe, The Lone Ranger, Zorro and soon Indiana Jones. Over the past few weeks, I have had numerous conversations about certain characters and whether or not they have a place in comics. Of the aforementioned group, I've concluded that they all do indeed have a place in comics. However, there is one character that I've been a bit out to lunch about when it comes to his involvement in comics. I was a film major in college. I love film in both its incarnations whether it be "cinema" or "the movies." I am also a massive fan of the purely American genre known as the Western. My senior final in college was the development of a Western screenplay that would be the middle part of a film trilogy. That trilogy would feature moments of homage to the Westerns of Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. So for me to say that Eastwood and Leone have been major influences on me would be a bit of an understatement. One of the most iconic characters in all of cinema, specifically the Western, is "The Man With No Name." This character felt more real than the romanticized characters of the John Wayne films. "The Man With No Name" is very much a screen legend, a character that no one could ever portray again, a character which many modern heroes and anti-heroes can find their mold. Since this title has been announced, I have been in debate with other fans, myself and film buffs about whether or not "The Man With No Name" has a place in comics.

There's a strange thing about the character that I'm not totally sure everyone is aware of. The "Dollars Trilogy," a.k.a. the "Spaghetti Westerns," are actually not the only films where the character is featured. In fact, it's never really been made "official" that Clint Eastwood’s character in each film is actually the same guy. In A Fistful of Dollars his name is Monco, in For A Few Dollars More his name is Joe, and finally in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly his name is Blondie. Of course, one could make the argument that his name doesn't matter at all, nor does it matter if he is or isn't the same man throughout the films. He has the same attitude, demeanor and attire throughout the films. Of course, the character never says what his name is, and less than a handful of characters refer to him as one of the three names. Many cinema buffs will even make the argument that The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is a prequel. Anyways the character, or at least claims of the character, has also appeared in Eastwood films following the "Dollars Trilogy." High Plains Drifter, Two Mules For Sister Sara and Pale Rider are sometimes considered to be continuations of the character. Less in Sister Sara and more as a character referred to as "The Stranger" in High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider. There is also debate that William Munny, the old man and former gunslinger that Eastwood portrays in Unforgiven is also "The Man with No Name." So there is indeed a great deal of debate as to the character and where he appears, in essence making "The Man With No Name" more of an idea than an actual character.

There's also the issue of cinema vs. comics. While many writers and artists do a formidable job of making a comic cinematic, Sergio Leone's cinematic imagery was beautiful and nearly impossible to duplicate. Even Eastwood did his best to emulate Leone's large landscapes and unique cinematography. Capturing this same type of feeling and imagery in a comic book is extremely difficult. Nonetheless, artist Wellington Dias and writer Christos Gage make an extraordinary effort to capture the same spirit as the "Dollars Trilogy."

This book opens with large landscape panels very little by way of dialogue. There is no narration. Gage and Dias really do seem as though they are trying to keep this series as cinematic as possible. As is the case with the character, his actions and mannerisms should speak louder than words. To be honest, I'm really happy that Gage did not delve into the inner narrative of the character and instead focused more on the imagery than anything else. That's not to say the story suffers at all. In fact, this story picks up right after The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. With that in mind, I'll refer to the character as "Blondie." Blondie is on the run. He's being hunted down by corrupt Union officers who are after him for blowing up a bridge on his way to finding the gold, as shown in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. There are also corrupt Confederate officers after him for stealing the gold. Along the way we are treated first hand to the classic, morally ambiguous character that Eastwood brought to life so many years ago. Blondie tries his hardest to remain a loner and not help anyone but himself. But he's the classic archetype of the anti-hero; he doesn't want to help where he's needed, but it would be wrong if he didn't. In this issue, the Priest who treated him for dehydration in the film is killed and dies in Blondie's arms, asking for Blondie to help protect his mission. Blondie heads back to Texas to do what he can to help the mission. What's interesting is if you've seen deleted scenes from the film, you know this mission is the Alamo. Gage's dialogue is strong and is concise enough to basically contain everything that a reader needs to know about the story.

It's kind of ridiculous to expect an artist to capture the same type of unique landscapes and cinematic feel that Leone brought to the films. There are few filmmakers who can come close to capturing the same effect as Leone. Regardless, Dias does a decent job capturing the landscapes and Blondie's very look. I do really like how we never actually see Blondie's face, the shadow of his hat usually covering his eyes. However, Dias does make the character resemble Clint Eastwood because if he didn't, then I don't think the issue or concept would work.

I think this series has a great deal of potential, especially since I firmly believe the Western genre is on the verge of a rebirth. Gage has an excellent grasp on the character, and I think he understands there is really no place to put his own personal stamp on the character. This is a character deeply rooted in Americana and in cinema, and based on this first issue Gage seems to truly understand the character and his role in popular culture. This series does need to stay away from becoming too much of a stock Western that features a classic character but also needs to stay 100% true to the source material. Dias and Gage seem to have a firm grasp on this, and I am really looking forward to the continuation of this series.

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