“The Good, The Bad and the Uglier" (part 2)

I won’t lie, I was a bit skeptical about one of the greatest film characters of all time, the Man With No Name, coming to comics. Clint Eastwood’s iconic Western anti-hero is an institution in the film realm, a character that is as much a legend as the man who played him and the genre he represented. However, following the first issue of the character’s first comic series, I really liked where writer Christos Gage and artist Wellington Dias were taking the story. But still, there was a part of me that remained skeptical. The story was taking place literally 5 minutes after the end of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and my main concern has been how far Blondie, the character’s pseudonym in the film, can be developed without tarnishing the iconic legacy of the character. If you check out my review of the first issue (at this link HERE), I talk quite a bit about the history of the character and how he never really remained the same over the course of the three Leone films and subsequent Eastwood films. Thus, I feel that I was rightfully a little wary of a continuation of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. As a student of film, there is a part of me that says “that film should not be touched,” but you know me, I enjoy a good story and the first issue started off pretty solid, so hope springs for the continuation of this series.

Well, all my fears and worries about tarnishing the character are more or less wiped out after reading this issue. The story opens with two soldiers waiting for Blondie. There’s a reward on his head, but word has gotten out that he’s taken the gold from the unmarked grave, the final scene in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. So as Blondie makes his way to a mission corrupted by both Confederate and Union soldiers, he gets side-tracked by the two soldiers who try to set a trap for him. The bizarre twist is that they don’t want the reward on his head, but are after the very gold he stole in the film. This scene is brilliant and it really highlights why I am falling in love with this series. It is also true homage to and a continuation of Blondie. When Blondie has the upper hand in any situation, he gets whatever he wants very quickly. That is very much the case in the opening scene, but it also shows his level of compassion and the fact that he is not a cold-blooded killer, he the classic morally ambiguous anti-hero.

What’s my absolute favorite part of this issue? Blondie’s dialogue. Gage writes this dialogue in this issue so well that as I was reading it, I could hear Eastwood’s voice in my head. Hell, I even read a few lines out loud in an Eastwood-like voice. The important thing about this was that Blondie felt like he just jumped out of the film. This is crucial to the continuation and success of the series and if Gage continues to write the character as he was naturally depicted by Eastwood, then we are in for one memorable series. That’s also the reason for my initial optimism. Could Gage capture the essence of this character? Yes, he can, he nails the character. Reading Gage’s depiction of the character, I feel like just seeing a comic book version of Eastwood, it’s fantastic. And while Blondie has a lot more dialogue in this issue, he doesn’t speak a word of wasted breath. What I mean is that the Man With No Name is the stoic, mostly silent, but completely bad-ass icon of the Western genre. Gage captures the very essence of this man, his dialogue is short and to the point and there’s that small level of sarcasm Eastwood brought to the role. But even more than that, there is zero narration. Not first person, not third person. Nothing. I could go total film geek and blast Ennio Morricone’s magnificent score during the scenes where there is no dialogue, just scenery and actions, but I think that’s a bit much, even for me.

The plot fits right in with the depiction of the character as well. This is a key element to the story because in the films, all the action revolved around the character and every move he made. It’s almost as if everyone was racing against him. But true to form, Blondie is a bit of a con-artist and the classic morally ambiguous hero. He’s on his way to the corrupted mission, but he realizes that he’s vastly outnumbered by soldiers playing both sides of the Civil War. So in true fashion, Blondie decides he’s going to join them. Not only does this keep the heat off of him for a while, but it allows him to essentially “do the right thing” and take down some of the corruption plaguing the innocent people of the land.

I’m really digging Wellington Dias’s artwork. As I said in the first review, it’s difficult for any artist to capture the same cinematic qualities that Sergio Leone could in his films. After all, it’s a completely different medium and there are even directors that have failed to capture the same essence of Leone’s beautiful imagery. Regardless, Dias captures some beautiful scenery, draws fantastic characters and captures the spirit of the films, but also brings his own stylistic touches to it. His artwork really makes Gage’s direction stand out. The lack of narration is balanced with the beautiful scenery Dias creates as well as the fluid and clear actions the characters make. Sure the depiction of Blondie doesn’t look a whole lot like Clint Eastwood, but who cares, it’s still fantastic. I especially love the fact that we do not see his eyes. That mythical nature of the character is captured perfectly in comic book form just by the simple element. Just beautifully done artwork and storytelling all around.

I absolutely love what Christos Gage and Wellington Dias are doing with this series so far. All my doubts and fears have been mostly suppressed by excellent storytelling and the fact that Gage and Dias are perfectly capturing the essence of Clint Eastwood, the Man With No Name and Sergio Leone. I really hope the quality of this series only improves because it is certainly carving quite a place for the character in comics. This is one of my Picks of the Week.

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