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Riding Shotgun
Volume 1
Book Released: 06 July 2006
Review posted: 11 July 2006
Writer: Nate Bowden
Artist: Tracy Yardley!
Publisher: Tokyopop
5.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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HeroesCon strikes again! While at the illustrious convention I came across the table for Riding Shotgun occupied
by creators Nate Bowden and Tracy Yardley. I’m not much of a Manga fan myself, so I don’t get much from
Tokyopop, but this book caught my eye anyway; upon glancing through it it did not seem much like a typical Manga story
anyway, so I thought what the hey. Talking with Bowden and Yardley about it furthered my interest, as it sounded cool and
their enthusiasm for it finished the sale. Two autographs later I was on my way, and then finally got to read it a week or
so later; now I immediately need to pass on my own enthusiasm to you, gentle readers.
In the world of Riding Shotgun, assassination is legal, and we follow two low-rent assassins named Doyle and Abby
as they get into one bad
Bowden’s story is fun, fast, and never takes itself too seriously, giving you a thrill
without ever insulting your intelligence.
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situation after another. Bowden wastes no time explaining the whys
and hows of the legalization because they don’t really matter — he goes straight into the story and tells you
everything you need to know through characterization, an essential hallmark of every good writer. Bowden works with a great
cast of characters and takes care to give solid personalities to even the minor ones. Bowden’s story is fun, fast,
and never takes itself too seriously, giving you a thrill without ever insulting your intelligence. Nate Bowden must have
had a blast writing this story, because I certainly did while reading it.
Tracy Yardley provides art that, while it has Manga influences, maintains an original style and doesn’t rely on
ripping off popular Japanese artists (as so many American pseudo-Manga artists do). Yardley keeps the
Clear, smooth pacing throughout keeps your eyes moving and the pages turning, leaving you at the
end feeling as if you have been on the ride with the characters the whole time.
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action fast without ever losing sight of the characters and their personalities, focusing on telling the story through the
development of those characters. Clear, smooth pacing throughout keeps your eyes moving and the pages turning, leaving you
at the end feeling as if you have been on the ride with the characters the whole time. Yardley almost makes the reader an
invisible accomplice to Doyle and Abby, making you part of the events through deliberate craftsmanship and style. Plenty more good
things should be on the way from Yardley, and he may even force the throng of pretenders in American-made Manga to step up
their game to compete.
Bowden and Yardley chose an apt name in Riding Shotgun, because that is exactly what you do on every page of this
first volume. With Volume 2 apparently in the works I have high hopes that this will be a long-running series of original
graphic novels, something that could hopefully set a precedent for other publishers showing that comicbooks are viable in a
longer form than the traditional pamphlet. In the mean time, go pick up Riding Shotgun Volume 1 and enjoy the ride.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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