Fistful of Blood #1

 Halloween Post-A-Day 2020, Day 25

Fistful of Blood #1

 

A refreshing little break

 

 

Story – Kevin Eastman & Simon Bisley

Colors – Tomi Varga

Letterer – Nate Piekos

Editor – Bobby Curnow

October 2015

 

Occasionally the Crapbox spits out the rare issue that surprises me with its inventive take of things. Fistful of Blood qualifies.

 

Originally based on a Heavy Metal story by Bisley, the tale was seen by Keven Eastman of “Turtles” fame. Eastman wanted to expand the story out into a four issue mini series and got Bisley to sign on.

 

There is a bunch of confusion as to who did what on this. The first issue afterward makes it sound like much of the art was Bisley’s originally but then Eastman jumped in and redrew it and expanded the story. I am not certain how it all went down, to be honest. The panels look to be bits of both artists, in a good way.

 

As for the story, well it is bat-shit crazy with a side of a Fistful of Dollars/ Yojimbo. It opens in an odd perspective flyover of an old west town…

 

…only we are told this is in the distant future, instead of the wild frontier past. Out of the desert walks a beautiful blonde in fishnet undergarments and nothing else in the Clint Eastwood role of the Man with No Name.

 

She stumbles into town and passes out in the street. A gaggle of townies go out to see if she’s alive…

 

…only they seem a bit off. While they mention doing the unmentionable to her (and the bottom panel after they’ve pulled her into the saloon shows rape is on their minds), they also appear to want to eat her.

 

She wakes in time to pull one of their guns and prevent both things from happening, although…

 

…blowing holes in these folks isn’t what stops them. They don’t quit coming until she puts one in each cowpoke’s brainpan. That makes them zombies.

 

Now packing dual pistols, our supple young thing wanders down to the town hotel. She is being watched by person or persons unknown.

Once she gets there she encounters the one kind face in an two full of zombies, it appears. He chucks his hotel’s lost and found at her…

 

…and watches as she suits up.

 

Once our butt-kicking broad has moderately more clothes on, the hotel proprietor tells her tales of how this backlot of a movie studio they are in was used in all the big budget westerns of the past.

 

And as they are waiting on the porch, more zombies show up to offer the chick a truce and a job opportunity taking out the competition.

 

 

When our silent siren doesn’t answer in time, one of the zombs decides to challenge her to a duel.

 

Worst idea this undead flatfoot ever had. She hands him a serving of lead between the eyes.

 

And is ready to do more, but his stopped by the zombie leader, not looking to end up more dead than he is already.

 

So the hotel manager puts her in a room for the night…

 

…and we await the other gang terrorizing this fake western town. This one is decidedly “fang-tastick”.

 

I love this idea and am now actively looking for the rest of these. Eastman and Bisley make astonishingly great graphical sense together and you couldn’t crib a better story to rework. Kudos all around. Look for these, folks!