A Western about a two-bit gambler and cheat who has to learn to think of others and stop running away from problems.
Of course, because this is written by Doug TenNapel, the gambler learns this by protecting a small California town from the invasion of an army of humanoid cowboy robots, controlled by a mysterious metal sphere from outer space. Fortunately, because this was written by Doug TenNapel, the gambler has help in the form of a "Mi-Wuk shaman", an army of humanoid Native American robots (called "Engines"), Sasquatch, and yes, the Loch Ness Monster.
Which is one of the things I love about his work. He will bring in any sort of weird thing he wants and make it work. The characters may react to it being strange, which is what you would expect from a bunch of 19th Century folk confronted with an army of metal men out to kill them, but they otherwise play it straight when it's appropriate to do so. Preston has this whole thing where he keeps trying to make Sasquatch laugh, or at least smile, but that's reserved for the quieter moments, not in the heat of the big final battle.
TenNapel's art is detailed when it needs to be, depicting Nessie's leathery hide or a toothy grin for Sasquatch, and more simplified when that works, usually in the scenes where things are happening quickly. Preston (the gambler) never exactly looks heroic or impressive, but you can see in his cheerful manner and fast-talk how he's made it this far. When he does decide to stop running and fight, you can at least see he's taking things seriously. His eyes aren't wide and darting about for an exit, no shit-eating grin.
Iron West was the first of TenNapel's comics I bought. I was going to say that while Creature Tech seems to be the most highly regarded, this is my favorite. Except I already said Creature Tech was my favorite in Sunday Splash Page #114, so. . .what can you do? I guess I need to read Creature Tech again to be sure. Iron West is 2nd favorite at worst, though.
And with that, Iron Spring draws to a close, like the last refreshing rain before the armpit-dampening heat of summer rolls in.
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