Reed Gunther and his trusty bear pal, Sterling, stumble upon a ranch, and its owner, Starla, both of which are plagued by a massing steak loving snake. Reed and Sterling lend a hand, and a paw, respectively, to the young lady rancher who appears capable of handling herself quite well, but just can’t lick that nasty ole’ snake all by her lonesome. After a series of genuinely funny slapstick miscues, Reed and Sterling manage to help Starla take care of the snake, but the snake has more in store for them than they bargained for…

Cover image.

Creators Shane and Chris Houghton put together a well crafted debut for Reed and Sterling in this off-beat, funny and slightly spooky, but all ages friendly (well, at least ages 10 and above, as the cover states) first issue. The brothers open the tale with Reed and Sterling enjoying a peaceful night on the range under a star lit sky that quickly turns into a comedic first meeting between Reed, Sterling, and Starla, when she mistakes Sterling for a hungry bear about to devour one of her cattle. Turns out, Starla is having a tough time getting her cows to move away from the river, which just happens to be the home of a giant snake that loves steak. Starla definitely can handle herself, and with the help of her trusty machete, seems about to get the upper hand on Sterling, who really means no harm, when Reed bumbles into her, literally, knocking her unconscious.   

Promo art.

Reed bumbles a lot in his debut, and is swatted, again quite literally, by his apparently much more intelligent, if eternally quiet companion, Sterling, into his senses (and action). Reed does, though, display his heroic side in the final battle with the giant snake. He is obviously a well meaning, and good hearted cowboy, and is quite well developed by Shane to be such.

Promo art.

Sterling, with his really funny looks of bewilderment and exasperation up off the page, and towards the reader, in response to some of Reed’s more silly exclamations and actions, plays the straight man…uh, bear…to Reeds comic buffoon. The two form a comedic duo that balance out each other’s weaknesses as they roam the Old West in search of “people in need, villainous forces to be fought…and a buck to be made.”

The world these two inhabit is a strange, and interesting, version of the Old West populated by, dumb cows, tough female ranchers, giant snakes, and anthropomorphized bears, where adventure comes easy, and the odd is common place. It’s also a lot of fun for readers of all ages with something for everybody. Shane even manages to build in enough mystery, dropping a few bits of information hinting at how Reed and Sterling became such great pals, which piques the readers’ interest, since there is a story to be told here. He promises “that there will be wild times, spooky adventures, and some utterly fantastic art!” in issues to come.

The art is fantastic. Chris’ style manages to be cartoon-like without coming off as childish. He strikes a nice balance between comedic, slapstick action, and quiet campfire scenes that capture the range of his artistic ability as an illustrator. His monster snake is more outrageously goofy looking in nature than scary (although many readers out there might find the idea of a giant snake horrifying), but manages to convey its scariness just enough to create some comedic and kinetic tension.

Poster.

With the promise of “wild times” and “spooky adventures” ahead, it will be interesting to see what Reed and Sterling run up against next. Will they continue to do slapstick battle with giant animals, run into some Wild West bandits, or maybe some Indians? My hope is that their adventures get wackier, and really put the wild into Wild West with more comedic and outlandish characters and villains. The Brothers Houghton are off to a good start with their “first real adventure into comic creation,” and with the likes of Guy Davis, among others, supporting them by contributing pin-up art of Reed, Sterling, Starla, and the “Steak Snacking Snake,” we should too. Reed Gunther and the Steak Snacking Snake! is a reminder that comic books can be nothing but pure, lighthearted fun, accessible by all.

For more information on Reed Gunther and Sterling, check out their official site.