Your standard Old West tale of a Marshall tracking down the outlaws. The ending that showed the rest of his life after the main story was over felt really tacked on and actually detracted from the rest of the story. The art is terrific though.

Sykes is a pretty standard Western - albeit a good one, with absolutely pristine art until about the last 11 pages when it just guts you alive and breaks your heart.
There is some gore - lots of people getting shot and their heads blown off, and there is one implied gang rape, which is disturbing, but the story takes such a left turn towards the end... and then takes another hard right on the last page... well, it's kind of powerful!
Definite recommend.

This starts out as a traditional western tale of a gang of ruthless outlaws rampaging through the country pursued by a legendary lawman, his rogue sidekick, and a trusted Indian tracker. Along the way the "good guys" become entangled with a young boy who tries to join the pursuit after the outlaws viciously murder his mother. From there the story takes a turn from the expected and becomes something much more intriguing... A sort of expose of Western myth meets harsh reality.

The story has elements of Western Classics like Shane, True Grit, Big Jake, and some of the myth busting aspects of Unforgiven. It's a very good story.

The artwork is first rate. Large panoramic landscapes that recall the films of John Ford done up in comic (or graphic novel) form. Serves to enhance the overall story quite well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good western tale told well. You won't be disappointed. One caution: Parts of the story & accompanying artwork might be considered too graphic for some readers - it does have its more raw moments.

***Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A solid Western tale. Good characterizations, if somewhat “stock”; though the story definitely could have done without the negative racial stereotypes — how many times did the author have to state that the Indian guide smelled bad and worked for “henhouses”? Still, a mostly enjoyable story.
Very compelling artwork fit the time and place, giving the story an Old West look.

I enjoyed this comic book about "Sentence" Sykes and young Jim Starret. This is a comic book about revenge and demons of the past that keep appearing through the story. I really liked the artwork and some of the pictures by Dimitri Armand were truly magnificent. I liked the dark colours. The pictures recreated with success the atmosphere of the Old West.

The story by Pierre Dubois was well-written, with interesting twists. I wouldn’t mind if it was a bit longer and explained more about the characters' past. The story was fairly predictable, but enjoyable all the same. It made me feel nostalgic about good old Spaghetti Westerns with music by Ennio Morricone… Maybe it is time to dust off some old Westerns like “The Good, the Bad and The Ugly” or “For a Few Dollars More” and watch them one more time…

I would like to thank the authors and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the comic book.

I loved the Old West as a setting for this dime novel inspired graphic/comic story. This is my kind of a genre, and my kind of setting for such a story.

There is nothing particularly new here and the story unfolding is a pretty standard one for the genre. At times the characters and the story being told veer toward cliche when I feel sure the aim is to pay homage but this isn't too much of a concern as the illustrations throughout are good enough to carry you through to the end.

I can't help but feel that this could have been better suited to being a serialised traditional comic along the lines of Fatale by Ed Brubaker as it draws some parallels but then rushes out a story that could have been told better through several shorter plots.

This is a decent enough graphic novel, but improvements could have been made here and I think the feeling that this has been rushed to a finish is difficult to get away from.

'Sykes' by Pierre Dubois with art by Dimitri Armand is an old West tale that feels familiar, but still takes some turns along the way.

A young boy named Jim meets "Sentence" Sykes just before his mother is brutally murdered. Sykes is on the trail of the men who did it, but must have been ahead of them. Now he has fresh clues, but young Jim wants to go along. Sykes is joined by his friend O'Malley, a questionable type, and a tracker named Gray Fox, who is just trying to earn enough to build a hen house. We learn how "Sentence" got his nickname, and it has two meanings. The story follows the manhunt and moves into the years after.

The story is fairly standard, but has a couple interesting variants. The art is pretty great. I like the large vistas with no word balloons that the reader stumbles across throughout the book.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

When I first saw the title my mind went straight to Oliver Twist as an exposed underbelly of Bill Sykes does intrigue me. Aside from a name pronunciation and a timeline in the 1800's that's where the similarities stop.

Sykes fully captured time of the Old West where acting on the right side of the law can be incriminating. A small shared idea of honour still lingered but was slowing vanishing. Luckily there are a few good men out there trying to do some good.

The entwined relationships between farmers, marshals, gangs and indigenous people painted a pretty grim picture of what people considered right.

I'd definitely read more adventures of Sykes and of Jim, if that is a possibility.

This book was well written and very fun to read. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world building. The author does a great job at introducing the characters and moving the plot along. There were a few things that I didn't like, but it wasn't enough to really sway me one way or the other. It's definitely a story that I can get lost in and both feel for the characters. It is definitely a go-to novel that I highly recommend to anyone who loves a great read. Definitely a highly recommended read that I think everyone will enjoy.

Great artwork and a gripping western story about vengeance and justice but this isnt justice handed out by a court, it is justice handed out by 'Sentence Sykes'. Sykes is a marshal driven by the ghosts of his past to mete out justice, usually with his gun. The story sees him tracking down a murderous gang who have been attacking and killing farmers. A young boy sees his mother attacked and runs to Sykes for help and the story shows how Sykes gets justice for the young man, but the west is a lawless place and the work of justice will never be complete.

This is a fast paced western story with lots of cowboy justice, violence and revenge. The artwork is great, with colours that convey the desolate farm holdings, the gritty life and the lawless men who wreak havoc. It was a good story with twists, turns and haunting pasts.

Coy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Don't come here thinking this is a retelling of Dickens.

This was reasonable, but I do find the western graphic novel quite a congested market, and things struggle to stand out. This one, with the inexorable build-up to the end of act two, which is too sudden and quick, and the very bitty act three, has some distinction, particularly in the artwork, but I wouldn't rush to declare it the best of its kind. Three and a half stars.

A fun standard graphic novel. I liked the western edge on it and the grittier characterization. I'll be recommending it.