Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review!

The best part of Wild West is its setting. I was so excited to read this graphic novel and be transported back in time to the Wild West. This graphic novel did not disappoint in that regard. With its depictions of saloons, railroad engines, and guns, I felt like I was living in another time. Another solid aspect of this book is the art, which is very realistic. I can tell that the artist must have spent a lot of time to perfect both the human figures and the backdrops of each scene. Unfortunately, I was turned off by the graphic depictions of rape, sex, and violence, which I have included in the Content Warnings (CW's) below. Maybe I should have expected that the real Wild West would include these things, but I was slightly shocked by how brutal it was for the female characters in the graphic novel. Overall, Wild West will definitely find its appreciative readers, but I am not one of them.

CW: Rape, nudity, violence.

This follows the early life of Martha Cannary, who would become the famous Calamity Jane. I am not super familiar with her life, so I’m not sure how factual this is, but I enjoyed it! The art is so beautiful and descriptive, sometimes I didn’t even need to look at the words. It is definitely an adult title, however, with some harsh language and nudity. I thought it was great!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This true and gritty look at the Wild West was a fun ride. I loved watching Martha grow into herself and learn to stand up for herself. The art style was beautiful and the plot was interesting.

I have every intention of finding this in print and buying it for myself. This was excellent.
Thank you to Netgalley, Europe Comics, the author and illustrator for the opportunity to check it out.
The art in Wild West is beautiful, detailed and expressive, the warm color palette immediately pulls you into the setting. The characters faces are skillfully rendered, clearly expressing their emotions.
The story was great, presenting a kind of redemption/revenge arc of a sympathetic hero who caught some very bad breaks early on. There were some monstrous, brutal scenes (if this was a podcast, there would be a content warning at the start), but they never felt exploitative. You couldn't help but wince or shudder or get angry. And when the story wrapped up, you can't help but do a little mental cheer, because it was so satisfying to see the tables turn.
I feel really lucky to have been able to read this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Warning: this is incredibly graphic, as was the Wild West. This graphic novel is as gritty as the Wild West it’s set in. Such a harrowing origin story of Calamity Jane. The Illustrations are amazing and add so much to the dark tone of the novel. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Calamity Jane to overcome.

The art style is unique to other graphic novels I've read - a lot more grisly. As for the story - though I know it's partially based on what is known of Calamity Jane's life - I found the story difficult to read. I have no problem with graphic content when I feel it's handled well and personally I didn't think that was the case here. Though I'm sure that will differ for some. The narrative outside of Martha's was fairly uninteresting.

The beauty of a wonderful graphic novel is the illustrations, the colour palate and elaborate drawings. Here the artwork is superb detailing the vast panorama of what we know of as The Wild West.
When you add a compelling account of the struggle in those pioneering days, violence and subjugation amid the general desire to survive. The story unfolds without rehashing all the familiar scenes of western movies. It is well considered, the power of money, the fear of the gun, the the general disregard of law and order.
In this first instalment we are introduced to the backstory of Calamity Jane. Originally a simple maid in the saloon come brothel of her hick town, she dreams of better times. The prostitutes are all called Jane for the ease of the customers but she is Martha and she wants a better life.
Matters take a turn for the worse when a punter feels able to proposition her, showing the lack of value of women in most men’s minds. She overcomes this set back by the intervention of Buck who helps nurse her back to health.
Unfortunately her life takes an unfortunate turn in that she is now indebted to her employer and all her hopes are restrained and mostly lost to financial poverty.
When bounty hunter Wild Bill Hickok saunters into town, he treats her more kindly than most and gives her a resolve to believe the American dream once more and look beyond her circumstances to improve her life and expectations.

Some may be disappointed in that this is an unresolved story but within episodic series you need reason to get chapter 2. There is motivation enough in the way this story pans out and the desire to see a more assured future for these well crafted characters. Their humanity lifts from these pages and we can invest in them, which in turn assists our enjoyment.

The bonus of short stories and comic books is that they enable a casual reader to dip into alternative genres and explore other reading streams. This is a gritty tale which although reflects a reality we are vaguely familiar with, redefine why the Western genre remains popular. That the female protagonist breaks the mould gives the story an impetus and scope for a wider audience, who will enjoy both the writing and the accompanying artwork.

A fine example of the power of graphic novels when like this one, they are done to perfection.

So this was interesting! I must admit the reason I requested this read was for the stunning art. It was actually a pretty good read in describing how Calamity Jane was “born.” I would bet this is going to be a series and could possibly be fun to follow. Jane is a victim turned badass. And I am a sucker for a badass heroine!

Martha is a maid in a saloon where most of the women work on their back upstairs. She is hoping her integrity will prevent her from suffering the same fate. A chance run-in with a bounty hunter changes her attitude in Wild West, a Calamity Jane origin story.

There are a lot of rumors about Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. Is this story true? It could be.

However, is Wild West interesting is the question to ask. And it is an interesting, albeit short, tale. If you like historic fiction or western stories, you will enjoy this book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This graphic novel claims to be a fresh look at the origin story of Calamity Jane – influenced by Wild Bill Hickok to have a bit more about her when she's forced by other men in the book to become a brothel whore, as opposed to just a brothel bedroom maid and greeter. For all the "they left that bit out the musical!" detail, however, this is still pretty much a token, standard western story – here's a baddy, here's a drunken sheriff, here's the trains a'coming, and it's progress you know and you can't stand in front of that when money's involved. Good craft to the visuals perhaps makes this three and a half stars, but the next volume, due to concentrate a bit more on Wild Bill, would probably not be a book I rushed to pick up.

The art style is really good, but beware that there are some really graphic scenes (sex and violence). I wish that it was a bit longer, though, as there wasn't that much to the plot in these 60ish pages.

I loved the art style, but I wish it was just a bit longer. The characters and storyline fell a little flat to me because there wasn't enough development. Overall, I still think it was a fun read, but I just wish it had a little more substance.

Some of the material is much more graphic than I cared for, but the drawing style is great and the plot captures the brutality of frontier life in a vivid way.

I’m a big fan of European comics (which is coincidentally the name of this books publisher, but I mean the geographical area), usually because they don’t worry about keeping everything for children at all times, and treat the material far more seriously than in either Japan or America. That isn’t to say its all gore-filled pornography either, its just like the difference between an HBO show and a Disney+ show in terms of sensibility, if that makes sense. I’ve been on a big Metal Hurlant and Heavy Metal kick as of late, so I was intrigued to see a French language comic (translated, of course) about Calamity Jane, and how a European publisher would handle the “origin story” of the famous frontierswoman.

Wild West is a quick read at only 66 pages, but it tells its story well, and doesn’t linger too long. Honestly, I hope they produce more of this, as this is basically the story of her beginnings and her first encounter with Wild Bill Hickock and up to her enlistment into the US Army under the pretense that she’s a boy rather than a woman. The thing about Calamity jane, and whether this book is historical, is that most of her backstory was created as a booklet to market her “character” at a series of tours that she participated in. I assume a lot of this was embellished, and sadly we’ll never know for sure. Not much is said about her time working as a prostitute (which is the focal point of this story), so I imagine there is a lot of artistic liberty here, with something that already had some to begin with.

All-in-all, this was a great comic with exquisite, detailed artwork. for fans of history, western comics, European comics, or just adult comics in general, this would be a great addition to your collection. I’m not certain that the book is available physically in the US, but a digital copy (like the one I have) is very affordable. This is a publisher that is now on my radar, if their quality is this good on everything, I’ll have to do some more research.

TW: rape, violence

Wild West follows Martha, a maid in a brothel in the Wild West who turns to sex work after being raped. The men in Martha's life have ulterior motives and nothing is quite what it seems in the West.

This story was intense, and while Martha eventually gets revenge at the end of the story, it was hard to read through all she went through leading up her eventual takedown of the brothel.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This “origin” story of Calamity Jane was very truthful and honest about life and time for ladies in the Wild West. The story was told beautifully and you get to know Martha and see her evolve. The artwork is detailed and done very well. I will be keeping my eye for the future ones.