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• Price: $3.99
• Rating: Teen
• Pages: 30
• On Sale: April 18, 2018
• Writer: Adam Glass
  
• Artist: Patrick Olliffe
  
• Color: Gabe Eltaeb
• Letterer: Sal Cipriano
• Publisher: Aftershock Comics

From the Publisher – In “Under the Pyramids”, Harry Houdini walks on through to the other side and discovers that the Rough Riders are up against the legendary Dutch “Bokkenrijders “who have returned to this earthly plane to settle a score with one of his teammates! But Harry’s truest challenge may be a visitor from his past who can spell his end…unless he listens to his newest teammate H.P. Lovecraft!

Our We Talk Comics WeView – Life is short; No matter what you’ll never have time to see everything, hear everything, watch everything, taste everything or read everything. For that reason your time is valuable, and you should use it enjoying quality things. Luckily for you then Aftershock is offering up Rough Riders: Ride or Die as an option you can spend that time on, if like me reading comic books is your thing.

The books visuals are likely what will strike you first. Let’s face it, veteran artist Patrick Olliffe can pretty much write his own ticket at this point. A fan favorite for his work at Marvel on titles like Untold Tales of Spider-Man and a long run on Spider-Girl, one has to assume that Olliffe’s presence on this book is a sign that he truly believes in the project, and this is what he wants to do. And why not? Working on Rough Riders gives him a chance to play around with his recognizable style and try something new. The results, without question, are fantastic.

When you have a storyteller the level of Olliffe doing the art, you want a colorist who understands what he’s going for and Gabriel Eltaeb perfectly enhances the look of each page. Despite using a fairly dark color palette, which is perfect for the mood and setting, Eltaeb gives a vibrant sheen to each page. His care and attention to detail is very noticeable.

The lettering is done by Sal Cipriano, and it’s an understatement to say he knows what he’s doing. The man has lettered hundreds of books, including many of the most high profile projects to come out of DC the last few years (Superman Unchained, Before Watchman). His work here is as superb as you’d expect. You could literally use this as a guide on how to letter a comic book properly.

These three men tie in together perfectly on each page. Need proof? Just check out this awesome image from the interior of Rough Riders: Ride or Die #3.

I know I’ve been gushing about the book a whole bunch, and maybe you’re sick of it, but honestly there’s just very little negative to critique. And all of this is still without even addressing writer Adam Glass’ script, which may be the books most impressive quality.

There’s a little something in comics happening now I like to call “the lost art of comic book accessibility”. The entry point into most comic book series, even for veteran readers of the medium, is often difficult unless you’ve been there from the beginning. If that’s the case then you can imagine how intimidating comics must be for casual or brand new readers. Maybe it doesn’t matter, because these seem to be valuable properties even without high sales numbers, thanks to the ability to transition them into other media. Still, at some point I think the industry needs to face this issue if it wants to grow.

Aftershock has made it part of their mission statement to keep this in mind in order to attract new fans, and Adam Glass does a masterful job of nailing this. This is the third Rough Riders mini-series, plus a one-shot, and I had never read any of these comics until I tried issue #2 last month. Story-wise not only was I not lost, I felt immediately like I’d been reading it from the beginning.

This is done by not bogging it down with too much continuity, just giving you enough to enjoy the current story. Glass does this while letting the personalities of the large cast shine through organically. He uses their behavior and dialogue to highlight who they are and show the dynamics of their relationships. This is exactly how a writer should handle it. In fact I could imagine each member of the team being someone’s favorite (Annie Oakley is mine personally), and that’s the sign of good characterization.

Other companies should take note of what Glass has done here to make this book accessible while not sacrificing any story. I’m not going to name any names but it always seems I’m being told something is a “jump-on point”, including by one publisher on seemingly every other issue they produce. Often, disappointingly, they fail in that stated task. Every book though should and can be a “jumping-on point” if they’re as well written as this one. Well done Adam Glass, I applaud your skill on this with Rough Riders: Ride or Die.

So yeah, obviously I think you should check this comic out. This is unquestionably one of the finest comic books being produced today, and you don’t want to miss out. So do yourself a favor by treating yourself to Rough Riders. After all, life is short, and you deserve it.

Recommended for fans of: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (comic book), Penny Dreadful.

Rating: Near Mint (NM) or 9.4/10

Review by Mo

Love the review? Hate the review? Disagree with me? I’m happy to talk comics on twitter @Mo_WeTalk

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