Weird West: The Sub-genre You've Never Heard Of
A cowboy who rides a unicorn, a gunslinger shooting down zombies, a small town sheriff with a robot for a deputy -- these are all probable components of a sub-genre called "Weird West."
What is Weird West?
It's a sub-genre of the traditional western that is steadily rising to mainstream popularity. It takes the classic western setting and adds elements of another genre. The most common genres mixed in are horror, fantasy, and science fiction.
Many of you have probably read or watched a Weird West title without ever knowing it. Joss Whedon's popular show "Firefly" is Weird West. Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series fits the genre. The anime hit series "Cowboy Beebop" is definitely Weird West.
Interested in getting better acquainted with this fun and exciting category of reading? Here's a list of Weird West graphic novels and books owned by the Springfield-Greene County Library District:
The Sixth Gun. Book 1, Cold Dead Fingers by Cullen Bunn
During the darkest days of the Civil War, wicked cutthroats came into possession of six pistols of otherworldly power. In time, the Sixth Gun, the most dangerous of the weapons, vanished. When the gun surfaces in the hands of an innocent girl, dark forces reawaken. Vile men thought long dead set their sights on retrieving the gun and killing the girl. Only Drake Sinclair, a gunfighter with a shadowy past, stands in their way.
Bloody Chester by JT Petty
In 1870 Dakota Territory, "Bloody" Chester Kates is in for some surprises when he agrees to burn down the town of Whale, believed to be inhabited by something wicked, in order for the Union Pacific to continue construction of the railroad.
Six-Gun Snow White by Caterynne M. Valante
In the novella Six-Gun Snow White, Valente transports the title's heroine to a masterfully evoked Old West where Coyote is just as likely to be found as the seven dwarves.
Territory by Emma Bull
Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 is the site of one of the richest mineral strikes in American history, where veins of silver run like ley lines under the earth, a network of power that belongs to anyone who knows how to claim and defend it. Above the ground, power is also about allegiances. A magician can drain his friends' strength to strengthen himself, and can place them between him and danger. The one with the most friends stands to win the territory.
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