Underrated: Cowboys And Aliens
This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Cowboys And Aliens.
I picked this book up from my LCS primarily because of how fondly I remembered the 2011 Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford movie of the same name. Although that movie generally received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, it was one of those films that I thoroughly enjoyed because I had very little expectations when going into it.
When I saw the comic/graphic novel from which it was adapted sitting on the used shelf at my LCS, I picked up thinking that if I enjoyed the movie, surely I’d enjoy the book. And while for the most part I did enjoy the comic, this marks one of those times that the first place a story is experienced ends up being the stronger version.
That said, the messaging within the comic gives you more time to digest and process than the movie did.
Whereas the comic has a more traditional human verses alien angle where the humans are much more easily able to overcome the odds (the alien threat never really feels anything more than mildly troubling), the movie tries a more grim and gritty approach (that arguably doesn’t always work, but the antagonists come across as more dangerous). However that being said, the comic, written by Andrew Foley and Fred Van Lente, doesn’t shy away from calling out the European settlers for doing to the Native Americans exactly what the aliens are trying to do to the humans. It is within these moments that the comic truly shines through its foibles; Van Lente and Foley make no bones about their message, and while it can (and arguably should) be uncomfortable to read, it remains a surprisingly powerful moment in a book that otherwise doesn’t shine as brightly as it could.
Cowboys And Aliens is an entertaining story, whether you read the book or watch the movie. Despite having enjoyed the movie quite a bit, the original story deserves your attention if only as an example of how good science fiction can give you a renewed perspective on the world around us.
Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.
