Western Week: An Introduction

Recently, when we reviewed The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, we got to talking about how much we loved westerns, and how no one really gives them any love these days.

Thus, we welcome you to The Book Smugglers’ very own Western Appreciation Week!

For the duration of the week, we will be bringing you reviews and discussions of some of our very favorite Westerns–movies, books, graphic novels, television shows, and modern applications showing that while it may not be its heyday, the western still lives on!

We’ll then take a look at the presence of the Western and it’s influence on some modern writing by reviewing and examining Stephen King’s iconic Dark Tower series, starting with the gunslinger himself, Roland Deschain. Ana will review The Gunslinger, and Thea will give an overall intro to the Dark Tower series, and the Marvel comics that focus on young Roland, in The Gunslinger Born.

While the Western has been brought to life on the big screen, television shows also have been a major media for gunslingers, both old and new. Ana will take us through modern shows that immortalize the western by reviewing the outstanding HBO series Deadwood, and also the space cowboy cult favorite, Firefly.

Thea will take a look at the modern western on the big screen, from remakes like 3:10 to Yuma, and also examining the influences in other movies, such as Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series, and the re-invention of the Man With No Name.

And we’ll round out the week with a focus on the iconic music from the genre, and a final poll, for our favorite Westerns of all time.

So take a seat, and we hope you enjoy the busy week ahead!