Rock Candy Mountain Volume 1

One of the best reads for me this year. If you're looking for unique and different you can't go wrong with this. Good historical adventure, but with a dash of the religious supernatural (!) and funny dialogue. I'm sure no one else will agree with me, but it came across like a Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movie in terms of a quirky take on a historical time period. That soundtrack would suit it well. In any event, if you liked that movie you'll love this comic.Hobos travel and work. Tramps travel and don't work. Bums? Well, they don't do either. Just one of the many historical lessons you'll learn along the way. I haven't read anything in comics this good about hobos and trains since the excellent Castaways  The Castaways , or even Bluesman  Bluesman Complete . Johnny Cash would be proud. The main protagonist, kind of a zen warrior of hobos with a mysterious past, travels the rails during the 1940s in search of a mythical hobo nirvana (Big Rock Candy Mountain). Or at least that is the best as we can tell for now as the story unfolds. As he pursues Candy Mountain he finds himself in turn pursued by the FBI, the hobo mafia, and even the devil himself.The artwork is a little cartoonish, but still based more in traditional comic art. Not quite as cartoonish as a Scott Morse in "Volcanic Revolver", but close. Style works well once you get into it, good composition and flow. Nicely colored. Highly entertaining and very hard to find anything at all to criticize but for an overanbudance of cursin'. Of course, once you do some reasearch on the original lyrics for Big Rocky Cany Mountain you'll see his tone is not too far off.

This series is one of the most surprisingly engrossing comics I've picked up in a long time. A curiosity just shy of fascination with the origin of the Big Rock Candy Mountain song and the transient lifestyle led me to pick up the first issue, and I've eagerly awaited each subsequent issue. It's clever, exciting, funny, and completely unique. Highly recommend for anyone regardless of their general interest in comics.

This first volume introduces us to Jackson, a hobo, in search of the Rock Candy Mountain of the title and various characters that he encounters along the way. These include the Devil and the FBI. The story is pretty straight-forward and includes a fair amount of fighting and some bloodshed.The illustrations are very simple but reasonably effective. Ending on a bit of a cliffhanger, it will be followed by another volume at some point.

Rock Candy Mountain is an outstanding passion project riddled with hobos, train hopping, and bare knuckle brawling. It’s filled with amazing art, dynamic coloring, and laugh-out-loud writing. Do yourself a favor and order this INCREDIBLE Image Comic right away, it’s a great deal at an even better price.

The BEST Kyle Starks book, and brother, that's saying something.It's chock full of the foul-mouthed fisticuffs he's known for, but with an emotional edge and a historical flavor that really round out the story. Completely unique.