Book Review: Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos

Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse is a graphic novel by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos which is both suitable and enjoyable for all ages.  The hero of this story is a young cowboy taking on the role of bounty hunter. He travels through the wild west on a well trained horse that is not his, and carrying a sidearm unique to him. An added twist to the story is that his bounties are not just random criminals, they are his own family members which all seem bent on leading lives steeped in criminal activity

Cow Boy is truly a graphic novel for all ages. It is fun, with a young hero with no real violence or disturbing moments for the youngest of readers. However, there is also the story of a boy doing the right thing, going against a criminal family, while also leaving the question open to whether he is doing the right thing for revenge rather than for the sake of doing the right thing. There is also the fun of figuring out the relationships, what happened in the past, and how this young boy is going to come out on top. The artwork has the same blend of simple fun and emotional layers as the story itself.

I highly recommend Cow Boy to graphic novel fans of all ages. I also think readers that have yet to discover how wonderful a graphic novel can be when done right, or enjoy graphic novels without the sex and violence that seem inherent to the format, should take a serious look at this book. Cow Boy offers readers all the good things about graphic novels, without the blood, guts, or sex that turn some readers away or being boring or less entertaining without those aspects, so it will truly interest all readers.