Anyone else read "Tex Willer"

[Niale]

Its italian comics about "The Wild West". I recommend to give it a try :) Its very good.

[Kossage]

Tex Willer was one of the things that defined my childhood. Over here in Finland we have almost as many Tex fans per capita as Italy has, and that's saying a lot (then again, both Finns and Italians seem to be huge Donald Duck fans, so go figure xD).

Westerns were always a big thing in our household, and Tex was one of the many ways in which I got to experience those splendid, adventurous stories. The whole team dynamic of Tex Willer, Kit Carson, Kit Willer and Tiger Jack is handled well even in the worst Tex stories (and to be fair, most of the stories are way above average and even the bad ones are still interesting on at least some level).

Tex is also one of the few comics which isn't actually fully stuck in a status quo throughout its run. The early issues deal with his early adulthood years as an outlaw and then gradually lead to him becoming a respected Texas Ranger and a Prince of a Navajo tribe called Eagle of the Night (it makes sense in context and is actually quite moving; he's also very respectful of the Native Americans and will defend their rights against greedy tycoons and soldiers although things often turn many shades of grey) as well as veteran of the American Civil War. He also marries a Navajo princess and has a halfbreed son who constantly has to face prejudice of white Americans because of his heritage. The present storylines depict Tex as a 50-year-old while his son's somewhere around late 20s or so, and as of this writing the timeline's stuck around that time. We've had a few flashback stories detailing Tex's earliest years (before his outlaw days), and those help shed light on his character and where he got his strong morals from.

The character dynamic is great. Tex is a guile hero, capable of outwitting his allies and enemies alike but isn't perfect as he's quite easy to anger (just dare call him a liar...even when he's lying xD). His banter with the elderly Kit Carson is one of the founding stones of the series, and their back and forth banter is indeed glorious to witness in all its rawness. Despite all the insults they hurl at each other, they're bros through and through. Then you have Kit Willer who's the most book-smart of the group although he's somewhat naïve and can get into trouble if someone insults his halfbreed heritage or if he wants to do good. Still, him being able to hurl academic terms at his father who doesn't understand half of what he's saying is pretty fun to witness. And last but definitely not least you have their Navajo friend Tiger Jack who has a gripping backstory and who is the "straight man" of the group, as in being the most serious (although he has his moments too). When you put all of these four characters together in a time, you get some pretty memorable and funny moments, like how Tiger and Kit Willer keep snickering at the banter between Tex and Kit Carson. Everyone is needed in the team, and they'll move heaven and earth to help each other and also protect the rights of the weak and poor against tyrants of different kinds.

The stories are full of intrigue, some cool western archetypes which are delightfully twisted at times, which might catch a western fan off guard. Race relations are discussed in subtext and sometimes more blatantly, and Native Americans are ultimately painted as sympathetic (although both they and "whites" do have their share of complete monsters...just like in real life). As much as I enjoy the adventurous stories, I've found myself gravitating towards the political ones where the heroes have to use their brain instead of brawn to defeat the clever villains in their own game. Some of the plotlines will make you gasp in a good way; some of this stuff would work really well as novels.

The stories have lots of interesting side characters too, ranging from lumberjack brawlers like Gros-Jean to law officers like Jim Brandon, or from nefarious tricksters like Mefisto to machiavellian schemers like Proteus. Add in a few historic figures (one of my favourites being Cochise and Red Cloud) and the fact that not all stories end happily (sometimes we end up in loss or bittersweet survival stories such as a story depicting the persecution of Native Americans of Patagonia), and you've got an intriguing whole as the stories can just as easily take place in the wildnerness and in urban settings (whether frontier towns or cities like San Francisco). I'm also glad to see that some women do have a place in the admittedly male-centric universe. Compared to the earliest stories with memorable characters like Satania (one of the more chilling villainesses I've seen in comics), present storylines give us more fleshed-out women of different professions, painting an interesting portrait of the people of the Wild West.

The art style is also superb. You have masters like Claudio Villa and Aurelio Galleppini and then great writers like Claudio Nizzi throughout the decades, and more and more young talents keep showing up to prove themselves in this Willer universe. Every panel (from the thousands I've seen) has been a joy to behold, and I've yet to encounter subpar art in any Tex comic. For art and comic affocinandos it's well worth your time to admire the craft you see before your eyes.

All in all, Tex Willer is definitely a comic worth reading, especially if you can read it in chronological order to fully appreciate Tex's character development. If that's not a possibility, try to find some of the stand-alone stories which plunge you into the universe and enjoy the colourful and well written cast and the nice Wild West setting which doesn't shy away from complex issues even though it still offers great, memorable and thought-provoking adventures of a time long gone. :)