Ain’t No Grave
Weird West is a relatively new subgenre of speculative fiction that combines the setting and themes of Westerns with elements of 
fantasy and horror. Like any subgenre that’s a mashup of two other genres, Weird West can produce works that simply rely on the novelty of pushing two seemingly incongruous genres together, but the standouts of Weird West fiction are those that utilize the best parts of both genres. One such example is a two-fisted, guns-blazing journey through the underworld called Ain’t No Grave, which also serves as a reunion between writer Skottie Young and illustrator Jorge Corona.
The protagonist who makes this journey is Ryder, a former desperado who made her living by her wits and her guns. She has finally settled down with a husband and daughter but the bliss of family life is interrupted when Ryder finds out she is dying. Knowing her time is short, Ryder once again grabs her gunbelt and sets off on a physical and spiritual journey to track down Death himself, and Ryder is willing to use any means necessary, including and especially violence, to get the extra time she wants.
Those familiar with Young’s I Love Fairyland, a fiendishly fractured fairy tale about a young, murderous girl trapped in Fairyland, might expect an abundance of gunfire and an exuberant amount of blood and corpses, but this tale is more indicative of his and Corona’s earlier collaboration, The Me You Love in the Dark, a slow-burn tale of a toxic relationship between a painted and the entity that haunts her house. Ain’t No Grave features more subdued storytelling with minimal dialogue in places and the dialogue that is used serves to showcase the complex relationships between characters. Young’s Ryder is a complex character who has done some very terrible deeds, revealed through flashbacks, yet loves her family and her life away from violence. However, her willingness to return to her outlaw ways puts into question whether Ryder’s past is really past.
Young’s tale of a bandit who reluctantly yet readily returns to their old ways skillfully uses a Western trope, but Corona’s artwork definitely adds the “Weird” in Weird West. Corona offers up depictions of an underworld that are visually interesting while retaining a Western motif, from a riverboat that serves as a ferry for souls (and an opportunity to gamble away one’s soul) and a depiction of Death in full black hat regalia that’s more terrifying than any flesh-and-blood gunfighter.
As a surprisingly sedate meditation on the true price of a violent life, “Ain’t No Grave” tells a mature story that’s strictly for adult patrons. There may be a few fans of Westerns who might be turned off by both the book’s supernatural elements and the graphic format, it tells a story that’s as much a Western tale as anything written by Cormac McCarthy or Zane Grey. Like many Westerns and stories featuring the personification of death, Ain’t No Grave features death but also has a great deal to say about life in the face of death.
Ain’t No Grave
By Skottie Young
Art by Jorge Corona
Image, 2024
ISBN: 9781534331488
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
