The best western comics: the tier list

The western has nourished comics from its beginnings, before reinventing itself in modern, fantastic or apocalyptic versions. This tier list brings together the stories that best convey the spirit of the West (atmosphere, characters, tension) from the most classic to the most daring. Criterion: the success of the western story, whatever its form.

Editorial Ranks, Facts verified. Each entry refers to a site file when it exists.

Tier S: the Western peaks

Jonah Hex (1972) is the disfigured bounty hunter, a major DC western figure. East of West reinvents the genre into a wildly ambitious apocalyptic SF western. Blueberry, by Charlier and Giraud (Moebius), is the pinnacle of the European western. And Preacher hybrid western, road movie and theology with rare force.

Tier A: the great modern stories

Loveless by Brian Azzarello explores post-Civil War America. The Sixth Gun mixes western and supernatural, Pretty Deadly in fact a mythological tale, and Scalped transposes the codes of the western into a contemporary Indian reserve.

Tier B: gender values

All-Star Western , Manifest Destiny (Lewis and Clark Against the Fantastic), the adaptation of Django Unchained and the Two-Gun Kid from Marvel offer solid westerns, between classicism and rereading.

Tier C: the classics of the kiosk

Rawhide Kid , Bat Lash , Weird Western Tales and Copperhead (space western) complete the selection: good westerns, a notch below the peaks.

Tier D: the curiosities

Kid Colt , THE Texas of Bonelli (monument of the western in Italy) and Gunhawks close this selection: historical or foreign series, real but less known to the French-speaking public.

To remember

• Jonah Hex is the emblematic western character of American comics.
• The western reinvents itself willingly in hybrid (SF, horror, mythology).
• Europe has its monuments (Blueberry, Tex), not to be forgotten.
• Each entry refers to a site file when it exists.

Three ways into the western in comics

The ranking mixes very different stories. To find your bearings, you can sort them into three families and choose your way in according to what you expect from a western.

1. The classic West

This is the western as we picture it: bounty hunters, sheriffs, duels and wide open spaces. Jonah Hex (DC, 1972) is its best-known American figure, Blueberry (Charlier and Giraud, 1963) is the great European classic, and Tex (Bonelli, 1948) the Italian audience's own. On the Marvel side, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt and Rawhide Kid represent the newsstand-series tradition, often long-running and published over several decades.

2. The hybrid western

Here the West is the backdrop for another genre. East of West (2013) blends it with apocalyptic science fiction, The Sixth Gun and Pretty Deadly with the supernatural and fable, Manifest Destiny with historical adventure against the fantastic, Copperhead with space science fiction and Preacher with a theological road movie. It is the ideal entry point if the classic western does not appeal to you.

3. The darker, author-driven western

Loveless (2005) takes place after the Civil War and Scalped (2007) transposes the genre's codes onto a contemporary reservation. These series favor tension and darkness over pure action.

A few pointers for the reader

• The modern series (2005 to 2014) are read in publication order and work as continuing stories; the simplest approach is to start from the first issue or the first collected volume.
• The historic newsstand series, such as Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt or Rawhide Kid, are made of short stories: you can read them out of order without losing the thread.
• European titles such as Blueberry and Tex exist mostly as albums and omnibus editions, with breakdowns that vary from one edition to another.

On the collecting side

Old newsstand westerns are fragile paper: yellowing, spine creases and damaged corners are common, so condition varies greatly from one copy to another. Always check the numbering, as some series changed title or were relaunched, and make sure an issue advertised as old is not a reprint. For recent series, the first issue of each launch is the natural entry point, and collected volumes let you read the whole story without chasing individual issues.

As with any tier list, this ranking is editorial: the right western is the one that makes you want to turn the page.

Frequently asked questions