When we last left off this series (far too long ago), Bass had just rather forcibly recruited a Native American tracker named Kwantu to help him hunt down the notorious outlaw gunman and bootlegger known as Yah Kee. But at the last minute, we found out that Bass’ wayward young son Benjy has been enticed to secretly join Yah Kee’s gang.

As this issue begins Benjy has been participating in crimes (while wearing a mask) with Yah Kee’s gang, and letting Yah Kee know of Bass’ activities. But Benjy appears to be conflicted about his actions. While he joins in a bank robbery, he refuses to kill an innocent bystander when Yah Kee directly orders him to. Nevertheless, Yah Kee is civil towards the boy, knowing that he’s the perfect weapon to eventually use against Bass. Meanwhile, we see Bass still struggling with some of the moral conflicts about his profession as he confers with the local Reverend, Writer Kevin Grevious portrays Bass as a principled and deeply religious man, who frequently quotes Bible scriptures. I don’t know if this was true of the real Bass Reeves, but it adds an interesting dimension to his character here.

Along with Kwantu, Bass visits a Native American tribe as Yah Kee has been expanding his bootlegging operation throughout their territories. But even with Kwantu’s help, the Natives are distrustful of Bass, seeing him as an instrument of “The White Man’s law,” so Bass is forced to earn their respect through combat. And in the end, this leads Bass to a most surprising suspect, but the hunt for Yah Kee continues.

So between the bank robbery and the fight, as well as Bass’ scenes with his family and local Reverend, Grevioux continues to write this series with just the right mix of action and drama, and I can’t say enough about David Williams excellent artwork. This series is doing justice to this sadly overlooked American Western hero. Highly recommended.

Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS


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