Caliber: First Canon Of Justice Volume 1

Caliber #0

by Sam Sarkar, Garrie Gastonny (illustrator)

The Arthurian legend as retold in the American Northwest, with all of its great symbolism, magic, and spirit of adventure! The legend begins with the Indian shaman, Whitefeather, when he discovers a tattooed six-gun imbued with supernatural power. This mystic has seen both the signs of the apocalypse and a vision of the one who can prevent it. His search for the lawgiver is a quest that is not without mishap and death. Caliber, the mystically emblazoned gun, to be fired by only one man, will never miss. When aimed it brings down the heavens, firing lightning itself from its barrel. Arthur has returned to Telacoma looking to regain what is rightfully his. Has he come for justice or revenge? His future lies in the choice between the two.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Arthurian, Westerns, Mythology

144 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 2008

Reviews

[Jerecho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story - 3.00
Graphics - 3.50

Amazing drawing but almost with the same face. Arthurian story in West...

[Aegelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curious Remix of an Old Classic

Mistakenly I read the cover as "Excalibur" but I think this blurring of identity was intentional. With the lettering and cover design, we have a very similar theme to the Arthurian story. Throw in a Native American as the 'lady of the lake' and a cowboy as the upcoming king and there ya go for a backbone to this fantasy Western. With this thought in mind, scene setting and the fleshing out of nuances do make this retelling interesting. Was I entertained? Yes. Was the story enough of a departure to make me want to read more? Yes. Was the artwork well done? Yes. Despite the lack of complete originality (a difficult feat these days) and somewhat disconnected scenes at times, a satisfying experience.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of Arthurian tales in the Old West makes so much sense it’s amazing it hasn’t been done before. Unfortunately these weren’t the creators to do it. The story isn’t very exciting, Sarkar’s script is pretty average, and the painted colors are the only thing that makes the art stand apart from your typical action comic.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can appreciate something that is well done, even if I am not totally crazy about the subject. Not great, not horrible, just competently done comic books.

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book and had to get it. I mean a graphic novel retelling the tale of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table but as a Gun-slinging western? How can you miss? This was a very good graphic novel.

What this book is about it pretty straightforward. Arthur is a Gun-slinging cowboy, Merlin an Indian shaman, and the bad guys a group of corrupt sheriffs and outlaws.

The real hightlight of this graphic novel is the artwork; this is just a beautiful book. The quality of artwork you see on the cover represents the quality of the artwork throughout the book, it is just stunning. Page after page I just keep thinking wow this art is awesome!

The story is also very good. The author did some clever things in adapting this to a graphic novel. I was surprised how well the author was able to fit King Arthur's story to a good western, I suppose I shouldn't be, but it actually works really well and comes off as being very clever.

I have a couple small complaints. The first is that you get a lot of characters thrown at you and at times I had trouble distinguishing them because they looked similar. I really had to pay careful attention to not confuse them. Also this book basically just sets up the story; showing us how Arthur got Caliber (the magic gun) and set up his round table. I would really like to see a sequel to this book that goes into detail on some of the adventures these guys have.

Also this is a book meant for mature audiences. There isn't any nudity, but there are sex scenes and a boatload of graphic violence. I didn't have a problem with that, but some people might.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It is a great twist on the King Arthur legend, a good story, and had stellar artwork throughout. A very high quality piece of work.

[R. Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caliber is a retelling of King Arthur and the knights of the round table, set during the Wild West. Instead of a Welsh wizard, it's a Nez Perce shaman. Instead of a magic sword that only King Arthur Pendragon can wield, it's a magic gun that only Sheriff Arthur Pendergon can shoot. Sam Sarkar really wanted to make this as authentic as possible, and this is obvious in the telling of the story. Unfortunately, little else is. The pacing is awkward, the plot is confusing, and characters are hard to tell apart. This doesn't feel like an Arthurian legend. It doesn't feel like a western, either. Sarkar's got the window dressing right, but he's too interested in making clever references than developing the characters OR the storyline. Too much attention was given to making everything look Arthurian, and not enough was given to making a compelling story. This was such a wasted opportunity.

[Cal Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This retelling of the King Arthur story as told in the American Old West is a so-so story - there are times when each panel gives an image but it is jumping from scene to scene and other times when they spend too many pages on a plot line - even though it is supposed to be different telling the names are the same for some and completely different for others - Arthur Pendragon has the same name but Merlin has a strange Native name - understandable, but they kind of throw the fable into your face where it doesn't make sense to - over all this was OK and I am glad that I bought it used and not new - it is good enough for what it is but not something that I would tell anyone and everyone to read - just an interesting take on an old tale

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Arthurian legends. As a fan of Merlin, I'm no sranger to reincarnations or AUs, so the idea of a Old West Arthur really intrigued me. Personally, I find that period of our history appalling and I will be forever ashamed over the treatment of the native peoples. Arthur is able to brighten up a dark stain upon that time period. He is able to uphold the ultimate Law, not the so called justice and law White Men created.

I really loved the idea that not only would Caliber only work for Arthur, it would only destroy those on the wrong side of the Law. Right person, right circumstances and all that.

The art was really good, however reading on my Kindle Fire meant breaking up the pages and sometimes that ruined the scene. Over all, fairly decent take on a Western Arthurian Graphic Story!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appeal Characteristics: Art, Old West, Arthurian Legend, magic, adventure, Shamans

Anyway, there is a myth about this "special" gun that the day someone picks it up and shoots with it...they will aim and never miss, and something else. Anyway, the visuals were great, but I couldn't connect to any of the characters. I just think since i'm not an Old West fan, no matter how you spin it...I have not interest in sticking with it. It was an interesting premise and it is a short "mini-series," and I have no desire to conclude it. I just think it was hard to imagine the old soldiers in the American West as "Arthurian" type characters.

[Austin Adkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bold take on the Arthurian legend. Loving westerns I had to pick this up. The best part of this book is the art, every page just looks so good. But some of the characters looked a like, so at times it was a little tough to tell them apart. And some panels, where there is a lot of action, are difficult to follow at times. The story is just ok, pretty straight forward, some clever connections with the old Arthur tale to a western genre. But nothing stands out from the story really, a good effort though.

[Miche · Rating 2 out of 5]

Issue 1

By far the best part of this book is the artwork. Muted colours give the impression of an old school western painting. The only niggle in the artwork was that it was hard to distinguish some of the characters as they looked a lot alike but overall a good job.

The story seemed pretty straightforward but lacked the impact i was expecting, id only read Issue 1 but I could tell where the plot was leading without the other issues.

Overall Caliber is an interesting take on the Arthurian legend but lacks the magic that would have kept me reading further issues

[Boots LookingLand · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really wanted to like this retelling of the Arthurian legend set in the 19th century on the pacific coast. beautiful artwork and an interesting concept, but some of the design elements were too silly and the sequential storytelling was occasionally very awkward (couldn't really follow what was happening now and then). also the actual book construction was amazingly shoddy ~ it fell apart halfway through reading. geesh.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done comic. I read this from ComiXology and didn't realize it was a Western. It blends in King Arthur with the Old West and it actually works well. Caliber is a powerful gun not a sword. The storyline is solid with soldiers against indians and the artwork is remarkable and very well done. I am interested in checking out the full issue as it caught me surprise and I didn't think I'd enjoy it so much.

[Lesli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been hitting up the graphic novels lately (Sept/Oct 2012). I'm choosing titles at random that happen to be available on Overdrive. It is hit or miss. This is a hit. I'd rather read it in paper format rather than ebook, though. The art is gorgeous. Not that I know anything about graphic novel art. The story is sort of hokey; but interesting.

[Arthurianmaiden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful art and an interesting twist on arthurian legends but it felt like the author didn't know where he wanted to go, like he left it incomplete and many characters (most of them) were just introduced. I always found the art confusing and it didn't help me distinguish the different characters one from the others.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was okay, but the art is like eye-candy! It's what kept me going and it's the art that earned the 3 stars over the story. If you like westerns you might enjoy this one. I'm not sure I like the story of Arthur as a western law-man. Doesn't quite work.

[Missy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As other reviewers have said, the art here is gorgeous, and I will seek out other comics with art by Gastonny. The story, though, is a not-terribly-interesting retelling of the Arthur legend that doesn't live up to the promise of the illustrations. It just falls flat.

[Trevor Oakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Western-themed Arthurian tale is simply stunning. The rich visuals alone make this book worth picking up. What a treat!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beautiful artwork got my attention, but the story is pretty good, too.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's got a great concept - the King Arthur legend reset as a Western in the Northwest Territory. But the execution is choppy, and it isn't an entertaining read in the end.

[Zanne]

16.50