Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire

Buck Godot #1

by Phil Foglio, Cecilia Cosentini (Artist), Julie Ann Sczesny (Artist)

The original four short stories introducing the controlled anarchy of planet New Hong Kong and hero Buck Godot, the futuristic gun-for-hire who is "always available, but never free..."

Genres: Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

A popular science fiction fan artist in the 1970s, Phil Foglio began writing and drawing cartoons and comics professionally in the 1980s. His work includes Magic: The Gathering, Buck Godot, and the popular series of comics and novels, Girl Genius, co-written with his wife, Kaja Foglio.

Awards:
Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist (1977 and 1978)
Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story (2009, 2010, 2011)

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phil Fogilo always makes me laugh with his comic but with Buck Godot he has achieved his master's status. I don't just laugh while reading this i have to stop to catch my breath to be able to keep going. If a comic could put me in the hospital from laughing seizures this is it. I can always goto this for a great read to make a bad day better. My highest recommendation

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun space adventure. Buck Godot is a hard-drinking gun for hire on the lawless world of New Hong Kong. In this collection of short stories, he gets involved with all sorts of strange characters, like a space-travelling pack rat with two talking pistols named Smith and Wesson, and a super-powerful being capable of teleporting things vast distances who really just wants to study flower arranging. This little collection has whetted my appetite - I'd love to see Buck get involved in a longer and more involved story. Fans of Foglio's other work should check it out.

[Douglas Beagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sheer audacity and creativity displayed in manufacturing a science fiction future and sticking to it, building and shaping, makes this volume worthy reading for any science fiction fan.

The opening two pages read like an 18-year-old dungeon master's background material. And then you read detailed, amusing stories that occur in the context of that background material.

Is it choppy? Sure. Does it lean on cliches? Sometimes. But I have to laud this book for what it does. There is a tremendous amount of meat on the bone.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first collection of Buck Godot, this set of short stories establishes the hard-bitten, hard-drinking, sardonic, and utterly hysterical SF gun-for-hire. Foglio's breezy art style is still in formation here, but his writing is sharp and witty, and his worldbuilding is on full display. Good stuff.

(Read many times before, but only reviewed here this time.)

[Robu-sensei · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the character of Buck Godot was still crystallizing in these early stories, many important elements of Godot's universe are established here, including the proximity of the spaceport and the Slag-Blah temple complex, the pre-spaceflight history of the Earth, and the nature of The Law.

As always, Phil Foglio provides an entertaining story and subtle background humor.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

Phil Foglio's art is always a treat, but these stories are perhaps a bit too sleight, and the comedy a bit too broad. It's a quick read, and the tales are cute, but these are clearly early works. Presumably the second volume is meatier?

[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combines my two favorites genres, comedy and science fiction. Irresistible.

[Dan]

Didn't know there were 2 others!!!! I have a reason to continue!

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Folgio's art and the stories are fun. Buck Godot is a likable rogue and it's a fun and crazy universe he inhabits.

[Craig Rettig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun from Phil Foglio

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick midnight re-read. Although the artwork is sketchy at times, I'm amazed how many ideas Foglio deftly plugs into these stories.