It is hard not to get excited when Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have a new comic coming out; Phillips’s run on Hellblazer and Brubaker’s on Gotham Central, Captain America, and The Immortal Iron Fist are legendary, and it’s always extra special when the two of them work together because they both create across genres, shifting seamlessly from one to the next.

Pulp (July 29, Image) is the team’s new Western/crime drama/spy thriller in which Max Winters, writer of pulp Westerns, suffers a heart attack and is forced to acknowledge he might not have enough time left to provide for his loved ones. The solution, of course, is a heist. While Max is planning the job, however, his past catches up with him.

Image Copyright 2020 The Basement Gang, Inc

Set in pre-World War II New York and the Wild West, Pulp plays with genre conventions to spin the life story of an author more interesting, and more violent, that the heroes he himself imagines. But will Max be able to escape the story he’s written in the real world before his time is up?

Image Copyright 2020 The Basement Gang, Inc

The art and prose work well together, complementing each other perfectly. Phillips creates two distinct looks, one for the pulp portion of the story and one for the Western that cues the reader in immediately as to where, and when, they are – and which arc they’re meant to be following. Phillips also borrows from film and TV to ground the images in the reader’s memory and establish both eras as “long ago” if not “far away.” This approach also establishes connections that draw readers in and keep them engaged.

Pulp is a great read and a beautiful work. Highly recommended.

Pulp by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is scheduled for release July 29th from Image Comics.