Unforgiven Meets Guillermo del Toro In Dark 5-Part Western Series Met With Critical Acclaim
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Warning! The following contains major SPOILERS for Ain’t No Grave.Virtually every piece of entertainment media in the Western genre paints a brutal portrait of how horrific it must’ve been to have to endure and survive in that era, whether the stories told are wholly rooted in historical realism or peppered with flecks of other genres, such as romance, horror, fantasy, or sci-fi. Some stories are defined by the genre tropes that they lean on, and that’s certainly true of the world readers are introduced to in Image Comics’ Ain’t No Grave.
Ain’t No Grave is not a story for the faint of heart, and readers may not know how depressing this book can get (complimentary). It’s also a visual treat, with artwork that distinguishes each issue of the comic book miniseries. Ain’t No Grave is a couple of years old at this point, but readers who haven’t yet read it, perhaps never heard of it, or have read it, adored it, and are eager to revisit it are all fortunate enough to learn that the series’ trade paperback format is back with a second printing.
Western/Fantasy Lovers Can’t Afford To Sleep On Ain’t No Grave
Ain’t No Grave is a Western-fantasy miniseries from writer Skottie Young, artist Jorge Corona, colorist Jean-François Beaulieu, letterer Nate Piekos (also responsible for the comic’s design and logo), and editor Marla Eizik. Ain’t No Grave follows the infamous Revolver Ridge Ryder, an incredible outlaw protagonist with a singular goal: kill Death (literally) and earn herself more time with her family before she dies of a terminal illness.
It’s a remarkably harrowing and poignant psychological odyssey, tackling grief beautifully and satisfyingly—or unsatisfyingly, depending on how you receive Ain’t No Grave’s ending. Image Comics describes Ain’t No Grave as an “Unforgiven-style journey” with a “Guillermo del Toro-esque lens,” and it’s this stunning marriage of Western tropes and supernatural atmosphere that make it incredibly unique.
Issue #5 was released on September 11, 2024, with the trade paperback collecting all five issues of the series originally being released on December 31, 2024. Recently, on September 2, 2026, it returned to store shelves for a second printing, as per Image.
Ain’t No Grave Is A Bona Fide Image Comics Classic
Ain’t No Grave doesn’t set itself up for a direct sequel starring Ryder, of course, but there’s plenty of potential for a sequel or successor in the book’s fantastical world. Nonetheless, Ain’t No Grave is a jaw-dropping, heartbreaking, and action-packed Western tale, and it gives iconic Western stories like Red Dead Redemption and The Gunfighter a run for their money.
Eisner Award-winning writer SKOTTIE YOUNG and TRANSFORMERS artist JORGE CORONA—the team behind the hit series MIDDLEWEST and THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK—are back with a brand-new genre-bending tale of love, loss, bullets, and death: AIN’T NO GRAVE! This Unforgiven-style journey is an original macabre Western/fantasy tale for mature readers, told through a Guillermo Del Toro-esque lens.
Ryder put her violent past behind her when she fell in love and became a mother. But that was before she learned it was all going to be taken away. It’s not the first time Ryder has been wanted. She picks her guns back up and rides to the city at the edge of the world to kill the one trying to rob her of her life…death.
Collects AIN'T NO GRAVE #1–5
Image Comics’ Ain’t No Grave TP, collecting issues #1–5, is out now.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.