Mix equal parts George Lucas, Miyazaki and Sergio Leone and you've got some idea what to expect from Daisy Kutter, the western/sci-fi adventure by Kazu Kibuishi. In structure, The Last Train is very much a pure western, complete with poker, a train heist, an outlaw struggling with her choice to live in or outside the law and a corrupt robber baron, but it has a sci-fi tweak in the form of a couple memorable robots and a quick-moving, animated style art look that helps to keep it light and fun. There's a good character arc underlying the story, but the real selling point is a jaw-dropping train robbery sequence in chapter three, and Kibuishi tells a really great story here that is fun on its own but has plenty of room for future stories as well.
You've got to hand it to Kibuishi, I don't think anyone has really done the game of Texas Hold'Em as a major setpiece in a comic before, and I'm quite sure nobody has made it this much fun. I'm a Celebrity Poker Showdown addict anyway, so I have a certain fondness for the game, but I was very surprised to see it turn up in a comic as a major set-piece. It helps that Kibuishi really does capture the suspense, the bluffing and the surprise turns of the cards in his Texas Hold'Em game and that the game helps to tell us things about Daisy's character and the character of her opponent, things that pay off nicely in the final chapter of the book. I wasn't sure that what was essentially an issue-long poker game worked in serial format, but it works perfectly in the trade collection when the whole story is in your hands.
The plot itself is a western genre standard. The retired outlaw, the "one last job," the way the character is reluctantly drawn into a world that she had given up, it's textbook western stuff. Same with the romantic story, about two characters whose love ended thanks to circumstances that had nothing to do with cooling feelings, and even the reversal in the heist are the kind of thing that we've seen before. However, rather than simply turning in something that is cliche, Kibuishi uses these familiar archetypes in a new style to create something fresh and yet instantly attractive to the reader. Even if you're no fan of the western, you'll have a hard time resisting the honest characterization between Daisy and Tom, and even if you aren't much for the relationship stuff, you'll have a hard time resisting the gunfight sequence in the third chapter.
Oh, and what a gunfight it is. Daisy Kutter is a good story, but I would have bought this trade for the train robbery sequence alone. Some very imaginative uses of "morphing" technology on a killer robot, put together with Kibuishi's manga-influenced, deliberately paced "every moment gets its own panel" style, leads to a hectic yet absolutely clear run and gun fight sequence as good as anything seen in the movies. There's another action sequence at the end, but it's more driven by emotion and reinforcing character issues than the pure, fun adrenaline rush of the train job.
Of course, Kibuishi's artwork is beautiful no matter what pace the story is moving at. The slow boredom of Daisy's everyday job is humorously conveyed in the opening sequence, and Kibuishi gives Daisy a lot of character with just a slight smirk or worried grimace on her face. Kibuishi's background in animation serves him well, allowing him to really give the reader perfected panel-to-panel storytelling, and his design aesthetic, most easily compared to a Miyazaki film set in the Wild West, is beautiful as well.
Along with a fun page-turner of a story, the Daisy Kutter trade is an example of how to do a collected edition right. The stylish design and bookstore perfect size are the kind of thing only design freaks like myself notice, but anyone can appreciate a good extras package, and Daisy Kutter: The Last Train has that too. Sketches and behind the scenes material, including a five stage "how it's done" feature by Kibuishi, makes a nice extra, and they're accompanied by Daisy Kutter sketches from a variety of indy and animation artists. Daisy Kutter is a great story in a great package. 9/10
