Undead in the West II

Focusing on portrayals of the western frontier and the undead in cinema and television, the first Undead in the West (2012) book confined its analysis to a specific medium. Here, Miller and Van Riper widen their editorial scope to essays examining a myriad of Western genre bending formats: pulp fiction, comics, board games, video games, and blogs. The volume is thematically partitioned into four segments, each reflecting an iconic element of traditional Western narratives: pioneers, lawmen and gunmen, men of god, and communities. The first collection of essays examines the pioneering work of Robert E. Howard, Joe R. Landsdale, and many other writers, in broadening the boundaries of the Weird Western. Complicating the simplistic binary of 'good guy versus bad guy' in the Western narrative, the second collection of essays critically assess the genre hybridity of Stephen King’s The Gunslinger, the development of steampunk horror, and the ideology of Red Dead Redemption. Encounters with the undead by men of faith shapes the third part of the volume, exploring Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider and the graphic novel Priest. Analyzing the concept of community in AMC’s The Walking Dead, the role-playing game Deadlands, and fan Websites, the authors in the final section of the book parse concepts of gender, race, and national memory in portrayals and fans of the undead. Coupled with the first volume, Miller and Van Ripper have created a work of broad historical and critical synthesis. Ranging from pulp to video games, this robust collection of essays provides a much-needed foundational text in this ever-evolving genre. This work is recommended for both public and academic libraries, given the breadth and depth of the topic. * American Reference Books Annual *
The Western is dead: pundits have forever proclaimed such. So it seems both ironic and absolutely logical that in the postmodern era the form should be seen as vitally undead. Moreover, volumes like this one demonstrate that the Western's scholarship continues vigorously alive. -- Jim Kitses, author of Horizons West, Gun Crazy, and The Western Reader
Fans of comic books have no problem embracing stories that mash-up genres in an un-ironic way. I think these kinds of mash-ups can revitalize the genres being played with. Taking Western genre characters and placing them in non-genre stories or placing non-genre characters into Western genre settings is a great way to keep these stories fresh. -- Scott Stewart, writer, producer, director (Legion, Priest)
This book proves that the dead and the undead are the most alive things in the West. -- Stephen Graham Jones, author of Zombie Bake-Off, All the Beautiful Sinners, and The Fast Red Road: A Plainsong
Recommended for students of the horror genre and those who know vampires and zombies belong in the Old West mythos. -- Rocky Wood, president of the Horror Writers Association, and author of Stephen King: A Literary Companion