Staff Picks (September): The Leg

Publisher: Top Shelf Productions

Writer Van Jensen (Pinocchio Vampire Slayer) and artist Jose Pimienta (A Friendly Game) team up to give comics fans an atypical and action-packed Wild West adventure centered around an unlikely hero, the disembodied leg of the immensely famous Mexican president, Santa Ana.

Follow the leg (yes, just the leg) as he combats cantankerous criminals and battles brutish brujas in a mission to save the current Mexican president and atone for the notorious actions that his corporeal body was known for at the end of his life and political career. 

Beautifully crafted, The Leg is a story that seamlessly blends history, the supernatural, and fiction into a colorful whirlwind of graphic narration that is a fun (and at many times touching) adventure story. Regardless if you are familiar or not with Santa Ana’s fight to gain Mexico’s independence from Spain or his pivotal role in the Mexican War, this is a graphic novel that anyone can enjoy simply because it is a solid story with some of the most striking and emotive coloring I have seen in a long-time. 

Van Jensen and Jose Pimienta take an unlikely protagonist and truly put together a wonderful book that is perfect for anyone looking for something a little different than the typical comic fare!

~ Caitlin McCabe