The story is exciting and the characters are likable. I wish that the color of it wasn't all grey, but I suppose it suits the environment. I don't know if the mystery really holds up or makes complete sense after the reveal, but I didn't mind too much. I had enjoyed it a lot. ( )

This is a very interesting graphic novel, one like I have never read before. Though I am not a huge fan of western-like literature or film, the author puts a unique twist on this book. I would recommend this graphic novel to adolescents. ( )

This book is not only gorgeous... but it smells good. Printed on high quality, silky smooth paper. A keeper! ( )

Summary: Daisy Kutter has given up the outlaw life and gone straight - although not as straight as her Tom, her ex-flame and current sheriff. She was the best, but she swears she's gone straight, until she gets an job offer that she can't refuse. But this is it: one last train robbery, and then she's done. However, unsurprisingly, not everything is as it seems, and the heist doesn't quite go according to plan...

Review: I pulled this one off the library shelf on the sole basis of recognizing Kibuishi's name from the Flight anthologies. And: what a find! It's not a straight-up western, but a blend of western and steampunk (there are robots), but the setting (while cool) is not the star. That honor belongs to Daisy herself, and she's a fantastic character: tough but not hard, confident but not swaggering, snarky and capable and awesome. The story's a pretty standard heist-western (well, except for the girl train robber and the robots and all), but Kibuishi's style makes the most of the action, and there are little infused touches of emotion throughout. I'd happily read more of Daisy's adventures, but seeing as this book came out in 2006 with no hint since of a sequel, that may be wishful thinking. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: The sensibility and humor of this story and the blend of sci-fi and western makes fans of Firefly the obvious recommended audience (hooray, Browncoats!), but I think Daisy's got the chops to win over most readers. ( )

Daisy Kutter used to be train robber. The best there ever was. And she used to be partners (and perhaps more) with Tom. But those days are long past and Tom is now the Sherif and Daisy is owner of local general store...and bored out of her mind. She can't acclimate herself to "normal" life like Tom can. She misses the action and the adventure of being a train robber. But she won't go back to it. Till one night...she loses the store in a poker game to Mr. Withers. And Mr. Withers has a proposition: try to rob his train and test his new security robots. And he's willing to pay, rather well. While Daisy plans the robbery, Tom decides to take a vacation and tag along...just to watch out for her. But everything isn't as it appears to be. And Daisy and Tom are fighting to survive.

Set in a steampunk version of the old west, where robots and humans live together, Kibuishi creates a masterful story with a great deal of humor mixed in. You know that classic stoic character in every old west movie? Well that's Daisy. But instead of being played by some curmudgeonly old man who learns something about life by the end of the movie, it's played instead by a young woman...who may or may not learn something by the end of the book. It's a nice change of pace to something that could otherwise be a common story. The characters are written with humanity and they it's easy to relate to them and understand both of their perspectives, even for such a short story. Kazu expertly sets everything up in just a few short pages so it feels like we've known the characters for ever. The story itself has a nice pace to it never making the reader wait to see what happens, but instead keeping them just on the edge of their seat to see what's happening and to see what comes next. While readers might be able to guess what happens at the end of the story, they won't be able to predict what happens in between.

The artwork has the same bit of elegance and detail that can be found in Kibuishi's current series, The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1), but in a bit simpler style. This story is illustrated completely in black and white, with gray tones instead of color, but Kibuishi uses these colors effectively to create a lot of depth and energy to the characters. With just a few simple lines Kibuishi gives us memorable characters that keep us coming back for more. I especially love the close ups of the characters eyes, particularly Daisy's. When those happen we get a real sense of who the character is and the emotion that they're feeling at the time.

Like the title says, this is my favorite graphic novel of all time. It was the first one I ever picked up so yeah it hold some sentimental value, but the combination of a great story and great artwork make this a must read for anyone. My one complaint...no sequel (although there is a short story in Flight volume 6)! ( )