Iron West

Lore & Background

The plot begins in California, 1898, when two miners discover an orb that makes an image of one of them. A robot rises from the ground and kills them with a pickaxe. Bounty hunter Strauss and his men track outlaw Preston Struck to Twain Harte. Struck is shot while escaping onto a train, but Strauss's men follow. On the train, Struck meets an elderly Native American shaman named Two Rivers, who vanishes as Strauss's men arrive to kill Struck. Robots dressed as cowboys attack the train with firearms, killing everyone except Struck, who jumps out the window. Sasquatch finds Struck and takes him to Two Rivers, who heals him.

Two Rivers explains that miners illegally dug for gold on his tribe's burial ground, unearthing an 'ancient cursed sphere' called the Demiurge, an alien that seeks to destroy all organic life. Two Rivers urges Struck to stop the Demiurge's robots, but Struck instead goes to San Francisco. He is attacked by a robot, falls into a quarry where robots are excavating more of themselves, and is chased into a cave where he blinds the robot. He encounters the Demiurge, who wants to turn California into a 'synthetic paradise.' The blind robot shoots at Struck's voice, damaging the Demiurge and temporarily shutting down the robots. Struck runs into Strauss, who captures him and ignores his warnings.

Struck is jailed in Twain Harte; the sheriff and Struck's distrustful love interest, Ms. Sharon, do not believe him. The robots attack, and the sheriff deputizes Struck, who takes Ms. Sharon and the sheriff's horse Copper to find Two Rivers. Strauss tries to stop him but is killed by a robot. Struck intends to flee with Ms. Sharon but is attacked by a robotic copy of himself. During the fight, a robot kills Copper and kidnaps Ms. Sharon. Struck defeats his robot by jamming its clothing into its exposed gears. Struck finds Two Rivers, who introduces him to the robots' 'natural enemy': a tribe of robotic Native Americans called 'engines.' The robots get the sheriff to surrender by holding Ms. Sharon hostage, but the disguised Struck and the engines stop them. Two Rivers casts a spell that turns a lizard into the Loch Ness Monster, which fights the robots. The Demiurge, encased in a train, activates and converts it into battle armor, killing the Monster. The sheriff is fatally shot and gives Struck his badge before dying, reuniting in Heaven with Copper. Struck wounds the Demiurge by blowing up the dynamite that is the ammunition for its revolver, then climbs the town's bell-tower and swings into its damaged arm with the bell's rope. He ties the rope to the Demiurge and allows it to pull itself out of the armor, causing the armor to fall and crush it, permanently deactivating the robots. Struck proposes to Ms. Sharon. Two Rivers and the engines go 'back to their home,' his tipi revealed to be a spaceship. Struck deputizes Sasquatch, and some years later, the two walk through a meadow with Ms. Sharon and her and Struck's two children.

Reader's Guide

Iron West is a standalone graphic novel that blends the American Old West setting with steampunk elements, particularly robots and advanced technology. Published by Image Comics in 2006, it represents Doug TenNapel's work in the steampunk Western subgenre, which combines historical frontier tropes with anachronistic machinery. The story's plot involves an alien entity called the Demiurge that seeks to replace organic life with a synthetic paradise, a theme common in science fiction. The novel incorporates Native American spiritual elements through the character Two Rivers and the robotic 'engines,' as well as fantastical creatures like Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster. Its significance lies in its creative fusion of genres and its exploration of themes such as environmental destruction, colonialism, and redemption. The work received attention from comic book media, including interviews and reviews on sites like Comic Book Resources, Comics Bulletin, and IGN. As a single-volume story, it offers a complete narrative without serialization, making it accessible to readers interested in experimental Westerns or steampunk fiction.

Did You Know?

• The story features a robotic copy of the protagonist Preston Struck.
• Two Rivers' tipi is revealed to be a spaceship at the end of the novel.
• The Demiurge is an alien that seeks to destroy all organic life and turn California into a 'synthetic paradise.'
• The sheriff reunites in Heaven with his horse Copper after being fatally shot.