‘Reed Gunther’ Rides Tall and Goofy at Image [Exclusive Preview]

On sale in June is the first issue of Reed Gunther, a delightfully anarchic all-ages series from Images Comics. Created by brothers Shane Houghton and Chris Houghton, the heavily buzzed-about book depicts the exploits of the lovably inept cowboy adventurer Reed Gunther and his curiously bright and typically frustrated grizzly bear, Sterling. In advance of the June release, Image Comics has provided ComicsAlliance with an exclusive four-page Reed Gunther story that succinctly introduces the characters and what you can expect from issue #1.The brothers Houghton self-published four issues of Reed Gunther in black and white that buzzed them up to a full-color reprint from Image. Their indie efforts also earned the Houghtons fans including Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai, B.P.R.D. artist Guy Davis and Archaia's Fraggle Rock writer Sam Humphries. Following the full-color rerelease of Reed Gunther #1-4 and its paperback collection, the Houghtons and Image will come out with all-new Reed Gunther stories.

In "Animal Intimidation," which you can see only at ComicsAlliance, Reed demonstrates his admirable bravado and unfortunate knack for hopelessly stupid plans by helping a town defend itself from marauding ghosts. Naturally, it'll be up to Sterling to sort it all out.

On sale June 1, Reed Gunter #1 can be pre-ordered now at finer comics shops (which basically means you just ask them to get you one, it's as simple as that) or online from Things From Another World. For much more on the project, check out the Houghtons' Reed Gunther website.