RAILROAD

Like the theme park roller coaster of the same name, “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” #1 packs wild colors, amazing sights and an expected amount of the unexpected. Writer Dennis Hopeless climbs aboard the locomotive and brings artist Tigh Walker, colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu and letterer Joe Caramagna to explore the adventurous landscape of the Arizona Territory in 1878. Caramagna makes an impact right away, peppering Walker’s artwork with the “BOOOOM” of an explosion, the comical “NOM NOM NOM” of a goat and the speech of a young lady as she seeks to shore up her confidence while riding into the unexpected. Caramagna carries that energy throughout the issue, and skillfully sculpts the oft-ample dialogue around Walker’s drawings. Walker’s work is solid throughout the issue, giving readers everything from billowing dress bustles to a billy goat chomping on dynamite. While most of his characters are conservatively animated, Walker does find instances to unleash, with overly dramati