Trick Pony

A queer rodeo star trudges home in this enigmatic graphic novel from Lockard (Liebestrasse). Jimmy Thomas, star of the Electric Rodeo, is losing his panache and too often his grip on the reins. His latest tumble earns a stern warning from a doctor, which Jimmy disregards (“I will ride into my grave”). But when word from his mom arrives that his dad is in the hospital, Jimmy saddles up his horse Emmylou and trots out of a dizzying, fantastically styled city. On his journey back through a desert landscape, he ruminates on his first love, a fellow rodeo hopeful whose career prematurely ended with a bad fall. As Jimmy reminisces, his path leads him into strange encounters, one-night stands, eerie visions, and dangers, such as a cattle’s horns alight with St. Elmo’s fire and a close encounter with a terrifying shape-shifting canine. David’s art has a sketchy, soft-focused quality that adds to the aura of mystery. Boldly colored backdrops imbue the narrative with a big-sky feel, whether in the city’s moody night clubs or the red rock loneliness of Jimmy’s trek. While many questions go unanswered—both about this magical world and Jimmy’s past—there’s a consistently tender emotional core. The result is a beguiling adventure. (June)