Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel)

The Witcher meets The Dresden Files meets Jonah Hex in DEAD ACRE: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel), the bestselling supernatural fantasy western smash #1 audio book and eBook in print and as a graphic novel for the first time!

Demons. Monsters. Witches. His sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down.

James Crowley met his mortal end in a hail of gunfire. Now, he finds himself in purgatory, serving the White Throne to avoid falling to hell. Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his servitude and fade away.

His not-so-sacred duty as a Hand of God? Use his new abilities to hunt down demonic beings that have infiltrated the mortal realm.

The White Throne has sent him to the middle of nowhere: a western town called Dead Acre with a saloon, a moldy church, and little else worth talking about. There isn't even a sheriff. But the local cobbler has gone missing at the same time as a number of graves were desecrated.

Crowley must follow the clues, all while dealing with a cutthroat gang which treats Dead Acre like they own it, an extraordinary woman who makes it hard to focus, and locals not keen on strangers.

Life isn't simple for a Demon Hunter.

Dead Acre: Black Badge Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel ) is written by New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Riley Brown.

For fans of Deadwood, Pale Rider, High Plains Drifter, Red Dead Redemption, Jonah Hex, Bone Tomahawk, Red Dead Redemption, The Dresden Files (Jim Butcher), The Sixth Gun (Cullen Bunn), The Gunslinger (Stephen King), The Dark Tower series (Stephen King), Blood and Shadows (Joe Lansdale), Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy), Trail of Lightning (Rebecca Roanhorse), Lone Woman (Victor Lavalle), Pretty Deadly (Kelly Sue DeConnick), Longmire (books and tv), Pretty Deadly (Kelly Sue DeConnick), Preacher (Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon), Saint of Killers, East of West (Jonathan Hickman/Nick Dragotta), Loveless (Brian Azzarello), Red Rabbit (Alex Grecian), Shadow on the Sun (Richard Matheson), I Travel By Night (Robert McCammon), Last Road Out of Perdition (Robert McCammon), American Vampire (Scott Snyder), West of Sundown (Tim Seeley/Jim Terry), Unbury Carol (Josh Malerman), Skin Medicine (Tim Curran), A Book of Tongues (Book 1 in the Hexslinger Series by Gemma Files), Wynonna Earp, Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman, and weird westerns.

Original prose series written by USA Today Bestseller Rhett C. Bruno and Audie Nominated author Jaime Castle.

Black Badge (Original Series) Awards:

• Nominated for a 2023 Audie Award
• Won Best Fantasy for 2022 on Audible
• Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Nominee for Fantasy (2022)
• Won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Paranormal Awards for Supernatural Fiction.

PRAISE FOR DEAD ACRE: Black Badge Vol. 1 graphic novel:

"A gritty, supernatural western that ain't for wimps. Completely badass."--Matt Dinniman, New York Times Bestselling author of Dungeon Crawler Carl

"A gorgeously illustrated midnight ride through the Weird West - Red Dead Redemption by way of Supernatural, with an extra shot of High Plains Drifter." --Travis Baldree, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust, and Brigands & Breadknives

"Never have I seen fantasy so well enmeshed with the western genre as when I stepped into Crowley's boots in graphic novel form!"-- Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2)

"Dead Acre sets a new bar for comic book Westerns--every page is electric. Grab your six-shooter and take aim at the saloon doors because here comes the coolest gunslinger of all, James Crowley!" -- Sean Gordon Murphy (Batman: White Knight and Zorro: Man of the Dead)

"Dead Acre is a blazing, bullet-riddled ride through the afterlife and back--where justice is divine, and evil bleeds. Impossible to put down." -- Jeremy Robinson (New York Times Bestselling author)

PRAISE FOR THE BLACK BADGE (eBook) series from Aethon:
"A gritty romp sure to please fans of Jim Butcher and Mike Carey." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A weird Western starring a taciturn lone gunman who will remind readers of Andrzej Sapkowski's Geralt of Rivia." --Library Journal

"A badass supernatural western...It's like the Witcher goes to Tombstone." --Larry Correia, New York Times bestselling author of Monster Hunter International

"Take an undead outlaw hero, match him villains of the most devilish kind, and string it all together with a plot that has more twists and turns than a hangman's noose." --Matt Forbeck, New York Times bestselling author

"Imaginative, fun, and exciting!"--Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Dune: House Atreides

"The rich mystical elements feel every bit as authentic to the west as the gunslinging and grit, all of which deftly bring the characters and setting to life." --Shirtaloon, Top 10 Amazon charts bestselling author of He Who Fights with Monsters

"Mashes gunslingers, divine intervention, and the supernatural into one hell of a story. Highly recommended!" --Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of V-Wars and Kagen the Damned

"Dark, gritty, and ultimately satisfying." --Joseph Nassise, New York Times bestselling author of the Templar Chronicles

"If you love Westerns, a well-worn and much-loved genre, you will wholeheartedly enjoy this book.

Author: Cullen Bunn
Publisher: Vault Comics
Published: 10/07/2025
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.68lbs
Size: 10.10h x 6.73w x 0.29d
ISBN: 9781638492771

About the Author
CULLEN BUNN is the writer of comic books such as THE SIXTH GUN, HARROW COUNTY, BONE PARISH, THE DAMNED, THE EMPTY MAN, THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR, BASILISK, SHADOWMAN, and many other titles including The Last Book You'll Ever Read for Vault Comics. He has fought for his life against mountain lions and performed on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist.

Riley Brown is a comic book penciler/inker and illustrator based in Murfreesboro, TN. Drawing has always been a mainstay for Riley. However, in recent years he decided to pursue a career in comics full time.

Rhett C Bruno is the USA Today and Washington Post Bestselling & Nebula Award Nominated Author of the 'Black Badge Series', 'Children of Titan Series', 'Buried Goddess Saga', 'Vicarious', 'The Roach', and 'The Luna Missile Crisis' (Audible Originals); among other works.

He has been writing since before he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic stories when he was young to show to his friends and family. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Aethon Books.

Jaime Castle (Steve Beaulieu) is a #1 Audible Bestseller, Audible Originals author (Dead Acre, Baron Steele, The Luna Missile Crisis) and co-created and co-authored The Buried Goddess Saga, which includes the IPPY award-winning Web of Eyes.

Jaime hails from the great nation of Texas where he lives with his wife and two children and enjoys anything creative. He is also the co-founder and Creative Director of Aethon Books.