The True Death of Billy the Kid

Tales of the Wild West still continue to fascinate readers and authors alike. In a way, they are a way to explain most of American history and are where most of our folktales and folklore come from. One of those fabled people who lived larger than life was Billy the Kid. He was a young outlaw renegade, a man who played by his own rules and wasn’t afraid to kill in cold blood if need be. This short graphic novel recounts Billy the Kid’s final days in New Mexico as he escapes from prison by shooting his way out and then hides out with the local Spanish-speaking population until he is found and shot in the dark by deputies. In a way, his life could be read as representing how certain types of people, the lower class, were kept in their place as more and more “proper” Americans moved to the area. While a short book, it will help bring readers insight into how tales like this still live large to this day. Rick Geary does an excellent job in a short amount of space getting his story across, conveying that Billy the Kid was a more complicated and, dare to say, human than many people give him credit for.