The gun industry has finally managed to justify the existence of firearms in mainstream America...by making assassination legal. And of course there is an assassins guild and guidelines and an assassins etiquette that should be followed. Now, Doyle and Abby don't really have a lot of respect for any of that, until they find themselves broke, unable to land high paying kills, and beholden to the National Assassins Committee to even stay in good favor with anyone. The last thing they need is for their first NAC hit to go wrong, but when it ends up being Doyle's ex-girlfriend, all hell breaks loose. This is an absurd look at an increasingly vicious society, but its also the touching tale of two people brought close together by gun violence.

Doyle Harrington
For many years Doyle's best friend Abe and he were assassins together. After Abe's untimely death, Doyle partners up with Abe's sister, Abby, much to the chagrin of Abby and Abe's mother. Doyle is obviously attracted to Abby, but a lasting loyalty to his former partner and his own confused feelings about love and romance keep him at a distance. He is a lighthearted man, as is evinced by the novelty T-shirts he sports under his sports coat, but a heavy guilt over what may have happened years ago weighs on his conscience. He carries a monster Colt .45.

Abigail "Abby" Witt
Impulsive and juvenile to the core, Abby meant to go into the police academy, until the death of her brother and father spurred her leap into the field of professional assassination. She's a vegetarian because she believes killing animals is wrong. She is a little attracted to Doyle, too, but finds it hard to figure him out. She also understands her mother's issues with her gallivanting around as a hired gun and so calls her periodically to allay her mother's concerns. She carries an impressive double-barrel shotgun.

Clonie Harmon (a.k.a. Clonie Liebert)
Doyle's ex-girlfriend and his next hit. She is intelligent, charming and—much to Abby's chagrin—Doyle's age. Her involvement with the head of Brunson Armaments, one of the main advocates for legalizing assassination, has landed her in a tight spot, one that Doyle hopes to get her out of.

Gus
Their agent, as smarmy as they come. Every top assassin needs representation, and this guy is all Doyle and Abby can afford. But it's better than nothing.

Nathaniel Bowden (writer):
Dabbling in art as a child, Nathaniel was always interested in telling a story in his drawings. In a way, then, he started drawing comics before he could even read them. Over the last three years, he has penned the online comics hit Nate and Steve, drawn by Tracy Yardley. Riding Shotgun is his first professional book.

Tracy Yardley (artist):
Continually plagued by requests to draw "something" when it is revealed that Tracy is an artist, he is determined now to make a living out of it. His first comics outing was the online comic Nate and Steve which he created with Nathaniel Bowden. Riding Shotgun is his first professional book.

If you're a cold-blooded killer, all you need is a license.

I've always been a big fan of absurd comedy, and I've always been a sucker for dramatic stories of redemption. Well, here you go, both in one brilliant package. Nate and Tracy have conceived a society in which the gun industry has actually lobbied hard enough to push legalized assassination laws through Congress. Yes, violence in America is now sanctioned. And of course, in this world, there are protesters, and the background of the book is filled with loud objections to the existence of legal assassins. Not only is Riding Shotgun compelling on a dramatic level and hilarious on a comic level, but its also chilling on a thematic level, and that is why I am having a blast editing this book.

~Luis Reyes, Editor