Coyote Run

In this wordless, enigmatic Western, prisoner Coyote escapes into the desert, with the burro-like sheriff in hot pursuit. There, entranced by the lights of tiny insects, the two drop their weapons, share a meal, and ultimately ride a swarm of the magical insects into the bright white sky. Dorémus's spare desert scenes, rendered in delicate line and crosshatching, set off the solid-looking characters to good effect.

The law -- that is, a sheriff resembling a burro -- has just roped Coyote in; still, from the outset of this wordless Western from a French illustrator (Bear Despair), Coyote cares more about the insects that hover nearby (they look like ladybugs but glow at night). Snitching a deputy cat's keys and gun, she's out of jail and into the desert on a Shaun Tan sort of steed (a prairie dog?). The sheriff's hot pursuit soon turns amiable; entranced by the tiny airborne lights, the two drop their weapons and share a meal of bread, wine, and fish. When a posse of deputies catches up with them, the sheriff and Coyote escape together, riding a swarm of those magical insects into the bright white sky. Doremus's spare desert scenes, rendered in delicate line and crosshatching washed in sunset tones and shadow gray, set off the solid-looking characters to good narrative effect. Like Coyote herself, the meaning here is interestingly elusive -- and pleasantly benign, too. joanna rudge long