The Sixth Gun

Shortly after the Civil War, Drake Sinclair is searching for the Hanging Tree—an oracle that can tell him how to access General Hume's vault, and the untold riches lying within. The souls of the tree tell Drake to seek out the Montcrief family. Meanwhile, Becky Montcrief is taking care of her dying stepfather, a preacher. Just as he asks Becky to toss an old wooden case into the deepest fishing hole she can find, they're attacked by agents of the Pinkerton Agency (who were hired by Hume's wife, Missy) and some thugs. The preacher removes a gun from the case and shoots several of the men, only to be shot and killed himself. Becky picks up the gun and shoots another man, but is captured immediately afterward. Drake shows up that evening, seeing he's too late. He interrogates one of the surviving men, who explains they were hired by a woman in the town of Brimstone.

At the same time, four bandits, each wielding one of the six pistols, attack and kill everyone in a monastery to retrieve Oliander Bedford Hume's body. Hume, thanks to his dark dealings, is undead; his imprisonment on holy ground has left him weakened. The five head back to Brimstone, where Missy Hume is interrogating Becky. Drake finds them, shoots Missy in the head, and frees Becky. Seeing that she is now bound to her stepfather's/Hume's gun, Drake forces her to come with him. On their way back upstairs, they learn that Missy isn't dead; she runs to the bar and gets her men. Billjohn O'Henry (Drake's partner) holds them off, but then Hume and his "Four Horsemen" burst into the bar. After a shootout between the two groups, Billjohn, Sinclair, and Becky manage to escape into the woods.

On the road, Drake explains that Hume was a general for the Confederacy, reviled for the atrocities he and his men committed. Somehow, he came into possession of six magical guns, each of which is more powerful than an ordinary pistol and never needs to be reloaded. Additionally, each has a unique power: one strikes with the force of a cannon, one shoots Hellfire, one inflicts a flesh-rotting disease on those it wounds, one can call up those it kills as golem-like servants, and one allows its wielder to survive any wound. The titular Sixth Gun (formerly Hume's, but now Becky's) grants visions of the past and future. Hume was brought down by a group of men, including a preacher named VonAllmen. One of the few survivors, he had Hume bound in cold iron and secreted at the monastery, then took the Sixth Gun to safeguard it and fled—eventually changing his name to Montcrief and marrying Becky's widowed mother.

The next day, Drake tricks Becky into having another vision—the Maw, and decides that's where they'll head next. The trio settles down for some shut-eye. Becky, having received a vision that reveals that Drake used to work with the Horsemen, steals one of the horses and runs away. She's intercepted by Will Arcene (the bandit wielding the flame gun), who in turn is killed by the Thunderbird. Becky flees, only to run right into Hume and his followers. Billjohn and Drake stumble upon Will Arcene's body, take his flame gun, and follow Becky's trail.

Back at the camp Becky is held hostage but is saved by the Thunderbird. As Mr. and Mrs. Hume realize their army is being destroyed by the giant beast, Bloodthirsty Bill tries to kill Becky; she is saved by Billjohn and Drake. Drake sets Bloodthirsty Bill on fire as the three escape. Hume tries to fight the Thunderbird; Bloodthirsty Bill (badly burnt, but still alive) returns and uses his gun with the force of a cannon to slay the beast. The next day Drake Sinclair, Billjohn, and Becky set up a trap for Silas, one of the remaining Horsemen; Silas is killed, and Drake takes possession of the Fourth Gun, using it to take control of Silas's golem army.

A five-issue spin-off featuring General Hume's horsemen: Bill Sumter, Ben Kinney, Will Arcene, and Silas Hedgepeth.

A five-issue spin-off featuring Brother Roberto Vargas and Jesup Sutter.

A three-issue spin-off miniseries featuring Billjohn O'Henry.[3]

A three-issue spin-off miniseries.[4]

The Sixth Gun and Shadow Roads have been collected into the following trade paperbacks:

There will be six hardcover collections, in both standard and limited edition Gunslinger varieties with all six hardcovers (the fifty issues of the regular series, plus all the spin-offs) released by the end of 2017.[6]

Through 2012, The Sixth Gun has been nominated for two Eisner Awards[7] and three Harvey Awards.[8]

On July 22, 2011 it was announced that The Sixth Gun would be adapted into a six-part mini-series to air on the SyFy channel,[9] however this did not come to fruition.

In 2013 NBC ordered a pilot based on The Sixth Gun, and Laura Ramsey,[10] W. Earl Brown, Graham McTavish and Aldis Hodge were cast. Additional cast included Michiel Huisman as Drake Sinclair,[11] Pedro Pascal as Agent Ortega[12] and Elena Satine as Missy Hume. On May 8, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that NBC had passed on the series.[13]

In 2015, Pinnacle Entertainment Group published the official role-playing game based on The Sixth Gun utilizing the Savage Worlds rules system. The core rulebook is written by Scott Alan Woodard.