Gunslinger: Carmen Veneno

Carmen’s grudge stems from an incident

caused by her infamous beauty

Illustration by Steven Lambert

No two Outlaws are the same, and that is especially true for Carmen Veneno. Wearing a red coat, red hat, and red gloves; Carmen stands out against the typical gruff and dirty Gunslingers in her Town. She is mysterious while standing out. Alluring, dangerous, and deadly in more than one way.

When Steven begins illustrating Life Out West characters, he is given a cartoon reference image (often just a headshot) and whatever content is on the character’s card. Sometimes we point out key features of the image or important elements of the character’s backstory, but more often than not, he just works on sketch ideas himself. A couple weeks later, Steven returns to our creative meeting with uncolored sketches, and the group discusses any edits before he begins the coloring process. When Steven shared the final, colored, image of Carmen; the whole team stopped and gasped, “Wow!”

I love many things about Steven’s drawings, and I just can’t get over his shading and highlighting style! It gives depth and movement with layered lines and colors. The detail on her hair, the subtle changes of color on her belt, and the way he approaches clothing; it makes her look like a filter of a real photograph. This illustration quickly made Carmen one of our signature characters and is testament to Steven’s talent.

As for Carmen herself, well, you get more than you bargained with when fighting her. While most Gunslingers have abilities related to winning a Shootout, Carmen’s ability comes into play only after her defeat. As a last strike, this femme fatale twists the mind of one of the defender’s Hired Hand, who soon joins her in death. One more victim, caught in the snare of “The Lady of Venom.”

Card: Outlaw

Ability: If she is killed in a Shootout, the Lawman must discard one Hired Hand.