Look there, on the horizon, see the lonely lawman sitting tall in the saddle, approaching through the haze. That would be the ex-sheriff from these parts, James Comey, heading back to town to settle a thing or two with the bad hombre who drove him away.

Townsfolk buzz with anticipation. Maybe, just maybe, the reign of lawlessness they’ve suffered could be drawing to an end. So if you can’t quite make out the colour of the lawman’s hat through all that dust, don’t worry, pardner. Sheriff Comey is more than happy to set you straight.

‘Trust me,’ he grins. It’s very, very white.

Not so sure yourself? No worries; you’ll be able to decide for yourself in no time.

Seen this western before? That’s what the fired ex-FBI director Comey is counting on as he lays publicity siege to US media outlets to mark the publication of his memoir, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, which will be released on Tuesday in the US.

Due for release on Tuesday in the US, several major news outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, have already presented pretty detailed accounts of what’s in the book.

You can read The New York Times story here.

More weapons – and no doubt some blood – will be drawn Sunday night, when Comey goes one-on-one here with ABC News host and former Clinton White House official George Stephanopolous.

ABC began touting the appearance six weeks ago, and this week began running breathless promos hinting at Comey bombshells.

Comey will be ubiquitous the rest of the week, appearing with late-night satirist Stephen Colbert, daytime TV women’s chat squad The View, partisans from both Fox TV and MSNBC, and The New Yorker’s David Remnick.

Then there’s the 10-city publicity/speaking tour. The Washington Post reported last week that Comey’s New York City appearance, where tickets were officially priced at an already-astonishing $US95 ($122), is fetching up to $850 ($1093) per ticket on re-sale site Stubhub.

Ex-FBI boss Comey testifies at the Senate Intelligence Committee in June. Photo: Getty

It all seems a bit odd for a man who would be the first to tell you how much he values integrity, probity and the rule of law.

But Comey’s personal history has long been a mix of public service and self-regard. He has spent his life working for the US government while cultivating a reputation for judicial derring-do, which first came to light when he took on President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in the early 2000s. A laconic Gary Cooper in a Brooks Brothers suit he is not.

Instead, he is the man whom many hold responsible for getting the US into this national ‘High Noon’ in the first place. Against the advice of his boss, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Comey broke with FBI tradition during the 2016 campaign and publicly chastised presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her private e-mail shenanigans.

Then, just 11 days before the election, he announced the FBI had reopened its e-mail probe. The new investigation was short-lived but the damage was done. Many experts, and Clinton herself, believe the announcement doomed her candidacy.

Once in office, Trump allegedly demanded Comey’s “loyalty”. When that wasn’t forthcoming, Trump fired him, offering a variety of rationales before blurting out the real reason: Comey’s refusal to back off the Russian collusion probe, now led by special counsel (and Comey’s predecessor at the FBI) Robert Mueller.

It is precisely the ongoing nature of that inquiry that makes Comey’s PR parade unsettling. Wouldn’t an official so dedicated to the sanctity of the investigative process bite his tongue until all the work was done? Does he not fear his tale-telling will sully, or muddy or perhaps imperil the integrity of Mueller’s work? Does he not trust that Mueller’s report—which surely includes Comey’s own testimony before the Mueller grand jury—will bolster his side of things?

Comey can’t control how the press is promoting this upcoming gun battle with Trump, but he must see how it’s all playing out like a reality-TV episode.

None of it does anything to bolster the notion of the rule of law, or institutions before individuals. Trump famously branded Comey a “showboat” after firing him. God knows what bon mots he’ll start tossing once Comey begins to unload.

If Comey’s appearances end up being nothing more than score-settling and image-buffing, a lot of people won’t be seeing a white hat. They’ll be seeing a hat that doesn’t fit, because the sheriff’s head seems too big.

And that’s good news for the bad guys.

Larry Hackett is the former editor-in-chief of People magazine, and a current contributor to the US morning television news program Good Morning America