Western Comics Adventures: 05/01/2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

THE LONE RANGER "Doomed Driver"

"A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty 'Hi-Yo Silver'..."

...cue The William Tell Overture, and "return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear!"

One of the early multi-media superstars, The Lone Ranger was everywhere from the 1930s to the 1960s, when Westerns started a fadeout.
This tale, from 1959's Lone Ranger #131 was based on the tv series incarnation starring Clayton Moore (or John Todd for one year) as The Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.
Written by Paul S. Newman, the pencils look like Curt Swan, who, several years later, would become the primary artist on Superman from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s!

Next: Another real-life or "reel-life" Western star!
(we haven't made up our minds, yet!)

Check out our
Western Comics online store...

...for duds and provisions!

Monday, May 23, 2011

JOHN WAYNE "Meets the Music Maker"

We go from a real-life gunman to a reel-life actor best known for Westerns...

From John Wayne Adventure Comics #15.

In the 40s and 50s, a number of Western movie, radio, and tv stars (not characters, stars) had comics based on them, including Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, Charles Starrett, Tim Holt, and Lash Larue. Even co-stars and sidekicks like Dale Evans and Gabby Hayes had titles!
Stars like Buster Crabbe and John Wayne also had comics which primarily ran Western tales, but also did stories based on the other genres they appeared in.
In the case of The Duke, his title also had WWII and high adventure stories.
Interestingly, the stories featured John Wayne as John Wayne, not as a character like Rooster Cogburn or Ethan Edwards!

Next, a story featuring one of the most famous Western characters of all!

Check out our
Western Comics online store...

...for duds and provisions!