Monday, March 25, 2013

"A Night's Wages"

Even in the Old West, things are not always what they seem...
...as demonstrated in this short tale from the back of Dell's Hugh O'Brian: Famous Marshal Wyatt Earp #13 (1961)
This tale could've fit into any of the extensive volume of Western comics that filled the newsstands right before superheroes returned to dominate the comic book field in 1962.
It just happened to go in between stories in this title based on the Hugh O'Brian-starring tv series because of it's odd length, 4 pages. (Most short stories were at least 6 pages.)

BTW, the reason the title of the comic is the unwieldy "Hugh O'Brian: Famous Marshal Wyatt Earp" is that there were already two other Wyatt Earp comic books on the racks, based historical character, not the TV series version!
(For the record, they were Wyatt Earp from Atlas/Marvel Comics and Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal from Charlton Comics!)
Since many of the TV Westerns were based on real-life personalities, as soon as a tv series went on the air, both a licensed comic and numerous "unofficial" (but perfectly legal) series would pop-up.

Illustrated by the incredibly-versatile Alex Toth, at about the time he was transitioning from comic books into television animation.
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Monday, March 18, 2013

COWBOY SAHIB "Konchak the Cossack"

Despite not being the title character...
...Cowboy Sahib became the cover-featured character for this struggling ACG title from before his first appearance to the end of the book's run...which, unfortunately was this issue, his second appearance!
This tale from Hooded Horseman #26 (1953) was written by ACG editor Richard Hughes and illustrated by Leonard Starr, best known for his own newspaper comic strip Mary Perkins, On Stage, becoming the writer/artist of Little Orphan Annie after it was revived due to the success of the Broadway musical adaptation, and co-creating the animated series ThunderCats.
With the Hooded Horseman's cancellation, this storyline came to an end...or did it?
Not quite.
In 1954, with horror comics dying out due to the witch-hunt begun by Dr Fredric Wertham, ACG cancelled their line of terror titles.
However, since the second-class mailing licenses for the cancelled books were already paid for, the editors decided to continue the cancelled books' numbering with different subject matter including westerns and romance titles.
(Otherwise they'd have to pay new fees for  second-class mailing licenses for new series!)
In this case, Out of the Night, which ended with #17, was retitled Hooded Horseman as of #18!
The revived book continued the strips from the earlier version of Hooded Horseman, including Sahib Cowboy (who no longer had the cover slot).
As of #22, the Hooded Horseman rode off into the sunset for the last time.
Sahib Cowboy became the first strip to (technically) be cancelled before it began, since he ran from #25 to #26, then #18 to #22 in the same titled book!
There's more Sahib Cowboy to come!
Watch for him!

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Monday, March 11, 2013

TALES OF WELLS FARGO "Salt Water Man Hunt" Conclusion

Landing on an island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake, Hardie finds "Red" Larkin, the robber, burying his loot.
Hardie gets the drop on Larkin and orders him to surrender.
But Larkin is a sneaky son of a...
Written by Gaylord Dubois, penciled by Gil Kane, and inked by Russ Heath, this cover story from Dell's Four Color #1167 (1961) is an atypical tale of cowboys and, of all things, boats, combining Kane's dynamic storytelling and Heath's amazing attention to historical accuracy and slick inking style!
Dale Robertson starred in four Western TV series: Tales of Wells Fargo, Iron Horse, the final year of Death Valley Days, and (as a contemporary Western private eye) in J J Starbuck, as well as ongoing roles on two of the biggest nighttime soaps; Dallas and Dynasty!
Trivia: Dale was one of the few left-handed Western heroes!
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Monday, March 4, 2013

TALES OF WELLS FARGO "Salt Water Man Hunt" Part 1

Noted TV Western actor Dale Robertson passed away last weekend...
...so, in tribute, we're presenting a story based on his best-known (and longest-running) series, Tales of Wells Fargo...
Beware, Hardie!
"Red" Larkin is a sneaky cuss...as you'll discover next week!
Written by Gaylord Dubois, penciled by Gil Kane, and inked by Russ Heath, this cover story from Dell's Four Color #1167 (1961) is an atypical tale of cowboys and, of all things, boats combining Kane's dynamic storytelling and Heath's amazing attention to historical accuracy and slick inking style!
Dale Robertson starred in four Western TV series: Tales of Wells Fargo, Iron Horse, the final year of Death Valley Days, and (as a contemporary Western private eye) in J J Starbuck, as well as ongoing roles on two of the biggest nighttime soaps; Dallas and Dynasty!
Trivia: Dale was one of the few left-handed Western heroes!
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