Christmas on the Prairie SUPER-STAR HOLIDAY SPECIAL Jonah Hex in "Fawn and the Star"

Unseen since publication in 1980...

...this over 40 year-old Yuletide tale offers us insight into how and why Jonah Hex turned into who he was!

Written by Michael Fleisher, penciled by Dick Ayers, and inked by Romeo Tanghal, this story appeared in DC Special #21 (1980): Super-Star Holiday Special, an anthology featuring all-new Xmas tales starring Batman, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Sgt Rock, Jonah Hex, and the hosts/stars of DC's mystery comics.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Halloween on the Prairie "WereWolf Goes West"...in B/W AND Color!

Two years ago, we presented "Vampire Goes West"...

...so, this time, it's a lycanthrope in the Weird West during the Halloween season...with a surprise guest-star tossed-in!

Appearing in the HTF tabloid Monster Times #24 in 1973 (where it was printed at full original art size), this tale featuring a cameo by the Masked Rider of the Plains and his Faithful Indian Companion was penned by Nicola Cuti and rendered by Frank Brunner.

Then, we discovered it had been reprinted in Eclipse's Unknown Worlds of Frank Brunner #2 (1985)...

...in full, bloody cool, color!

It's a Halloween season treat (no trick) to you, faithful readers!

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Wicked West

Volume 1

Halloween Horror VANGUARD ILLUSTRATED "Ballad of Hardcase Bradley"

 This story is similar in concept to another tale we ran HERE and HERE....

...but this sinister short from Pacific's Vanguard Illustrated #7 (1984) was never reprinted!

Artist George Evans was a major contributor to EC Comics in the 1950s, including their horror comics and MAD,

The influences of both can be seen in this story.

Trivia: this issue also featured the first appearance of Michael T Gilbert's Mr Monster, who continues to this day!

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Wicked West

Volume 1

Dynamic Duos in Classic Films Blogathon "Conclusion" LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER

The last appearance on the silver screen before the current movie was in 1981...

...during a brief flurry of comic-themed big-budget movies including Superman: the Movie, Flash Gordon, and Popeye. as well as the pulp/comic/movie serial-inspired Star Wars (Empire Strikes Back) and Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark) series.

Michael Horse as Tonto and Klinton Spilsbury as John Reid/Lone Ranger.

The film followed the long-established origin seen HERE and HERE fairly well, but expanded Tonto's role to make him more of a teacher and equal partner than previous versions, as well as having Tonto speak colloquial English.

Male model Klinton Spilsbury as Reid/Ranger makes his only film appearance here, looking the part,and moving well in action sequences, but totally-unable to act or even speak clearly. (He was dubbed by James Keach.)

Michael Horse, who went on to ongoing roles in Twin Peaks, Roswell, and most recently, Sons of Tuscon, plays Tonto as the more thoughtful of the duo.

There's no chemistry between the duo, unlike the Clayton Moore/Jay Silverheels relationship which, though unequal, was clearly close friends who trusted each other implicitly.

To give the film a contemporary action-adventure feel, James Bond composer John Barry did the score (incorporating the William Tell Overture, of course).
Like the previous feature film, Lone Ranger and the City of Gold, this film introduced a narrative song (sung by Merle Haggard, who narrated the movie).
Unfortunately, there's no video of it on YouTube...
Trivia: the narrator of the trailer is Fred Foy who introed and narrated most of the the radio/TV Lone Ranger episodes!
We hope you've enjoyed our look at the movie career of The Lone Ranger and Tonto.as part of the Dynamic Duos of Classic Films Blogathon.
Previous entries are...
the two Lone Ranger movie serials in Hero Histories™
the two Lone Ranger feature films shot during the run of the tv series and starring the tv cast at Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™
See many, many other "Dynamic Duos in Classic Film" at this LINK to the blogathon participants!