Christmas on the Prairie TARGET COMICS "Bull's Eye Bill"

 Yes, they celebrated the Yuletide in the Old West...

...although technically, this tale's about the contemporary (1940s) West!

Though the series started with a standard late-1800s Old West setting, after creator/writer/illustrator Bill Everett left, new writer, Bea Holmes, and artist L. Kennerly, began inserting contemporary references and technology.

By the time of this tale from Novelty's Target Comics #12, the series was firmly-set in the present-day.

In fact, in the very next issue, Bull's-Eye Bill was recruited by the Army for special duty to prevent sabotage at Western bases!

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

KITTY CARSON: RUFF RIDIN' GAL SHERIFF "Search for Gold"

For the Ruff Ridin' Gal Sheriff's final appearance on this blog...

...we're dealing with one of the classic situations of Old West stories...robbers attacking an isolated settler!

This never-reprinted tale by Bob Powell from Harvey's Kerry Drake Detective Cases #18 (1950) is definitely set in the late 19th-early 20th Century, not 1949-1950, as the earlier stories were!

The Final Chapters in Our Re-Presentation of Kitty Carson Will be at

Heroines!

Now and Friday!

KITTY CARSON: RUFF RIDIN' GAL SHERIFF "Frontier...Justice?"

After Her Previous 4-Page Episodes were Set in the "Present Day" (1949)...

...the "Ruff Ridin' Gal Sheriff" both loses a page per story, and is thrown back to the Old West!

Even with one less page than she previously-had, Kitty proves as ingenious as any lawman in this never-reprinted tale from Harvey's Kerry Drake Detective Cases #16 (1949), illustrated (and likely written) by Bob Powell!

Continue Kitty's Quest Against Crime!

Go to

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Now!

KITTY CARSON: RUFF RIDIN' GAL SHERIFF "Indian Revenge"

Indians (aka Native Americans or First Americans) are just people, too...

...as demonstrated in this never-reprinted story from Harvey's Kerry Drake Detective Cases #15 (1949)!

Will we see Peter White Wing again?

Only time will tell...

BTW, Though the event is mentioned in the opening panel, the strip never showed Kitty avenging her father's death!

Continue Kitty's Quest Against Crime!
Go to
Heroines!
Now!

KITTY CARSON: RUFF RIDIN' GAL SHERIFF "StageCoach Murders"

Let's Begin a Blogathon with a Never-Reprinted Tale of Law Enforcement...

...set in the then-present of 1949, and featuring a time-lost heroine!

Debuting in Harvey's Kerry Drake Detective Cases #12 (1949), this series, illustrated (and likely written) by Bob Powell ran through #20.

BTW, Though the event is mentioned in the opening panel, the strip never showed Kitty avenging her father's death.

Continue Kitty's Quest Against Crime!
Go to
Heroines!
Now!

Asians Out West ZIP COMICS "Nevada Jones: Quick-Trigger Man and the Jungle in the Desert"

In early 20th Century pop culture, the "Yellow Peril" could pop up anywhere...

...even the Old West, as this never-reprinted tale from MLJ's Zip Comics #9 (1940) demonstrates!

Why would a gunfighter using his real name need a mask?

Leaving that aside, the Nevada Jones strip was not your usual Western.
It was loaded with "high adventure" elements like ancient lost cities, mad scientists, and even criminals pretending to be supernatural demons/ghosts turning up in the tales.

So a Fu Manchu-type villain operating out of a hidden jungle in the desert was just another baddie to be captured or killed to the "Quick-Trigger Man"!
Artist Frank Volp started out illustrating pulp magazine stories, and added comic books to his already-crowded portfolio, working for both MLJ and Lev Gleason, doing everything from Westerns to crime to romance!
The writer of the feature is unknown.

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STAR RANGER "Trouble Shooters in Dude Ranch Dramatics"

What do cowboys do on Valentine's Day?

Apparently, they dress in women's clothing!

From Chester's Star Ranger #2 (1937), this never-reprinted short, written by George Nagle and illustrated by an unknown artist, is the only one of the series to feature cross-dressing.

Oddly, the strip started as "Trouble Hunters" in the previous issue, and continued after this tale with the name restored!

Why this one tale was labeled "Trouble Shooters" is unknown!

Two trivia notes:

There was no character named "Star Ranger" in Star Ranger!

This book, along with Comics Magazine Company's Western Picture Stories were the first Western comic books, coming out the same month in 1937!

Dick Ayers' THE ORIGINAL GHOST RIDER Original "Origin"

We mourn the passing of Dick Ayers, one of the unsung heroes of comics' Silver and Bronze Ages (who actually started at the tail-end of the Golden Age)...

Insert from the cover to Tim Holt #11. Art by Dick Ayers

...but celebrate his life and art, including the premiere of Dick's most famous co-creation, from the very first appearance in Magazine Entertainment's Tim Holt #11 (1949).

You'll note that when the origin was retold in the first issue of Ghost Rider's own title, supernatural elements were added.

But, oddly, the later version  of the origin doesn't show Rex Fury tracking down Bart Lasher, though that particular villain is shown in both versions to be responsible for Fury and Sing-Song's near-deaths!
You can read that retcon HERE.

While the full-face mask wasn't initially part of the origin, it was incorporated into the revised version along with an explanation for the new, white, horse the Ghost Rider was now using.

Written by Ray Krank with art by Dick Ayers.

For you completists, here's the full cover from that issue...

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THE ORIGINAL GHOST RIDER "Spectral Warrior"

Has it been almost a year since we ran a Ghost Rider tale?

Since it's almost Halloween, let's do something about that, with a never-reprinted story...

...from Magazine Enterprises' Ghost Rider #13 (1953).

Illustrated by co-creator Dick Ayers, it's typical of the stories, moody and entertaining, with what appears to be a supernatural threat simply being someone using tricks and misdirection to appear supernatural!
And isn't that the basic concept of "trick or treat"?

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WESTERN TRUE CRIME "Quantril: the Killer's Killer"

Yes, William Quantrill's name is mis-spelled in the title...

...but it's the least of the errors in this incredibly-inaccurate telling of the Lawrence Massacre, which occurred exactly 150 years ago today!

This never-reprinted tale from Fox's Western True Crime #4 (1949) has so many inaccuracies that I can't begin to detail them!
You can check out this site about the real massacre to see just how the comic story veered from fact!
Despite that, it's a wild tale featuring art by Johnny Craig, an-up-and-comer who would become a major illustrator for the legendary EC Comics line of the early 1950s on such titles as Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, and Weird SuspenStories!

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