Russkies, Flying Saucers...and Cowboys? SPACE WESTERN COMICS "Spurs Sees RED!"

Space Western Comics (the ORIGINAL Cowboys vs Aliens) returns...

...but this time, the threat is Commies with a flying saucer!

(Hey it was the 1950s!)

Sadly, the Russkies didn't even salvage a crashed alien ship and retro-engineered it's tech.

It's just a disguised Flying Wing...which both we and they were working on at the time.

(We were also working on our own flying saucers, but don't tell the Russkies!)

Art on this tale was by John Belfi, with a script by Walter (The Shadow) Gibson!.

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Lunar Russkies! SPACE WESTERN "Spurs Jackson and His Space Vigilantes Battle the Red Menace Beyond the Moon"

Didn't think we could do a Western-themed blog post that related to travel to the Moon?

Then you don't know about Charlton's 1950s title, Space Western Comics, which we covered HERE!

And, because it was the 1950s...there had to be Russkies lurking about...

This seldom-reprinted (once in b/w in 1992) tale from Charlton's Space Western Comics #43 (1953) was written by Walter (The Shadow) Gibson and illustrated by Stan Campbell.
Considering how poorly the Russkies are doing in Ukraine, it's doubtful they ever could've mounted an attempt at lunar conquest!

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SPACE WESTERN "Spurs Jackson and His Space Vigilantes Battle the Red Menace Beyond the Moon"

Didn't think we could do a Western-themed blog post that related to travel to the Moon?

Then you don't know about Charlton's 1950s title, Space Western Comics, which we covered HERE!

So, in tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first landing of men on the Moon, we're re-presenting this funky tale for your enjoyment!

And, of course, because it was the 1950s...there had to be Communists lurking about...

This seldom-reprinted (once in b/w in 1992) tale from Charlton's Space Western Comics #43 (1953) was written by Walter (The Shadow) Gibson and illustrated by Stan Campbell.

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SPACE WESTERN Hank Roper in "Battle of Spaceman's Gulch"

It's been awhile since we looked in on Spurs Jackson and His Space Vigilantes...

...so here's a tale involving cowboys and aliens (what a great title for a movie!) and a convention of sci-fi fans!

(Before you make a snarky comment about "They had sci fi conventions way back then?", sci fi cons date back to, at least, 1938!)

Written by Walter Gibson and illustrated by Stan Campbell, this tale from Charlton's Space Western #43 (1953) is probably the first comic story to feature science fiction (instead of comic book) fans involved in the story!

SPACE WESTERN: "Geronimo's Return!" & "Trip to the Moon"

Let's start off the New Year with a finale!

The month after Space Western reverted to Cowboy Western, this story, featuring the Space Vigilantes, appeared, unheralded, in the back of Charlton's Cowboy Western Comics #46 (1953)!

To make the closure complete, here's the very last appearance of Spurs Jackson himself, from the same issue...

Art on both stories by John Belfi.

That was it for the first sci-fi/western comic.

Cowboy Western Comics remained an anthology of various strips, some based on real Westerners like Wild Bill Hickok and Annie Oakley, and some fictional characters like Golden Arrow, whom Charlton Comics had acquired from Fawcett Comics when it went out of business.

As of #59, the generic Wild Bill Hickok strip became an adaptation of the TV/radio series Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok starring Guy Madison as Hickok and Andy Devine as Jingles.

The covers also featured a new "Wild Bill" logo and illustrations of Madison and Devine.

As of #68 the book changed it's title to Wild Bill Hickok and Jingles, continuing until #75 in 1959, ending simultaneously with the TV/radio show.

SPACE WESTERN: Strong Bow in "Return of the Aztecs"

Another of the "Space Vigilantes" takes center stage...

...as Strong Bow meets up with Aztecs from the stars in this tale from Charlton's Space Western Comics #42 that could've inspired Chariots of the Gods!

Like The Lone Ranger's partner, Tonto, Spurs' associates can certainly handle themselves against aliens, or Commies, or any other threat when the boss is out of town!
Penciled and inked by versatile artist John Belfi, who did a little of everything for almost every comic publisher in the 40s-50s before moving over to newspaper syndicate work both on strips and editorial illustration.

SPACE WESTERN: Spurs Jackson in "Outlaws of Mars"

You just can't get enough of Space Western Comics...

...so here's another tale from #42, featuring the return of Queen Thula and the Martians!

Politics is the same, no matter what planet you're on...
While the writer is unknown, the artist is Stan Jackson, who did almost all the stories (both Spurs' and his Space Vigilantes' solo tales).