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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Golden Age Western Comics

Asians Out West LONE RANGER "Chinese Gold"

Though infrequent, there were Old West comic book tales involving Chinese who had come to America...

...such as this never-reprinted one from Dell's Lone Ranger #70 (1954).

"If you don't fight to preserve the rights of all Americans, someday you may find your race or your religion the object of some mob's prejudice!"

As John Wayne would say..."Words to live by, pilgrim!"

You'll note the Chinese miners are supporting characters and told to not bear arms in their own defense.
Yet, if they were Irish, Italian, or any White ethnicity, they'd be side by side with the Ranger and the townspeople!
If the story seems a bit "talky"/dialogue heavy, that's because it was adapted from a script for the May 31, 1952 episode of the Lone Ranger radio show which you'll be able to find HERE, at our "brother" RetroBlog Secret Sanctum of Captain Video tomorrow!

The writer who adapted the script to comics is unknown, but the illustrator (pencils and inks) is longtime Ranger renderer Tom Gill.

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Lone Ranger on Radio

CD Set

LOBO, the FIRST Black Character to Star in His Own Comic!

In 1966, the year the Black Panther debuted in Marvel's Fantastic Four...

...Dell Comics went them one better, introducing the first Black hero to get his own comic!

Other Black characters had their own series in anthology titles, but Lobo was the first to have his name AS the comic's title!

Lobo combined a couple of popular plot concepts...

Man on the Run for a Crime He Did NOT Commit

Exemplified by then-hit tv series The Fugitive, Lobo was framed, but couldn't prove his innocence.

Lone Western Hero

A loner wandering the Old West, righting wrongs was an especially popular genre in tv Westerns.

Variations on the theme included gamblers (Maverick) and martial-arts experts (Kung Fu)

Note: the tv series Branded also combined both the Loner and Man Framed themes!

...as well as a new concept:

Prominent Black character

Black characters (except for sterotypes like Amos 'n Andy) were few and far between on tv until the mid-1960s, and even then only as supporting characters (usually servants).

1960s urban dramas like Naked City and East Side, West Side, which dealt with current social themes had Black guest stars including James Earl Jones and Diana Sands, but no Black regulars.

Star Trek (1966) had both a Black regular character (Lt. Nyota Uhura) and Black actors in prominent roles as scientists and high-placed officers (admirals, etc,).

But, at that point, there were no tv series with a Black lead or Black title character!

(Diahann Carroll's groundbreaking series Julia didn't debut until 1968, two years later!)

So, Lobo was, to say the least, a daring experiment, albeit one with as many popular themes as possible to maximize sales potential!

Dell writer/editor Don (DJ) Arneson and artist Tony Tallarico felt the time was right, and managed to convince their publisher to take a chance.

You can read Arneson's tale of Lobo's creation HERE.

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

Many vendors refused to put a comic with a Black hero on their racks, and the book had an almost 90% return rate.

Lobo the comic ran only two issues.

It's rumored that a script and unfinished art exist for a third issue, but that's never been confirmed.

You can read both issues of Lobo HERE and HERE.

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Romance on the Range COWGIRL ROMANCES "Men Died for My Kisses!"

It's been a while since we've run a romance comic...

...and it's almost Valentine's Day, so we looked through the archives for the most sensational story title we could find!

This 1950 one-shot from Atlas Comics is either #1 (if you go by the cover numbering) or #28 (if you go by the indicia on the inside cover).

The #28 indicates it's a continuation of Jeanie Comics, a teen humor title which ended two months earlier with #27.

As for why it's a one-shot, it seems rival Fiction House released their own Cowgirl Romances simultaneously...or just before...Atlas.

Fiction House's title continued for 11 more issues while Atlas' book disappeared after this one appearance.

Neither the writer or artist(s) are known.

Fun fact: Atlas released six different Western romance titles in the early 50s, more than any other comics company...

Cowgirl Romances (1 issue)

Cowboy Romances (3 issues)

Love Trails (1 issue)

Rangeland Love (2 issues)

Romances of the West (3 issues)

Western Life Romances (3 issues)

You gotta give them credit.

When Atlas saw a hot trend, they jumped on it whole-heartedly!

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!

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

Confederate Comics GRAY GHOST "Point of Honor" Part 1

A Civil War Confederate Guerilla with His Own TV Series?

Yep, it happened...

...and here's a story from the two-issue comic book based on it!

To be Concluded
FRIDAY
at our 'brother" RetroBlog, Secret Sanctum of Captain Video!

The series portrayed Mosby as a Robin Hood-type rogue who just happened to serve the Confederacy.

He's shown to be a man of honor and moral conviction, and the matter of the actual reasons for the Civil War is never addressed!

This never-reprinted tale from Dell's Four Color Comics #911 (1958) is illustrated by Ray Bailey and George Woodbridge, who later became a regular contributor to MAD Magazine.

The adaptation's writer, however, is unknown...

The story is adapted from Ep 3 of the 39-episode TV series!

Sadly, little physical evidence exists of the 1957 all-but-forgotten syndicated show besides the two issues of Dell's Four Color Comics!

Trivia: the best-known performer (to the contemporary audience) in this episode was Angie Dickenson as Edie!

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Gray Ghost
Life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby