The comic book industry’s foremost historical retrospective anthology focusing on the best Western-themed comic books printed during the genre’s best period (the late 1940′s through early 1950′s) reaches it’s historic 50Th issue this month, with another top-flight selection of perfect reprint stories. Start off with Dick Ayers art on the terrifying “Haunted Horesman vs. Frankenstein”, and see comic’s original Ghost Rider match up with Mary Shelley’s masterpiece in pitched battle. Then, Frank Bolle provides illustration on the Tim Holt/Redmask gem, “Crimes of the Cape”. Monte Hale stars in “The Marshal Takes A Gunning”, drawn by Ed Goode, and Durang Kid learns to “Never Say Die”; a Joe Certa/ John Belfi classic initially seen in Magazine Enterprizes ORIGINAL run Best of the West #2, in 1951!!! Jock Mahoney “stars” as Range Rider in “The Come-On”, a Tony Sgroi oater originally presented in Dell Comics” Western Roundup #11, and Wild Bill Hickock’s pal, Jingles appears in a Charles Nicholas/Sal Trapani Charlton Comics shorty entitled “The Battle of the Bulge”. All this plus an inside front cover photo of Charles Starrett from the Columbia Pictures’ Durango Kid movie, “El Dorado Pass”. 44 pages, black & white with color covers, saddle stitched, standard Best of the West size.
