RANGER AL's WESTERN COMIX THEATRE #6 : LUKE SHORT'S "TOP GUN," Dell 1958

 

Albie's Note: I immediately thought of posting this old comic when I read my on-line pal Oscar's BLOG about western writer Luke Short [actually Fred Glidden  November 19, 1908 – August 18, 1975] This one is a real treat if you have certain interests.... I mean, here we have an adaptation of a pulp story by Short and  fine early comic art from John Buscema [1927-2002] all packaged together by the most successful publishing house in comics history: Mighty DELL!

The original story is one I have never been able to find called "Test Pit."  Apparently it was printed originally in the pulp Western Story Magazine back in 1938.  I am a big fan of Short's fiction so I would love to read the novella behind this comic classic, but so far I have never found it collected anywhere. I would to read Short'ss pulp version and compare the two... but just having this one is great enough! I think you'll agree with me it's a great story, and one that would have made a fine movie in the right hands.

Interestingly, DELL actually printed dozens of these comic one-shots from the fiction of western writers like Short, Zane Grey,  Max Brand and  Ernest Haycox.  They are worth looking around for, and the REALLY cool thing is that you can often find these comics dirt cheap even today! 

[I have read that DELL basically kept doing these westerns in the "four color" line because they concurrently held the rights to the paperbacks of the same titles... the idea was to get rural and hinterlands kids started on these sagebrush authors early. I bet it worked well... Heck, like I say, I have been trying to find TEST PIT for years because of the comic treatment!]

In any case here is TOP GUN from 1958... enjoy:

 

 

 

 

  

 

Fred Glidden

 

John Bucsema

 

PEACE 

POETRY BREAK #18: "Full Moon" by EDEN AHBEZ, 1960 [with Audio!]

Albie's Note: One of the odder albums of the early sixties was Eden's Island by a sort of early hippie beach bum named  Eden Ahbez.  Ahbez  (15 April 1908 – 4 March 1995)  was already famous-- in a novelty sort of way-- for being the writer of Nat King Cole's gargantuan 1948 hit   "Nature Boy" and had guest starred on several major TV shows with that very claim to fame.  Ahbez has often been called the "first hippie" as he was sporting a long-haired, bearded "prophet look" as early as the mid-40s.  Really, though, I think he can be placed pretty safely among the Beatniks of the 40's and '50s just as well-- as ably illustrated by this bit of spoken word poetry form the aforementioned 1960 album.  The album was recorded by the great Bob Keane for his own Del-Fi Records and released September 1960 to just about no fanfare of acclaim whatsoever.  I tried out the album after it came to CD in the late 1990s because Keane is a personal hero of mine-- both for his great west coast body of recorded music and his cool attitude toward life in general.  He is most famous today for recording Ritchie Valens, Bobby Fuller, and many SoCal surf groups, but he had a famous open-door policy at his home based studio that attracted all kinds of nuts.

Enter Mr. Ahbez! 

Released with an announcement that  Ahbez would walk coast to coast to promote his record, starting in Los Angeles, the album is actually a really good one [at least I think so-- you are welcome to judge for yourself-- the whole thing can be heard on Youtube] and is aided immensely by Keane's expert production to become a marvelous summer mood enhancer.  Here-- without further adieu--  is the sixth track, "Full Moon."

Full Moon

To live in an oil shack by the sea
(And breathe the sweet salt air)
To live with the dawn and the dusk
The new moon and the full moon
The tides the wind and the rain...
To surf and comb the beach
And gather sea shells and drift-wood
And know the thrill of loneliness
And lose all sense of time
And be free
To hike over the island to the village
And visit the marketplace
And enjoy the music and the food and the people
And do a little trading
And see the great ships come and go
And, man, have me a ball
And in the evening
(When the sky is on fire)
Heaven and earth become my great open cathedral
Where all men are brothers
Where all things are bound by law
And crowned with love
Poor, alone and happy
I walk by the surf and make a fire on the beach
And as darkness covers the face of the deep
Lie down in the wild grass
And dream the dream that the dreamers dream
I am the wind, the sea, the evening star
I am everyone, anyone, no one.

PEACE

SATURDAY COMEDY SHOWCASE #2: Studio C presents: COWBOYS!

Albie's Note:  I may be an ol' Baptist, but these here Mormon kids are funny!   If you've never seen the comedy sketch show STUDIO C from Brigham Young University  [new episodes air weekly on the BYU-TV channel, natch] you really oughtta check it out.  My 11 year old son, Gideon and I have become HUGE fans.  In my humble opinion, it has all the talent and great writing of say, classic Saturday Night Live, and it is done entirely without objectionable material. 

Plus, they even-- at least this once-- did a western!  

Enjoy!

"We are outlaws, not monsters!"

Heh heh...

 

 

PEACE

 

 

RANGER AL's WESTERN COMIX THEATRE #5 [Olympic edition!] : BUSTER CRABBE in "Showdown" 1953

Albie's Note:  This story, originally printed in BUSTER CRABBE Comics #5,  Famous Funnies Publications, July 1952, is a pretty well drawn and plotted tale of the old west...  attempting to cash in on the then-current TV popularity of the then already-past past repertoire of Mr. Crabbe; a one-time Olympic hero and pretty darn charismatic matinee idol, famous for myriads of movies in the Jungle, Western and Space [sci-fi] categories.  Although you rarely hear about ol' Buster today, he was actually a HUGE star from the thirties thru the fifties in entertaining B-movies that spanned varied genres. He played Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon AND Tarzan, by the way, so you can know he positively reeked of masculinity!

And now... here is a fine old red-blooded genre western:  SHOWDOWN!

The cover of BUSTER CRABBE # 5, 1952

PEACE