Pop Culture Chronicles

Top Ten TV Westerns (50s-60s) Part 1

If you've read this blog for any length of time, then you know that one of my favorite television genres is the Western. I cut my teeth on the westerns of the late 60s and the re-runs of earlier Westerns. What all popular 50s and 60s westerns had in common is that they were all in the comic books as well--complete with photo covers. So here I'll go through my top ten westerns displaying the image of a comic cover for each.  

# 10 - Wanted: Dead or Alive - I discovered re-runs of this one weekdays after school while an elementary student. It's where Steve McQueen got his start. He went on to find stardom in the Magnificent Seven playing a character patterned after bounty hunter Josh Randall, his TV part. Two comics were published in the Dell Four Color series and the TV series is available on DVD.

 

# 9 - Lone Ranger - One of my earliest memories is of watching the Lone Ranger. As a child I would set my alarm to watch it at 6:30 weekday mornings before school. On Sunday mornings I would watch the color episodes on another TV station. I also read the comics, watched the cartoons, and owned the action figures. An official anniversary DVD set of the first two seasons has recently been released. The Lone Ranger's history in comics pre-dates his television appearances. 

 

# 8 - High Chaparral - Only one issue of this comic was ever published and is now worth about $70 in mint condition. I remember watching the TV series when it was new and I was a small child back in the late 60s. In the 70s I watched re-runs with my sister on weekday afternoons. We often pretended to be the characters when we played cowboys.  As an adult I saw re-runs on the Hallmark Channel when they dedicated Saturday afternoons to old westerns. They called it Rough and Ready Saturdays. The show was ahead of its time featuring Native Americans and Hispanics in the regular cast. This show is unfortunately unavailable on DVD, but fans are petitioning for it.  

# 7 - The Rifleman - Another show that I discovered in re-runs on weekdays after school. This was a personal favorite when I was a child. They packed a lot of action into 30 minutes. Only a handfull of public domain episodes are on DVD, but no official season sets as of yet.

 

 

# 6 - Cheyenne -An "A" variety Warner Brothers western. Great writing and great acting about a drifter raised by Native Americans. It was the first hour long TV western. This show is another of my earliest memories. I saw the re- runs as a teenager on Saturday afternoons. The first season is on DVD. 

 

Part Two of my top ten coming soon.  

My Pull List

Sorry I've been away so long. I'll try not to let it happen again. Life has simply got in the way of my blogging, but now I'm back! My About Page is clear that I'm a nostalgia buff and what I collect reflects that.

DC Titles 

All-Star Superman This twelve issue limited series is a great reimagining of the Superman myth. It's reminiscent of the Silver Age stories I grew up reading, coupled with today's more sophisticated story-telling. I hear that this version of Superman may continue beyond twelve issues. If so, I wonder who the artist will be. I can't imagine this title without Frank Quitely.

Since I'm actually a die hard Batman fan, I did collect All-Star Batman and Robin but I quit because..well..it was just stupid.

Countdown to Final Crisis This 51-issue weekly title has been an overall disappointment, but I kept collecting it in hopes that something significant would happen. I was hoping for a more thorough exploration of the new multiverse, but it seems that the earths with any potential were destroyed. The Kamandi origin has been the most interesting thing so far, even if it is a downer. Oh well, one more issue to go. I'm hoping that DC Universe: Zero and the Final Crisis series will be more satisfying. In the meantime, I'll probably have 51 issues for sale.

Justice Society of America  As I've said before, I've been a fan of the JSA since the annual JLA/JSA crossovers. Then All-Star Comics was revived in the 70s. In the 80s it was All-Star Squadron. In 1999 the JSA got their own title and now we have the current title. The JSA has never disappointed me. The Golden Age connection is appealing to a nostalgia buff like me.

Dynamite Entertainment

Project Superpowers  I'm down to this one title from Dynamite which is a revival of obscure Golden Age heroes. Right up my alley. My review is here.

I did collect The Lone Ranger, which likewise appealed to my sense of nostalgia. But this is definitely not my grandmother's Lone Ranger. I was okay with that at first, but after the first story arc I've decided to save my money. This comic just doesn't reflect the traditional values of the original character. So I'm a fuddy duddy. It's also an awfully long time between issues. Hi yo, Silver, Away.

I read the first two issues of Zorro, which excited me at first. But I feel like the origin is being dragged out for too long, has been a little silly in some places, and we haven't been seeing enough of Zorro in full regalia. The 3.50 cover price is also a turn off. I'm not made of money.

Marvel Comics

The Twelve This twelve issue limited series is the only Marvel I read, but I think it's the best comic on the market---bar none. See my review for more details. As with Justice Society of America and Project Superpowers, this one also revives and celebrates Golden Age heroes. My kind of stuff.    

The Dynamite Lone Ranger Series

I recently finished reading the first ten issues of the Lone Ranger comic book series from Dynamite Entertainment. This completes the first two story arcs of the series, with issues 1-6 covering the origin and issues 7-10 containing the second story. Here are my positive observations:

1) The art is outstanding! Realistic. The Old West flavor has successfully been captured.

2) The story and characters are believable. The character development is beyond anything we've seen in Lone Ranger stories of the past. I especially like what they've done with Tonto who is no longer a submissive, broken-English speaking sidekick. Tonto is a tough customer and not to be messed with. He is definitely someone you want on your side. When he is on your side, there is no more faithful friend. He has a past which is being divulged slowly over time. I'm also intrigued by the romantic tension that seems to exist between the Ranger and his brother's widow.

3) I think a mark of good storytelling is when a seemingly insignificant theme is planted earlier in a story. And then later in the story that theme is revisited, perhaps developed, and shown to be of greater significance. The theme may first appear as something that a character says in passing, but then later resurfaces. There must be a technical literary term for this, but I am unaware of what that term would be.

An example in this tale would be when Tonto makes an extra grave so that everyone will think John Reid is dead. Reid tells Tonto that a cross is not needed on this grave (Perhaps Reid is angry at God for the ranger massacre. Who knows?) But the symbol of the cross turns out to play a vital role in the Ranger's future (though not in an overtly religious way).

This literary device (whatever it is called) is used frequently in the series, so you have to pay attention. In fact, when I get a new issue I always go back and skim the previous ones to make sure I didn't miss anything or forget something. If I had the discipline, I would wait for the trade paperback reprints and read an entire story arc in one sitting. But I can't wait that long to see what happens.

Some less positive observations:

1) I sometimes feel that the art carries a single issue and we don't get the amount of dialog or plot advancement that I would prefer. Just my opinion.

2) A notable difference from any previous Lone Ranger incarnations is some graphic violence. This has disappointed some traditional fans of the character. At times it's like The Lone Ranger meets Lonesome Dove. Well, maybe not that extreme, but there is some blood, grit, and brutality. There is also some occasional profanity. Most of it is relatively mild, with some occasional stronger language from the bad guys. While I like having a more adult Lone Ranger, I'd prefer these two items be omitted in keeping with the traditional history of the character as a children's role model.

But there are still some avenues in which I can share my love for the Lone Ranger with my ten-year-old son. He is a fan of the reruns on DVD and he also reads my old Gold Key comics. I did allow him to get a Lone Ranger # 0 on Free Comic Book Day which was pretty kid friendly.

In addition to Dynamite's current series, I'd love to see an all ages Lone Ranger comic so that more children can return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear and discover the character we know and love. "All Ages" doesn't have to mean "just for kids" as I believe Marvel has proven with some of their All Ages titles. If I were to dream big, I'd love to see the popularity of this new comic lead to reprints of the old Dell and Gold Key stories, but I am dreaming.

All that being said, I eagerly await the next issue of the Lone Ranger--Hi Yo Silver! Away!          

The Lone Ranger Rides Again!

I didn't have to get up that early, but as a child I set my alarm for 6:30 weekday mornings because that's when the Lone Ranger re-runs aired on television. I loved that show, but I could only watch it when one of our cable channels chose to run it in syndication.

The Lone Ranger began as a radio program in 1933 and it was a TV series from 1949-1957. Although the Lone Ranger was canceled before I was born, the series ran in syndication, and the character became one of my childhood heroes.

The Lone Ranger comics I read as a child were obviously based on the TV series since the comic characters bore striking resemblances to the actors on TV. It was also obvious that in whatever medium the Lone Ranger appeared, it was intended for a juvenile audience. The radio program was not exactly Orson Welles in its sophistication and the TV series wasn't exactly Gunsmoke. The Lone Ranger plots were deliberately aimed at children (But were nevertheless sophisticated on that level, certainly more so than Roy Rogers or Gene Autry).The stars of the Lone Ranger took their jobs as role models for children seriously.

Well, the Lone Ranger is riding again, and again through the pages of comics books. But this time the intended audience is not children. Not only did I grow up with the Lone Ranger, but now the Lone Ranger has grown up with me. The stories in Dynamite Entertainment's new comic series are far more sophisticated than what we've seen with any previous treatments of the character. I always knew the Ranger had this potential.

I've just finished reading the first ten issues and my reflections on the series overall will be the topic of my next post (and I do intend to start posting more frequently).