Review of "Golden Age Western Comics," edited by Steven Brower

 Review of

Golden Age Western Comics, edited by Steven Brower ISBN 9781576875940

Five out of five stars

A look back to when westerns ruled entertainment

 From the middle fifties to the middle sixties, the western genre was extremely popular. There is a list of the 30 best westerns from this time frame, and any internet search of all the westerns that appeared during this time interval is extensive. That popularity extended into the comic books, many of which had western themes. This book has examples of many of the most popular comics, which just like the television western, declined rapidly in popularity.

It was a time when the publishers of comics paid their artists and writers very poorly, so much of the work was not of the highest quality. The dialog is generally boilerplate western simplistic, phrases such as “vamoose,” “them two are worse’n a barrel o’ wildcats,” and “keep chuckin’ lead long enough yuh polecats” are the norm.

 The Native Americans are sometimes presented in a favorable manner, yet most often they speak a pidgin English similar to what the Lone Ranger’s sidekick Tonto spoke. Other times they are depicted as murderous, ruthless savages hungry for white scalps to take away in victory. With the exception of the heroes, most of the characters are depicted as mentally simplistic.

 What makes this book interesting is that it is a lesson in the history of what can be called the pulp entertainment of the fifties. Often poorly drawn and authored, it has none of the slick characteristics of the comics that came later. Yet, they remain a fun read where not a lot of thought needs to be expended.