Review of "Weird Western Tales" starring Scalphunter July/Aug 1978

Review of

Weird Western Tales starring Scalphunter July/Aug 1978

Four out of five stars

 The man known to the Kiowas as Ke-Who-No-Tey and to the white men as Scalphunter is walking the streets of New Orleans in the Spring of 1962. It is at the height of the American Civil War and Confederate sympathy is strong in the white population. That sentiment is of course not held in the black slave community.
 Scalphunter is in the city looking for his sister, the only living relative known to him. While there, he runs afoul of many powerful people that are of course backed by the Confederate soldiers. Scalphunter encounters his longtime friend, free black Wakwame and they join forces to look for Scalphunter’s sister. Always on the edge, Scalphunter is about to go to the aid of a female slave that is being beaten by her owner, when Wakwame holds him back.

 When an attempt to infiltrate a mansion to gather information fails, the two friends are forced to fight to the death to save the lives of sick and crippled female slaves. It is a gladiatorial contest right out of the Roman Coliseum, fought for the amusement of the rich and powerful whites.

 The story is one where the values of two very principled men are put to the test in a situation where the power of life and death over them and many others are put to the test. Two men of the oppressed minorities trying to survive in a time of great violence.