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.