Weird Western Tales #45 "Night of the Gun"

Weird Western Tales #45 Mar/Apr 1978

"Night of the Gun"
Gerry Conway - story, Dick Ayers and George Evans - art, Jim Starlin - cover

We have a new writer and a new direction for Scalphunter. Gerry Conway takes over the typewriter starting in this issue and we are plunked down square in St. Louis, Missouri in March, 1862. The Civil War has been raging for almost a year and Scalphunter strides boldly down the center of the street, people run from him and Union soldiers eye him carefully.

Suddenly the night is broken by a man getting thrown out through the doors of Clancy's saloon. Two Union soldiers run out of the saloon, their intention is to finish what they started with Bat Lash. Scalphunter quickly draws a knife and expertly throws it into the chest of one soldier while Lash swiftly gathers his wits and pumps four slugs into the other soldier. A crowd gathers and Bat Lash makes his introduction and gives his thanks to Scalphunter. Savage states that he has taken no sides in this fight but other soldiers quickly appear and the two men race away down a nearby alley and into an open doorway.

Lash realizes they are in a back storeroom of the saloon and he starts sampling some of the higher class wares of the establishment as he queries Scalphunter as to why a white man is wearing Kiowa warpaint. Savage ponders for a moment or two and then tells his story, of being kidnapped as a small child, raised by Kiowas and then finally being captured and returned home. Lash asks what Savage is doing in St Louis and the reply is that General Sterling Price was rumored to be hiding near Savages home and the Union soldiers came in and burned the town, killing several people in the process.

Cathy Masefield, a local newspaper woman, had been digging into Savages birth records and found out that the Savage's had a daughter. After Brian was kidnapped, the Savages shipped their daughter, Samantha, off to St. Louis to be raised by her grandmother. The grandmother took out adoption papers and as Cathy is about to tell Savage some more about his sister, Union soldiers ride up and start shooting. Savage tried to carry Cathy to safety but she was struck by a bullet and he took her to Doc Grey.

Scalphunter rushed back to his village but the soldiers had already been there and all but wiped out his people.

Bat Lash sits quietly and recalls his own trek of vengeance after the death of his parents then tells Scalphunter that he will need some money to be able to locate his missing sister and offers a way to make that money, if Scalphunter doesn't mind bending the law. Savage states that he does not respect the law of the White-eyes so Lash takes his new partner to the office of one Cyrus Calhoun.

Lash explains to Calhoun that Scalphunter is a white man that runs guns for a living and he would be more than able to help them handle that new Gatling Gun. The idea is that however owns the gun will be able to get rich off of it and be able to control the tide of the war. Gatling is shipping his prototype to Washington for the War Dept. and they plan to steal it.

Lash and Scalphunter take off into the night, riding east and near dawn they come to a high train trestle. Lash explains that the train will be coming around noon and he plans to blow up the bridge. He hands Scalphunter several stick of dynamite and confesses his fear of heights. Scalphunter quickly and easily clambers up the trestle and plants the explosives when suddenly Lash hears someone behind him.

Four men come riding up the canyon and are shooting at Lash. Bat returns fire and Scalphunter turns the battle in his favor by leaping from the bridge and stabbing two of the horsemen.

Bat Lash takes advantage of the diversion and quickly shoots the two remaining horsemen. Just then ten more horsemen top a nearby ridge and the leader, Bear Barker states that Lash and Scalphunter have just killed his scouts. Bear also demands to know why Lash and Scalphunter were planting explosives. Barker figures that there is gold on that train but Bat explains that there is a treasure greater than gold and if they are allowed to live, he will split it with the thieves. Barker agrees and soon the whistle of the train is heard.

Lash gives Scalphunter a rifle and asks if he can hit the dynamite from the edge of the ridge where they have taken up hiding. Savage takes aim, hits the dynamite and the entire bridge erupts, sending the locomotive and all the cars down into the gorge. At that point Bear Barker and Bat Lash are celebrating but Scalphunter merely scowls and mutters "I have done evil......" Barker wants to know what Scalphunter is referring do for doesn't he also hate the soldiers? Scalphunter explains that there is no honor is killing a man you cannot see.

They all make their way to the bottom of the gorge to find a boxcar labeled "Property Federal Government" sitting upright. Scalphunter and Lash start prying open the boxcar door. As the door slides open, Bear starts getting anxious about putting his hands on the gold. The crated Gatling Gun survived the fall and the crate is bolted and chained to the floor. Lash and Scalphunter enter the boxcar and go around to the back of the crate and start opening it. Bear, thinking that he will be happy to soon kill Lash and Scalphunter, starts shouting that he wants the gold now.

Lash grabs the handle of the gun and opens fire through the front of the crate, killing Bear and his men. Scalphunter stands silently by, looking at the carnage and then stares at Lash. There is a moment where both men try to read each other and Scalphunter picks up a large chunk of the busted crate. Lash asks what Sclphunter's plans are and he replies that there is no honor is killing men in this manner, soldiers should not be allowed to wipe out each other like bugs and he is going to destroy the gun.

Scalphunter starts pounding away at the gun but Lash quickly knocks him out with the but of his pistol. When Scalphunter comes to he is alone in the boxcar, the Gatling gun and Bat Lash both gone. Gone, but now with a vengeful Indian warrior after them.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - One soldier in St. Louis, two bushwackers in the gorge and an entire train of Union soldiers (50? 100?) and the train crew (Let's say 4). Being conservative that puts this issues total at 57!
Running Total - 83
Compared to Jonah Hex- 83 vs 35 Scalphunter takes the lead in a big way.
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total- 12
Injuries - Knocked out with a pistol butt
Timeline - One night and the next day in March 1862

I have to admit I enjoyed Conway's run on Scalphunter a lot more than I did Fleisher's. Conway gave us a believable reason for Savage to move from the frontier and into 'civilization' even though it could be said that he lifted it from the TV series "The Quest" that ran two years prior. This was also a starting point in an acceptable ongoing continuity for Scalphunter, one that impressed me way back when I read it when the books hit the stands.

One thing that bothered me about this story was that Scalphunter plants the dynamite, knowing that Lash planned on blowing the bridge and killing the soldiers and he even accepted the responsibility of firing the shot to set off the explosives. Why, once it happened, did he suddenly have all of this remorse? Did he not know what he was doing? That was the one glaring moment that Scalphunter was acting totally out of character. Also, didn't he realize what the Gatling Gun would do? It's almost like he was in a daze through those parts of the story.

I did like that Cathy Masefield was removed from the series, I didn't think she really added much to the book.

Next Issue: Scalphunter gets even and Bat Lash gets lucky.

Weird Western Tales #44 "Covered Wagon to Doomsday!"

Weird Western Tales #44 Feb 1978
"Covered Wagon to Doomsday!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and George Evans, art - Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom, cover

Scalphunter is hanging upside down from a tree after being captured by Sheriff Brett Harley, brother to a bank robber that Scalphunter killed as revenge for killing an Indian child. Just as Harley is ready to pull the trigger, two riders happen upon the scene. They are Obadiah Jethro, head of some Quakers heading to California, lead by their wagon master Travis Barnes.

Harley tells them to butt out, but Jethro wants to be sure that Scalphunter is taken to trial. At the point of Jethro's shotgun, Harley cuts Scalphunter down. Then they all head back to the wagon train. The wagon train stops for the night and Scalphunter is tied to a wagon wheel. When a woman and her younger brother attempt to give Scalphunter food, Harley slaps her down into the snow. Jethro steps in to sort things out.

  Jethro gets everyone to calm down and tells his folks that as long as Harley doesn't actually harm Scalphunter, they should leave well enough alone. Later that night, Davey, the brother of the clapped girl, brings Scalphunter some food and water. After making Scalphunter promise to not escape, he cuts the bonds holding one hand so he can eat. Of course, things being what they are, Harley shows up.

 Harley, doing his best Pappy Hex impersonation, is drinking and pulls off his thick leather belt and beats Davey senseless with it. Scalphunter is helpless and watches as Harley drinks his bottle empty and then breaks it on the wagon. Harley is advancing on young Davey with the broken bottle. Finally, Scalphunter reaches behind him and grabs a pitchfork off the wagon behind him and throws it into Harley, killing him instantly. Everyone hears Harley's dying scream and they come running.

Davey explains what happened but Travis Barnes has had enough, he wants to kill Scalphunter then and there. Jethro will have none of it and demands they take Scalphunter in to the authorities so everyone needs to go back to sleep. Scalphunter tells them if they sleep, they will not wake for he has seen the signal fire of Apaches on a nearby cliff. The fire signals a war dance and that they will attack at dawn.

There is a lot of fear and argument amongst the wagon train but Jethro decides to travel at first light. Scalphunter protests and Barnes clubs him unconscious with a rifle butt.

Just as the sun starts to break over the horizon, a lookout is tending the fire. Suddenly an arrow pierces the coffee pot and two more arrows pierce his sternum. The Apaches descend onto the wagon train, killing, scalping, and setting the wagons alight. As quickly as they arrived, they ride off into the snow.

From the carnage emerges Angela (the slapped girl) and Davey. Barnes comes running up. Seems he was out early looking for firewood. Davey sees something moving under a burning overturned wagon. It is Scalphunter. They right the wagon and free Scalphunter and then they realize that all the horses are dead. Scalphunter offers to lead them to Fort Onondaga (more on that later) but it is a two day walk, so they should get moving. Barnes doesn't want to be led anywhere by an Indian so Scalphunter takes a cue and leads Barnes to...PAINVILLE!

Angela breaks up the fight and says they HAVE to trust Scalphunter. Barnes agrees but he will turn the Indian in to the Fort authorities.

Later, as they are walking through the snow covered forest, a mountain lion leaps out of a tree and attacks them. Scalphunter draws his knife and prepares to vanquish the huge cat, but Barnes panics and unloads five shots into the cat. Davey goes bananas, telling Barnes that every Apache in the county heard those gunshots and now they are in deep doo-doo. On top of it, in the excitement, Angela twisted her leg and can't walk.

Scalphunter tells Barnes and Davey to hide the cougar in the nearby brush and then they will hide for the night in that nearby cave up on the cliff. Some time later, Davey is keeping lookout with a spyglass and sees some Apaches find the dead cougar. Scalphunter asks Barnes how much ammo he has left. Surprise!! He's empty, having panicked and unloaded on the cougar. Scalphunter then concocts a plan.

We see Angela standing out on a snowy overhang, not a care in the world as the two Apaches sneak up on her from below. Higher above her is Scalphunter, Davey, and Barnes. Scalphunter will take out the first Apache and Barnes the second. Scalphunter gives the signal and jumps, boots to the Apache's face. Barnes, however, totally has a panic attack and freezes in his tracks. Davey grabs a knife and jumps over the edge himself, knocking away an Apache that was sneaking up behind Scalphunter, but suddenly Davey is in trouble so Scalphunter finishes off his attacker and then rescues Davey.

Two days later at Fort Onondaga the General of the Fort hears their story and promises to go round up the Apache. He then asks how did Ke-Woh-No-Tay come to be teamed up with the Quakers. Barnes is about to spill the truth when Angela interrupts and says that Scalphunter was hired as a guide. A few hours later Scalphunter rides off with the scalps that will prove that he has completed his Death Stalk.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - 3
Running Total - 26
Compared to Jonah Hex- 26 vs 28 Jonah still leads.
Scalps Taken - 2
Running Total- 12
Injuries - Dropped on his head, knocked out with a rifle butt,
Timeline - This covers about two days.

I was getting ready to write this and then decided to check my draft folder. Surprise! I had written this waaaaaay back in 2012. It always pays to work ahead! I really enjoyed this issue. The cover was great with the tilt to the cover and I always enjoy covers where they incorporate the title of the book into a word balloon. I'm a sucker for that. 

 Death by pitchfork is another soft spot for me. There just isn't enough DbPf in books nowadays, in my opinion. Scalphunter's offering the scalp to Davey and the steps Davey takes during this issue as he matures were other good steps in the storyline. A fine ending to a multi-issue story. We wrap it up next week when Scalphunter returns with the scalps to finish his Death Stalk.

Jonah Hex #12 "The Search for Gator Hawes!"

Jonah Hex #12 May 1978
"The Search for Gator Hawes!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Jim Starlin, cover

Jonah is in a dugout canoe paddling through a Louisiana bayou looking for his pal Gator Hawes, who went missing 2 months ago. Jonah is thinking about the dangers of being in a dugout and the only problem is being swamped by a gator. Of course, a mind-reading alligator picks that time to slam into Jonah's canoe, knocking him into the bayou. The gator and his buddies, obviously working at the direction of minds stronger than theirs, proceed to tear off Jonah's shirt, but not before Jonah buries a knife into one gator & drives the other off.

Jonah surfaces, gasping for breath and is helped to shore by an old man and his huge hunk of a son. The pair, Josh & 'Pappy', take Jonah to their cabin where they meet the third member of the family, Isabella. Josh explains that Isabella is the homeliest woman in the world and tells her to explain why she doesn't get married. Isabella, looking at the ground, mumbles that it is because nobody wants her. Josh keeps goading her and Isabella says that she is ugly as a mud fence.

Jonah protests at this verbal abuse and Josh punches Jonah in the stomach and then in the head, knocking him out. Josh takes Jonah and tosses him into a cage along Gator Hawes. Gator is begging for food but Josh tells Gator that Gator has to beat Josh at pole-wrasslin' before he gets to eat. Jonah wakes up and Gator explains that he was kidnapped two months ago and the only way he has stayed alive was by eating rats & toads. Jonah says that they have to find a way out but Gator, pointing a couple of skeletons, explains that the only way out is the way those poor fools got out.

The next day Jonah is let out and taken to a fallen tree across the river. Josh is going to pole-wrassle Jonah. If Jonah wins, he gets food. Pappy is sitting in a dugout with a shotgun in case something goes wrong. Josh just keeps yapping as they start fighting and Jonah stabs Josh in the groin with the end of the pole. He then hits Josh in the throat, knocking him off the tree. Jonah jumps off the tree and starts to take off but Pappy unloads the shotgun and hits Jonah in the head, knocking him out.

Jonah comes to back at the cabin with Isabella tending to his wound. Josh tells her to get away from Jonah and he backhands her, knocking her down. Josh throws Jonah back in the cage and leaves. Sometime later Isabella comes back to the cage and Jonah tells her that she isn't ugly, in fact she is beautiful.

The next day Josh & Pappy let Gator & Jonah both out. They are going to make them pole fight each other and the loser will be fed to the gators. Jonah & Gator are on the tree with Gator being almost too weak to hold the pole. Josh & Pappy are in the dugout, jeering them on. Jonah whispers to Gator to hit him as hard as he can. Gator swings and Jonah falls off the log and into the river. He surfaces under the dugout and knocks Pappy & Josh into the river. Jonah jumps into the dugout, paddles towards the log & tells Gator to jump in.

Gator jumps, falling & hitting his head and this leaves Jonah on his own to try to get out of the bayou on his own. Eventually they come to a fork in the river and Jonah picks the left side but shortly the current is getting faster & faster because.... you guessed it, there is a 50 foot waterfall smack in the middle of the bayou. Jonah yells at Gator to wake up and he grabs Gator and jumps for an overhanging tree. Jonah tells Gator to hang on, but Gator is too weak from lack of food and drops into the river, being swept over the falls.

Jonah climbs down the tree and is greeted by Pappy & Josh standing over him with the shotgun. Josh beats Jonah up and they throw him back into the cage. They starve Jonah for several days until one stormy night Isabella shows up asking Jonah if he really meant that she was beautiful. She asks if she lets Jonah out, will he marry her. Jonah agrees to the wedding and just as Isabella opens the cage, Pappy shows up and shoots Isabella. Jonah throws open the cage door, knocking Pappy backwards and knocking him out.

Jonah grabs the shotgun and find that Pappy isn't carrying any shells. In the cabin, Josh is tending his collection of poisonous snakes. Jonah kicks in the cabin door, boots Josh in the groin and punches him in the gut. Pappy shots for Jonah to stop and there is Pappy standing in the doorway with the shotgun, explaining that he grabbed some spare shells from the dugout. Jonah dives forward, tackling Pappy around the ankles. The shotgun goes off as Pappy falls forward. All of the jars of poisonous snakes are shattered and they attack Josh.

Jonah dives out the cabin window to find that the storm has caused the river to flood. He climbs up on the roof and finds that Pappy has followed him. The waters keep rising and just as Pappy is ready to shoot Jonah the river causes the cabin to lurch and the weather vane on the roof stabs Pappy through the heart. Jonah spends all night on the roof in the storm. The next morning he locates the dugout and heads home.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - Josh

Running Total - 156
Jonah's Injuries - Bit by a gator, shot in the head, beat up & knocked out twice.
Timeline - There is no evidence that this issue follows the previous one, but next issue contains a reference to this one, so Jonah is still on the run here putting this in 1876 or 1877.

Alcazar's artwork is terribly dark and muddy, which should work in a story about a swamp, but I just don't care for it. The fact that a bayou, a low lying body of water would have a 50 foot waterfall just killed most of this story for me. Josh & Pappy are both wonderfully murderous and evil and they both get what they deserve. The story doesn't really advance Jonah at all, so this story is just so-so.

Next Issue: - Jonah spends time in Oklahoma Territory, a lot of stuff gets blown up, and most amazing, Fleisher doesn't write it!!!