I don't know who painted the cover on this issue of FAMOUS WESTERN, but some old friends show up on it: a stalwart cowboy in a red shirt, a good-looking redhead who's getting in on the action, and if you look closely, you can see an old codger peering out the jailhouse door. Is he wounded? I'm betting he is, although we can't tell for sure. There are only four stories in this issue. Two of them are by Anthony Rud (better known for mystery, adventure, and weird fiction, but he turned out some Westerns, too) and W.D. Hoffman, a prolific Western pulpster. The other two are credited to Mat Rand and James Rourke, two Columbia Publications house-names. I don't own this issue, but it looks like a pretty good one.
Wonder how many readers glanced at "Mat Rand" on the cover and bought the issue thinking they were going to get Max Brand? Caveat emptor!
ReplyDeleteYep. I saw the thumbnail on my phone and wondered what kind of Max Brand reprint a pulp like Famous Western managed to wrangle into print in 1940.
ReplyDeleteThat's sneaky.
John Hocking