This is a pulp that I own and read recently. That’s my battered copy in the scan. I thought at first the rather garish cover was by Robert Stanley, but the more I look at it, the less sure I am of that. The initials PKH are carved into the bar, and I’m wondering if those are the artist’s initials or if they’re there for some other reason. If they do belong to the artist, I can’t figure out who it is. But whoever painted it, it’s an action-packed, eye-catching cover.
Those four big novels mentioned on the cover are actually more like novelettes. The first one is “Colt-Cure for Woolly Fever” by Peter Dawson, who was actually Jonathan Glidden, brother of Fred Glidden, who was better known as Luke Short. Jon Glidden was an excellent Western author and has been one of my favorites for a long time. I believe I was in seventh grade when I first read one of his novels. Anyway, as you’re expect from the title, this story is a cattlemen-vs-sheepmen yarn, but that’s the only thing about it that’s standard. Instead of a range war tale, this is actually a clever bank heist story complete with multiple double-crosses and hidden identities, told in a fast-paced, breezy style that’s more humorous than most of the Peter Dawson stories. I figured this one would be good, but it’s even better than that. It’s a terrific story, one of the best I’ve read by Jonathan Glidden.
Everett M. Webber collaborated on some well-regarded historical novels with his wife Olga but also wrote quite a few Western, detective, and general fiction stories for the pulps and slicks. His story in this issue, “Those Who Have Eyes—” is about a small-town sheriff trying to solve a robbery in order to protect his friend, a Chinese man who owns a restaurant. There’s not much to it, but it’s reasonably well-written.
Clifton Adams is another long-time favorite of mine. Many of his stories are set in Oklahoma, where he lived, and deal with the oil business in the early days of the territory, as is the case with “Blood Buys a Black-Gold Empire”. (As I’ve mentioned before, I figure the editors at Popular Publications came up with many of these story titles.) In this story, a range detective from Texas rides north to Oklahoma in answer to a summons from an old friend, a sheriff who has more troubles than he can handle in an oidfield boomtown. Unfortunately, somebody tries to bushwhack our protagonist on his way there, and when he does arrive, it’s just as the sheriff is being murdered, a crime for which the Texan is framed. Convicted and sentenced to hang, he has to break out of jail in order to find out what’s really going on and clear his name. This is a top-notch Adams yarn, well-written, full of action and interesting characters, and I always enjoy oilfield stories. This is a very good one.
“Hell-on-the-Law!” by prolific Western pulpster Tom Roan is also a bank robbery story, and it’s pretty clever in its setup, too. But once the job is pulled, it becomes a really nice chase story as a veteran lawman with a secret of his own goes after the robbers. Roan’s work can be hit-or-miss with me, but this one has excellent characters, plenty of action, and a compelling pace. Another top-notch story in what’s shaping up to be a very good issue.
“Stranger on the Dodge” by Walker A. Tompkins, another old favorite of mine, is actually billed as a novelette, and it’s a good one. A fugitive from a bogus murder charge rides into the middle of a war between sodbusters and cattlemen. It’s a standard plot, but Tompkins puts the familiar elements into play with such skill that the story is a pure pleasure to read.
John Jo Carpenter was the pseudonym of John Reese, who went on to write a number of well-regarded Western and crime novels under his own name, several of which were filmed. His story in this issue, “Last of the Wild Fayettes”, is a romance in which an ambitious young cowboy clashes with a cattle baron over the rancher’s beautiful daughter. Despite being a little on the lighthearted side, there are a couple of brutal, well-written fistfights. This is very much in the vein of such John Wayne movies as McCLINTOCK! and NORTH TO ALASKA, and if it had more plot, it would have made a good movie, too.
William R. Cox was the author of the very first grown-up paperback I ever bought, the Gold Medal Western BIGGER THAN TEXAS, so I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for his work. His town-tamer novelette in this issue, “Hot Time at End-of-Track”, seems to have been loosely based on the early careers of Wild Bill Hickok and Bat Masterson, even though both of those historical characters are mentioned in the story. Marshal John Steel takes on the Texas trail drivers who have Wichita “treed”. For a fairly simple plot, Cox really gives this tale an epic feeling. John Steel, cool under fire but haunted by past tragedy, is a superb protagonist. This is just a great story with complex, well-developed characters.
I always think of Talmage Powell as a crime and detective writer, but he did a bunch of Westerns, as well. “Smoky Lesson” in this issue is about an old gunfighter who visits the town where the woman he once loved is buried, only to find himself mixed up in a war between a crooked saloon owner and a crusading young newspaperman. The twist in this one is pretty obvious but still effective, and Powell’s hardboiled prose is excellent, as usual.
This issue wraps up with the novelette “King of the Washoe Outcasts” by another old favorite, Harry F. Olmsted. This is set in Nevada during the silver boom and about a young, down-on-his-luck miner who decides to turn owlhoot, only to discover that he’s not ready to cross that line. Based on some actual history, this story features a lot of double dealing and characters with actual shades of gray to their personalities, as well as plenty of well-written action. This is another really good story in an issue full of good stories.
In fact, this issue of BIG-BOOK WESTERN MAGAZINE is one of the best Western pulps I’ve ever read. There’s not a bad story in the bunch, and several of them are in the top ranks of work I’ve encountered from their authors. If you happen to own a copy and haven’t read it yet, I give it a very high recommendation.
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