A common scene on Western pulp covers was to have an owlhoot standing in front of a wall on which was tacked a wanted poster bearing his likeness. The cover by Mat Kauten on this issue of FAMOUS WESTERN is a good example of that. I like this cover a lot. The contents look pretty interesting, too. After appearing exclusively in WILD WEST WEEKLY from 1935 to early 1941, T.W. Ford's character Solo Strant, also known as the Silver Kid, began appearing in Columbia Western pulps in May of '41. Except for a couple more stories in WILD WEST WEEKLY that were probably already in inventory there, from that point on Strant only showed up in various Columbia pulps, including this one. I don't know the circumstances of the move. It could be that Columbia offered more money (highly unlikely!) or the editors at Street & Smith told Ford, "Please don't send us any more of those Silver Kid stories" (the more likely explanation). Whatever the reason, I've read Silver Kid yarns from both eras of his career and always enjoyed them. Also on hand in this issue are Archie Joscelyn, Ed Earl Repp, Lee Floren, A. Kenneth Brent, Kenneth P. Wood, G.C. Ogle, and house-name Cliff Campbell.
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