Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns
Page 19
Rules for miniature war gaming.
The Great Weird North
[RPG book; WW]
Author: Aaron Rosenberg; First publication: 2002; Setting: Deadlands: The Weird West; Pinnacle Entertainment Group.
Location book for Canada and Alaska.
Green Lantern
[Comic book]
Test pilot Hal Jordan assumes the role of Green Lantern when dying alien Abin Sur gives him his green ring; Jordan is granted the power to replace Sur as a member of an intergalactic peacekeeping force that guards the Earth.
Responding to Marvel Comics' increased sales and socially relevant storylines, DC Comics decided to revamp Green Lantern beginning with issue #76. Writer Denny O'Neil teamed Green Lantern with an updated Green Arrow and tackled themes of racial prejudice, poverty and environmental pollution as they traveled across America. Superhero Green Lantern is left to question his own moral character and judgment as he realizes he has avoided dealing with social issues in his career and has viewed the world in black and white.
O'Neil confronted the problems of the Native American in modern America, including signed treaties that have no legal standing under the law, in Green Lantern #78 and #79. While issue #78 contained no Weird Western themes, issue #79 included a Weird Menace motif.
“ULYSSES STAR IS STILL ALIVE” [WMW]
First publication: Green Lantern #79 (September 1970); Story: Denny O'Neil; Art: Neal Adams, Dan Adkins; Publisher: DC Comics.
A dispute over land rights takes a spooky turn when the spirit of Chief Ulysses Star demands the departure of white men from Indian tribal land. We later learn that the ghost is Green Arrow in disguise.
Grenadier
[Manga; Anime; Japan; SFW]
1. First appearance: 2003; Story-Art: Sousuke Kaise; 7 volumes; Publisher: Kadokawa Shoten–Tokyopop.
Rushuna Tendo is a gunslinger with a difference. She is a large-breasted, golden-haired Senshi who despite her best intentions to create happiness and peace is often forced to display her impressive skills with guns when she joins forces with a samurai.
2. Premiere: October 14, 2004; Creator: Sousuke Kaise; Story: Akira Okeya; Director: Hiroshi Koujina; Studio Live; 12 × 25 min.; Color.
Combined science fiction, fantasy and traditional Western themes in a Japanese setting.
Based on this manga:
Season One
The Smiling Enlightened (1:01); Rushuna Targeted (1:02); Enlightenment of a Demon (1:03); The Town with No Smile (1:04); Exploding! Kensousen Kurenai Touka (1:05); Balloon User Mikan's Revenge (1:06); Well Then, to Tento (1:07); An Enemy of Memories Aizen Teppa (1:08); Wind Flower, When It Dances (1:09); Entering Tento (1:10); The Showdown with Tenshi (1:11); Things Gained from Travels (1:12).
Grim Prairie Tales
(1990) [Film; WW]
Premiere: 1990; Main Cast: James Earl Jones as Morrison, Brad Dourif as Farley Deeds, William Atherton as Arthur, Lisa Eichhorn as Maureen; Producers: Rick Blumenthal, Larry Huber; Story-Director: Wayne Coe; 90 min.; East-West Film Partners; Color.
A young clerk (Dourif) and a bounty hunter (Jones) exchange four stories over a desert campfire; they involve a desecrated burial ground, a pregnant seductress, a lynch mob and a haunted gunslinger.
La Guarida del Buitre
(1956) [Film; Mexico; WW]
Premiere: 1956; Main Cast: Antonio Aguilar as Mauricio Rosales, Sara Montes as Flora, Lola Casanova as Ana Maria, Agustin Isunza as Emeterio Berlanga, Joaquin Garcia “Borolas” as Timoteo Valdivia, Ignacio Navarro as Rodrigo Rodriguez a.k.a. El Buitre; Producer-Story: Rodolfo Rosas Priego; Director: Jaime Salvador; 86 min.; Rosas Films S.A.; Spanish; Color.
Mexican horror Western featuring witchcraft and a villain called the Vulture (Navarro) who terrorizes the town of Santa Anita until Mauricio Rosales (Aguilar) arrives on the scene.
Gun Blaze West
[Manga; Japan; WW]
First appearance: 2008; Story-Art: Nobuhiro Watsuki; Three volumes; Publisher: Shueisha.
Twelve-year-old Viu Bannes' desire to be the best gunfighter in the West gets closer to being a reality when renowned gunslinger Marcus Homer takes him under his wing as they journey to the fabled Gun Blaze West.
A Gun for One Hundred Graves
(1968) [Film; Italy-Spain; WW]
U.S. release title for Una Pistola per cento bare.
Gun Frontier
[Manga; Arcade Game; Anime TV series; Japan; SW]
1. First appearance: Play Comic, 1972; Creator: Leiji Matsumoto; three volumes; Publisher: Akita Shoten.
Tochiro Oyama and gunslinger Franklin Harlock Jr. search for lost Japanese immigrants in the American Western frontier.
2. Arcade game; International title: Gun & Frontier.
Released: 1990; Developer: Taito Corporation; Platforms: Arcade, Sega Saturn (home release 1997).
In the year 2120, the planet Gloria has being colonized by exiles from Earth who have created an American Old West–type society. But space pirates known as the Wild Lizards have decided to attack the planet for its rich supply of gold.
This vertically scrolling shooter was re-released in 2006. Packaged as Taito Legends 2, it was available on PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
3. Animated TV series.
Premiere: March 28, 2002 (Japan); Creator: Leiji Matsumoto; Director: Soichiro Zen; 13 × 25 min.; Vega Entertainment; Color.
Gunslinger Franklin Harlock Jr. and Tochiro Oyama meet a mysterious woman called Shinunora on the planet Gun Frontier, where law and order does not exist. Based on the manga:
Season One (U.S. titles)
“Departure to Gun Frontier”
(1:01); Air date: March 28, 2002
Young Harlock and Samurai Tochiro meet a mysterious woman called Sinunora on the lawless planet Gun Frontier.
“FALL OF A NON-ALCOHOLIC TOWN” (1:02); AIR DATE: APRIL 4, 2002
Sinunora, Harlock and Tochiro are attacked by bandits and rescued by Indians on their journey to a town with no saloons or guns.
“'HANGING' SONG IN THE SAND STORM” (1:03); AIR DATE: APRIL 11, 2002
Traveling to Samurai Creek, Harlock, Tochiro and Sinunora encounter a sandstorm and gunslinger Murigson.
“KILLING IN THE RAIN” (1:04); AIR DATE: APRIL 18, 2002
Tochiro plans to meet Maya in Bourbon Town to discover the secret of his Japanese kinsmen.
“PRAISE FOR THE SHORT-LEGGED!” (1:05); AIR DATE: APRIL 25, 2002
Tochiro, badly beaten by drunken cowboys in Flint Town, receives treatment from Dr. Sulski. His real name is Dr. Madarvic, and he is the man responsible for helping the survivors of Samurai Creek to escape.
“SAMURAI IN THE WILD” (1:06); AIR DATE: MAY 2, 2002
Newspaper owner Nogson sets a trap for the survivors of Samurai Creek by placing a missing persons list in his Westerners Town newspaper. He is working for the “Organization.”
“A BEDROOM IN A MIRAGE” (1:07); AIR DATE: MAY 9, 2002
Tochiro begins to despair when is arrested and sentenced to hang for urinating in the street, but the beautiful Asaka gives him hope.
“WILD UTAMARO” (1:08); AIR DATE: MAY 16, 2002
Harlock, Tochiro and Sinunora travel by train to Doji City in an attempt to track the Samurai warrior Utamaro who betrayed Tochiro's kinsmen at Samurai Creek.
“BATTLE IN GRAND CITY” (1:09); AIR DATE: MAY 23, 2002
When Tochiro rushes toward the body of a woman lying in the street, the townsfolk shoot at him and plan to execute him by hanging.
“RAGE OF A SHORT GUY” (1:10); AIR DATE: MAY 30, 2002
Tochiro is told he cannot enter Strobe Town to search for his sister Shizuku because he is too short.
“SECRET WEAPON FACTORY IN JAMACITY” (1:11); AIR DATE: JUNE 6, 2002
Tochiro traces his sister and the people of Samurai Creek to a secret factory run by the “Organization” to produce new weapons.
“SITARUNEN AND GATLING GUN” (1:12); AIR DATE: JUNE 13, 2002
Harlo
ck, Tochiro and Sinunora journey to Sitarunen's hideout and the secret factory.
“FOOTPRINTS TO FUTURE” (1:13); AIR DATE: JUNE 20, 2002
Arriving at Sitarunen's hideout, Tochiro must save his sister and the people of Samurai Creek as they board a train carrying the new weapons.
Gun X Sword
(2005) [Anime; Japan; SW]
Premiere: July 4, 2005; Producers: Hiroyuki Orukawa, Hiroyuki Saeki; Stories: Hideyuki Kurata; Director: Gor Taniguchi; Production; 26 × 25 min.; AIC A.S.T.A. for TV Tokyo (TX), d-rights, Gun Sword Partners; Color.
Van journeys across the “Planet of Endless Illusion” searching for the claw man who murdered his bride. A young girl named Wendy accompanies him in her own quest for her kidnapped brother.
Van can transform his metal sash into a sword and summon a mecha to help him in combat situations. The first episode featured the strongest Space Western theme with the villains, Lucky and the Wild Bunch, dressed in cowboy outfits in a town that mixes modern shopping malls and Old West architecture.
Season One
The Tuxedo That Fluttered in the Wind (1:01); Funny Stream (1:02); The Hero Returns (1:03); And then, The Rain Falls (1:04); Twin's Guard (1:05); Lit the Heart with Fire (1:06); Revenge Is Within Me (1:07); That Bond Has Its Use (1:08); Return to Carmen's Hometown (1:09); To the Ocean, Thank You (1:10); Cover of Goodbye (1:11); The Days of No Return (1:12); On the Way to Dreams (1:13); Swift Brownie (1:14); Neo Original (1:15); Electric Fireworks Spark (1:16); Pursue Coordinate X (1:17); To Pray Like Saudarde (1:18); The End of Hope (1:19); Wonderful Universe (1:20); A Wish to the Sky, Peace to the Earth (1:21); For Whose Sake? (1:22); Everyone's Song (1:23); End of Dreams (1:24); Idiots Are those Who Use Armors (1:25); Van of Dawn (1:26)
Gunfighter
(1998) [Film; WW]
Premiere; 1998; Main Cast: Martin Sheen as The Stranger, Robert Carradine as The Kid, Clu Gulager as Uncle Buck Peters, Chris Lybbert as Hopalong Cassidy; Executive Producers: Tom Null, Alain Silver; Story-Director: Christopher Coppola; 94 min.; Plaster City Productions, Citadel Records; Color.
Hopalong Cassidy owns magic gloves that allow him to draw his gun at super-speed. When his girlfriend is abducted by a local cattle rustler, Hopalong seeks justice.
Gunfighters in Hell
[Comic book; WW]
First appearance: 1993; Story: David Barbour, Joe Vigil; Art: Joe Vigil; Five-part mini-series; Publisher: Rebel Studios.
The Gunfighter and Anna Sinbuck trade stories with the Keeper in return for the map to the gates of Hell.
Gunman Chronicles
[Video game; SW]
Release date: November 20, 2000; First-person shooter (FPS); Developer: Rewolf Software; Publisher: Sierra Studios.
Game set in a frontier outpost at the “Western Spiral of the Galaxy.” Colonists fight the genetically enhanced infestation of Xenomes. Western influences include soldiers dressed as U.S. cavalrymen.
Gunplay
[Comic book; Graphic novel; WW]
First publication: March 2008; Creator: Jorge Vega; Publisher: Platinum Studios.
Cursed buffalo soldier Abner Meeks roams the West with a demonic gun that forces him to kill once a day. An adolescent faith healer, with a secret of his own, is Meeks' only hope of salvation.
Guns of the Dragon
[Comic book; WW]
First appearance: October 1998; Story-Art: Timothy Truman; Publisher: DC Comics.
Bat Lash joins Enemy Ace and Biff Bradley in 1927 China as they journey to Dragon Island to retrieve two enchanted swords and a living dragon.
“Gunslinger”
[Poem; WW]
Author: Edward Dorn; First publication: Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1968.
This four-part comic poem has been described as “an American Canterbury Tales” by poet Robert Duncan. The critically praised poem was published in four parts, beginning in 1968 and concluding in 1974. It defies conventional description. A 2,000-year-old gunslinger, a talking horse named Claude Lévi-Strauss, who rolls and smokes marijuana joints, and Lil, the madam of a brothel travel the Southwest in search of Howard Hughes. On their travels they pick up a hitchhiker named Kool Everything who happens to have a five-gallon can of LSD in his possession.
Poet Dorn attempts to shun conventional definitions and to shift boundaries of perception, forcing the readers into new ways of thought. They enter a surreal world where nothing is fixed and floating anxiety and uncertainty is a way of life.
Gunslingers
[Comic book; WW]
First publication: February 2000; Publisher: Marvel Comics.
One-shot title featuring reprints of Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, and Caleb Hammer strips. The Rawhide Kid reprint is the Weird Western “Beware!! The Terrible Totem!!” by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. In Peter B. Gillis' “The Devil's Starry Anvil” starring Pinkerton detective Caleb Hammer, Hammer plays upon the fears and guilt of two desperadoes who think he's an Indian Wolf-Spirit come to seek retribution for defiling their land.
Gunsmoke: Blazing Stories of the West
[Comic book character; WW]
First published: 1948 (cover date April-May 1949); Publisher: Western Comics Inc., Youthful Publications.
The adventures of the masked gunfighter known as Gunsmoke. All issues also featured the Masked Marvel back-up strip. The sub-title of the comic book was later changed to “Blazing Hero of the West.” The cover artist for the early issues, Graham Ingels, would achieve greater recognition on the EC horror titles.
“HORRORS IN THE CAVE”
First publication: #11 (February 1951); Art: Manny Stallman. [WMW]
A gold mine is guarded by monsters from the depths of the Earth. But on closer inspection they are nothing more than mechanical man-made monsters aimed at keeping people away from the gold.
“SCREAMING TERRORS OF SKULL CANYON”
First publication: #13 (June 1951); Art: Manny Stallman. [WMW]
The group of skeletons on horseback driving stolen cattle through Indian burial grounds are actually rustlers in disguise.
“THE THING”
First publication: #16 (January 1952); Art: Doug Wildey. [WW]
A beautiful woman turns into a murdering werewolf. A genuine Weird Western story for the final issue.
GURPS Deadlands: Hexes
[RPG book; WW]
Author: Michael Suileabhain-Wilson; First publication: 2002; Setting: Deadlands: The Weird West; Publisher: Steve Jackson Games.
The huckster attempts to control the evil Indian spirit known as a Manitou.
GURPS Deadlands: The Weird West
[RPG book; WW]
Adaptation: Andrew Hackard, Stephen Dedman; First publication: 2001; Publisher: Steve Jackson Games.
In the Weird West of 1873, monsters, hucksters, demons, shamans and zombies roam the landscape. Deadlands: The Weird West sourcebook for use with GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System).
GURPS Deadlands: Varmints
[RPG book; WW]
Author: Michael Suileabhain-Wilson; First publication: 2003; Setiing: Deadlands: The Weird West; Publisher: Steve Jackson Games.
New monsters, critters and beasts plus conversions from the original Deadlands game.
The H-Bar-O Rangers
[Radio show; WMW]
See: Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders
The Hanged Man
(1974) [Telefilm; WW]
Premiere: March 13, 1974; Main Cast: Steve Forrest as James Devlin, Dean Jagger as Josiah Lowe, Sharon Acker as Carrie Gault, Barbara Luna as Soledad Villegas, Cameron Mitchell as Lew Halleck; Creator: Andrew J. Fenady; Producer-Story: Ken Trevey; Director: Michael Caffey; 90 min.; Andrew J. Fenady Productions, Bing Crosby Productions; Color.
Gunslinger James Devlin survives his hanging despite being officially declared dead. A reformed Devlin discovers he now has the ability to read minds and decides to put his new abilities to good use by helping others.
Hank the Cowdog
[J
uvenile book series; WMW]
Author: John R. Erickson; Illustrator: Gerald L. Holmes; First appearance: The Cattleman magazine, 1982; Publishers: Maverick Books, Viking Books.
As Head of Ranch Security on a West Texas ranch, Hank the Cowdog can't keep his nose out of trouble. The long-running series has seen Hank in numerous adventures in and around the M-Cross ranch. The humor comes from seeing everything from Hank's point of view where simple everyday objects can become monsters and cats and children can be mistaken for vampires or ghosts.
Weird Menace Western titles in the series:
The Case of the Halloween Ghost #19; The Phantom in the Mirror #20; The Case of the Vampire Cat #21, The Case of the Black Hooded Hangman #24, The Case of the Night-Stalking Bone Monster #27, The Vampire Vacuum Sweeper #29, The Garbage Monster From Outer Space #32, The Secret Laundry Monster Files #29, The Case of the Burrowing Robot #42, The Dungeon of Doom #44, The Case of the Falling Sky #45
“Hart and Boot”
[Short story; WW]
Author: Tim Pratt; First publication; Polyphony 4, 2004; Publisher: Wheatland Press.