by Paul Green
(1943) [Radio series]
The chilling voice of Maurice Tarplin as the Mysterious Traveler narrated each episode with stories ranging from science fiction to horror to crime.
“BEHIND THE LOCKED DOOR” (205) [WW]
Air date: May 24, 1949; Story-Producers-Directors: Robert A. Arthur, David Kogan; 25 min.; Mutual Broadcasting System.
Two modern-day archaeologists discover a cavern entrance behind a landslide in the Vermillion cliffs along the Colorado River. Clearing the rubble and exploring the cavern, they discover skeletons, the arrow of a Navajo Indian and remains of over forty wagons from a wagon train. They learn that pioneers of 1849 were forced to retreat into this cave by attacking Indians who then sealed the entrance. The Indian guide's warning of “evil being asleep in the cave' comes true when he is found clawed to death. The two archaeologists are left alone in complete darkness and in total fear of the terrors that await them in the cavern. This memorable episodecreates an atmosphere of dread and apprehension.
Mystery in Space
[Comic book]
Award-winning anthology science fiction title from DC Comics.
“JESSE JAMES—HIGHWAYMAN OF SPACE” [SW]
First publication: Mystery in Space #2 (June-July 1951); Editor: Julius Schwartz; Story: Robert Kanigher. Art: Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella.
The Knights of the Galaxy pursue a space outlaw who is inspired by Jesse James of the American Old West and adopts his name and crime tactics to rob the people of Gala.
“COWBOY ON MARS” [SW]
First publication: Mystery in Space #6 (February-March 1952); Editor: Julius Schwartz; Story: Manny Rubin; Art: Jim Mooney.
A cowboy, accidentally transported to Mars, makes the best of his situation by entering a Martian rodeo and acting as a lawman in rounding up outlaws.
“EARTHMAN, GO HOME” [SW]
First publication: Mystery in Space #44 (June-July 1958); Editor: Julius Schwartz; Writer: Otto Binder; Art: Carmine Infantino, Bernard Sachs.
A space trader is greeted with hostility on a distant planet as a Martian receives similar treatment on his first journey to Earth. The space trader parallels an American Old West trapper trading with Native American Indians.
Mystery Mountain
(1934) [Film serial; SFW]
Premiere: December 3, 1934; Main Cast: Ken Maynard as Ken Williams, Verna Hillie as Jane Corwin, Sid Saylor as Breezy Baker; Producer: Nat Levine; Story: Ben Cohen, Armand Schaefer, B. Reeves Eason, Sherman L. Lowe, Barney A. Sarecky; Directors: Otto Brower, B. Reeves Eason; 223 min.; Mascot Pictures Corp.; b/w.
In this twelve-part serial, railroad detective Ken Williams attempts to capture vigilante and master of disguise “The Rattler.” Also known as “The Menace of the Mountain,” the strangely disguised Rattler protects hidden gold in a secret cave filled with weird electronic weapons.
Chapter titles: 1. The Rattler; 2. The Man Nobody Knows; 3. The Eyes That Never Sleep; 4. The Human Target; 5. Phantom Outlaws; 6. The Perfect Crime; 7. Tarzan the Cunning; 8. The Enemy's Stronghold; 9. The Fatal Warning; 10. The Secret of the Mountain; 11. Behind the Mask; 12. The Judgment of Tarzan.
“Mystery of the Hollow Rock”
[Pulp fiction; WW]
Author: Lon Williams; Character: Lee Winters; Real Western Stories (August 1954).
Legend had it that Indians had turned a man into stone. Deputy Marshal Lee Winters, however, scoffed at such nonsense. Yet, whatever had happened to Danny Sobo—and that intense-looking stranger with whom he had left Bogannon's saloon, a night ago?
Mystic Brand; or Frank Reade Jr. and His Overland Stage Upon the Staked Plains; The
[Dime novel; SPW]
Author: “Noname” (Luis Senarens); Frank Reade Library #54 (September 30, 1893).
Natas: The Reflection
(1983) [Film; WW]
Main Cast: Randy Mulkey as Steve, Pat Bolt as Terry, Nino Cochise as Smohalla, Bob Cota as the Killer; Executive Producers: Jack Dunlap, Peggy Dunlap; Story-Director: Jack Dunlap; 90 min; Arizona West Film Productions Inc.; Color.
A reporter's quest for the demon Natas takes him to a 200-year-old Indian shaman and an Old West ghost town full of zombie cowboys. Actor Nino Cochise, who claimed to be the grandson of legendary Chiricahua Apache chief Cochise, died one year after filming was completed at the age of 110.
Near Dark
(1987) [Film; WW]
Premiere: October 7, 1987; Main Cast: Adrian Pasdar as Caleb Colton, Lance Henriksen as Jesse Hooker, Bill Paxton as Severen, Jenny Wright as Mae, Jenette Goldstein as Diamondback; Executive Producers: Edward S. Feldman, Charles R. Meeker; Story: Kathryn Bigelow, Eric Red; Director: Kathryn Bigelow; 94 min; F/M; Color.
In this contemporary horror Western, Caleb Colton is seduced by a beautiful vampire (Wright) and abducted by her family. Now trained in the art of vampirism, he is forced to kill for blood.
The New Adventures of Superboy
[Comic book]
“SUPERBOY WHO NEVER WAS” [SFW]
First publication: #23 (November 1981); Story: Cary Bates; Art: Kurt Schaffenberger, Dave Hunt; Publisher: DC Comics.
The origin of Terra-Man finds Clark Kent in exile in the Old West as he puts his super-powers to good use fighting the reptilian alien known as the Collector. Kent learns he cannot run away from his responsibilities as Superboy and returns to the 20th century.
See: Superboy
The New Mutants
[Comic book]
The adventures of a group of teenage mutants under the tutelage of Professor Charles Xavier.
“DEATH HUNT” [WW]
First published: #18 (August 1984); Story: Chris Claremont; Art: Bill Sienkiewicz; Publisher: Marvel Comics.
Danielle Moonstar summons and confronts the Demon Bear that has been haunting her dreams.
“SIEGE” [WW]
First published: #19 (September 1984); Story: Chris Claremont; Art: Bill Sienkiewicz; Publisher: Marvel Comics.
Recovering in the medical center from injuries suffered during her fight with the Demon Bear, the New Mutants prepare to defend Moonstar from more attacks. But The Demon Bear teleports Moonstar and the New Mutants to the dimension known as the Badlands
“BADLANDS” [WW]
First published: #20 (October 1984); Story: Chris Claremont; Art: Bill Sienkiewicz; Publisher: Marvel Comics.
In the dimension known as the Badlands, the Demon Bear transforms Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander into hostile Native American Indians. The New Mutants eventually defeat the Demon Bear. Moonstar discovers that her parents weren't killed but were enslaved by the Demon Bear.
“WAY OF THE WARRIOR”
First published: #41 (July 1986); Story: Chris Claremont; Art: Jackson Guice, Terry Austin; Publisher: Marvel Comics.
Moonstar confronts death in the form of an Old West gunslinger as Pat Roberts fights for his life in the frozen Rockies.
“Night of the Cooters”
[Short story; SFW]
Author: Howard Waldrop; First publication: Omni Vol. 9 #7 (April 1987); Publisher: Omni Magazine.
A Texas sheriff fights Martian invaders out of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.
Night Rider
[Comic book character; Comic book; WW]
See: Ghost Rider
Night Train
[RPG book]
Author: John Goff; First publication: 1997; Deadlands: The Weird West #3 Dime Novel series; Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group.
Undead gunslinger Ronan Lynch rides into Varney Flats just in time to greet the sinister Night Train.
Nighthawk
[Comic book character; WW]
1. First appearance: Western Comics #5 (September-October 1948); Creators: Robert Kanigher, Charles Paris; Publisher: National Periodical Publications.
The evolution of the Western masked crimefighter known as Nighthawk into a superhero is convoluted and a prime example of the tangled history of many traditional cowboy characters from the 1940s. DC Comics
had the choice of letting their old Western characters ride into the sunset or make them relevant to a contemporary readership rooted in superheroes, science fiction and fantasy. Nighthawk began as a traditional masked cowboy strip in Western Comics. A traveling handyman man named Hannibal Hawkes moonlighted as Nighthawk with the help of his black stallion Nightwind, two six-shooters, a lasso and bullwhip. In later adventures he teamed up with orphan Jim Peyton.
Nighthawk was retired in 1960 but returned as the reincarnation of ancient Egyptian Prince Khufu. Hannibal Hawkes eventually reincarnated as Carter Hall, alias Hawkman, bonding with his former lover Cinnamon, reincarnated as Shiera Sanders, alias Hawkgirl. He also joined Bat Lash and El Diablo as a member of the Rough Bunch.
2. A mercenary not connected to the original Nighthawk who appeared with Robin in the Pulp Heroes story “The Law West of Gotham.”
Night's Children: Red Trails West
[Comic book]
First publication: December 1994; Creator: Wendy Snow-Lang; Publisher: Millenium Publications.
Vampire Western. Part two of a Night's Children three-part mini-series.
No Graves on Boot Hill
(1968) [Film; Italy; WW]
U.S. release title for Tre croci per non moiré.
Northwest Smith
[Pulp fiction character; SW]
First appearance: Weird Tales, November 1933.
A smuggler, gun-runner and exile from Earth working outside of the law with self-interest and self-preservation as his main motives, Northwest Smith was originally envisioned as a Western genre character by creator C. L. Moore.
The influences of pulp masters Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard are evident in the various exotic locales throughout the solar system visited by Northwest Smith. Moore blends many elements including the hardboiled, cynical private eye and Old West gunslinger to create a Western anti-hero in a science fiction setting.
She looked a second time at that face, its lean, leathery keenness and the scars that ray-guns had left, and the mark of knife and talon, and the tracks of wild years along the spaceways.—“Black Thirst” (1934).
Norton, Andre
(1912-2005) [Author]
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Alice Mary Norton knew she stood a greater chance of success in the male-dominated world of science fiction if she adopted a male pseudonym. Her first novel was published in 1934 but she continued to work as a librarian, bookstore owner and reader at Gnome Press until 1958 when she turned to writing full-time.
The theme of the exiled Native American making a new world for himself in a hostile environment was explored in her Beast Master novels. She is also remembered for her work on the Witch World series which ran to 35 novels.
Selected works: The Prince Commands (1934), The Beast Master (1959), The Sioux Spaceman (1960), Lord of Thunder (1962), Witch World (1963).
Les Nouvelles Aventures de LuckyLuke
(2001) [Animated TV series; France]
Premiere: September 16, 2001; Voice Cast: Antoine de Caunes as Lucky Luke, Eric Legrand as Jolly Jumper; Stories: Jean-François Henri, Jean-Luc Fromental; Producer: Marc du Pontavice; Director: Olivier Jean Marie; 52 × 26 min.; Dargaud Marina, FTVI, Xilam, France 2, France 3: Color.
“GHOSTS AND BAGPIPES” (1:19) [WW]
Air date: February 3, 2002
Staying at a castle, Lucky Luke is in the middle of a feud between the Irish population of O'City, the Scottish McCloud clan who live in the nearby castle and the Black Cloud Indians. The phantom of Bloody Laird complicates matters further.
“DO YOU BELIEVE IN MARTIANS?” (1:30) [SFW]
Air date: November 3, 2002
A strange light appears in the night sky above Nothing Gulch and a cow vanishes from its herd. The townsfolk have one explanation ... Martians!
“THE BEAST OF ALABAMA” (1:32) [WW]
Air date: April 28, 2002
In Alabama, the farmers believe their sheep are being devoured by a mysterious monster. Lucky investigates but is hindered by a self-appointed monster hunter.
“THE UNDEAD DALTONS” (1:42) [WW]
Air date: September 29, 2002
Once the Daltons are mistakenly declared dead, they pose as phantoms and embark on a crime spree. But a genuine phantom may exist in a ghost town where Joe is hiding out from Lucky.
Una Nuvola di polvere ... un grido di morte ... arriva Sartana
(1971) [Film; Italy-Spain; WW]
Premiere; 1971; Main Cast: John Garko [Gianni Garko] as Sartana, Susan Scott [Nieves Navarro] as Belle Manassas, Piero Lulli as Grandville Fuller, Massimo Serato as Sheriff Manassas, Dan van Husen as Deputy Sheriff; Producers: Eduardo Manzanos Brochero, Luciano Martino; Story: Eduardo Manzanos Brochero; Screenplay: Eduardo Manzanos Brochero, Tito Carpi, Ernesto Gastaldi; Director: Anthony Ascott [Giuliano Carmineo]; 99 min.; Copercines, Cooperativa Cinemato gráfica, Devon Film; Color.
A convoluted storyline revolving around stolen gold, counterfeit money and cross and double cross includes some bizarre gadgets: a church organ that Sartana converts into a lethal machine gun-type cannon and a mechanical Indian head named Alfie which transforms into a gun and a deadly bomb.
“Nymph of Darkness"
[Pulp fiction]
Authors C. L. Moore with Forrest J Ackerman; First publication: Fantasy Magazine (April 1935).
Northwest Smith encounters an invisible naked Venusian girl named Nyusa trying to evade pursuers on the Ednes waterfront. Smith discovers she is the daughter of The Darkness who is worshipped by underground dwellers known as the Nov. Nyusa's desire to escape the dark side and embrace her mother's humanity is under threat from the Nov who want her to be part of their ritual of dark worship. Northwest Smith becomes entangled in her plight and faces difficult choices.
Oblivion
(1994) [Film; SW]
Main Cast: Richard Joseph Paul as Zack Stone, Andrew Divoff as Redeye/Einstein, Musetta Vander as Lash, George Takei as Doc Valentine, Julie Newmar as Miss Kitty, Meg Foster as Stell Barr, Isaac Hayes as Buster; Executive Producer: Charles Band; Story: Charles Band, Peter David, Mark Goldstein, John Rheaume, Greg Suddeth; Director: Sam Irvin; 94 min.; Full Moon Entertainment; Color.
Following the death of his father at the hands of the reptilian Red Eye, Zack Stone, becomesthe reluctant sheriff of the alien outpost Oblivion.
Oblivion 2: Backlash
(1996) [Film; SW]
Main Cast: Richard Joseph Paul as Zack Stone, Maxwell Caulfield as Sweeney, Andrew Divoff as Redeye/Einstein, Musetta Vander as Lash, George Takei as Doc Valentine, Julie Newmar as Miss Kitty, Meg Foster as Stell Barr, Isaac Hayes as Buster; Executive Producer: Charles Band; Story: Charles Band, Peter David, Mark Goldstein, John Rheaume, Greg Suddeth; Director: Sam Irvin; 83 min.; Full Moon Entertainment; Color.
Bounty hunter Sweeney finds the task of taking seductive outlaw Lash into custody more complicated than he bargained for when he discovers she won a Derconium mine in a game of cards.
Sequel to Oblivion.
Oky Doky Ranch
(1949) [Puppet series; WW]
Main Cast: Rex Trailer; 15 min; b/w.
Revised format for The Adventures of Oky Doky, the twice weekly show starring cowboy puppet Oky Doky and cowboy star Rex Trailer.
“Old Garfield's Heart”
[Pulp fiction; WW]
Author: Robert E. Howard; First publication: Weird Tales (December 1933).
Jim Garfield's far-fetched claims of fighting Comanches following the Alamo are mocked by the townsfolk of 1930s Lost Knob, Texas. But when the spirit of an Indian shaman demands the return of the gift that has allowed Garfield to remain alive, a youngster believes the stories.
Omega Chase
[Comic book; SFW]
First publication: 2007; Creators: Keith Dallas, Julio Molina Muscara; Publisher: Th3rdworld.
Mack Baron has cloudy memories of being an officer on a galactic starship and an archer in medieval Europe. But he has enough present-day problems maintaining law
and order as the sheriff of an Old West town where a horde of zombie gunslingers want him dead.
OneeChanbara
[Video game series; Japan; WW]
First release: 2004; Developer: Tamsoft; Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii.
Aya, the bikini- and scarf-wearing Japanese cowgirl, fights her estranged half-sister Saki, who wants Aya's heart to bring her dead mother back to life. Zombies and other undead creatures add to the weird mix in this successful series of video games that includes Zombie Zone, Zombie Hunters, Bikini Samrai Squad and Bikini Zombie Slayers. A combination of American Western, Japanese Samurai and horror genres.
OneeChanbara: The Movie
(2008) [Film; Japan; WW]
Main Cast: Otoguro Eri as Aya, Nakamura Chise as Saki, Hashimoto Manami as Reiko; Screenplay: Yôhei Fukuda, Yasutoshi Murakawa; Director: Yôhei Fukuda; 80 min.; Geneon Entertainment; Color.
Aya's scarf and bikini accompanies her cowgirl hat and boots as she defends her city against zombies in this film based on the popular PS2 game series.
See: Chanbara Beauty
The Outcasts
