Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns
Page 36
“THE HAUNTED VILLAGE” [WMW]
First publication: #40 (December 1954)
Outlaws attempt to keep their hideout safe from the law by faking a “Headless Horseman” and ghosts.
“SECRET OF THE SPANISH SPECTERS” [WMW]
First publication: #40 (December 1954)
The gold lust of Spanish treasure drives a man to dress his two sons as ghostly Conquistadors.
“THE PAINTED MAN” [WMW]
First publication: #55 (March 1956)
Medicine man Many Dreams stirs unrest among the Kiowa with talk of magical visions of a Painted Man who will guide them. When Straight Arrow discovers the truth behind the Painted Man and his plans for war, he decides to provide his own Painted Man with a message of peace.
Strange Adventures
[Comic book]
Science fiction anthology comic book from DC Comics.
“THE STAR OSCAR” [SFW]
First publication: #34 (July 1953); Story: Sid Gerson; Art: Frank Giacoia; Publisher: DC Comics.
An alien experiences the Hollywood film industry and turns himself into an exact copy of an actor in a cowboy film.
“THE MIRAGES FROM SPACE” [SFW]
First publication: #61 (October 1955); Story: Otto Binder; Art: Gil Kane, Bernard Sachs; Publisher: DC Comics.
Futuristic landscapes in the Mojave Desert turn out to be mirages from the planet Jupiter.
Gil Kane's cover artwork depicts an amazed cowboy seated on his horse looking toward the mirage of a space-age city. In the interior story, the cowboy has been replaced with a modern-day astronomer with suit and tie.
“THE MAZE OF MARS” [SFW]
First publication: #64 (January 1956); Story: Otto Binder; Art: Sid Greene, Joe Giella; Publisher: DC Comics.
An underground maze in the West connects with Mars.
The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl
[Novel; SFW]
Author: Tim Pratt; First publication: New York: Bantam Books, 2005.
Marzipan “Marzi” McCarty writes a neo-western comic called The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. She is also the night manager–barista of Genius Loci, a Santa Cruz coffeehouse where she hangs out with weird friends who worship strange gods. When the comic book characters come to life, an evil force that wants to destroy California is unleashed.
“The Strange Piper”
[Pulp fiction; WW]
Author: Lon Williams; Character: Lee Winters; Real Western Stories (December 1956).
Lee Winters encounters the Greek god Pan while searching for a criminal in Gallitena Gulch.
Strange Tales
[Comic book]
Anthology title, originally featuring tales of fantasy, horror and gigantic monsters before it transformed into a superhero title in October 1962.
“WHEN THE TOTEM WALKS” [WW]
First publication: #74 (April 1960) Art: Steve Ditko; Publisher: Marvel Comics.
When two escaped convicts seek refuge on an Indian reservation and proceed to threaten the Indians, they incur the wrath of the Totem who comes to life and chases them back to their prison.
Strange Westerns Starring the Black Rider
[Comic book; WW]
First publication: October 2006; Story: Steve Englehart. Joe R. Lansdale; Art: Marshall Rogers, Rafa Garres.
In this revival of the 1950s Western character the Black Rider, mild-mannered Doc Masters has an alter-ego lurking on the streets of New York City. Joe R. Lansdale provides a Weird Western tale featuring a cursed weapon and Gunhawk stars in “Midnight Gun.”
See: The Mighty Marvel Western
“Stranger at Gunnison's Camp”
[Short story; WW]
Author: Ken Rand; First publication: Oceans of the Mind, 2006.
A Salt Lake City newspaper reporter is told of the Indian massacre of Captain Gunnison and his scout team in 1853 and the curse that followed. When a reporter realizes he's touched the cursed sextant, he can only wait and hope...
The Stranger's Gundown
(1969) [Film; Italy; WW]
DVD release title U.S. for Django il Bastardo.
Strangeways: Murder Moon
[Comic book; WW]
First publication: March 2008; Story: Matthew Maxwell; Art: Luis Guaragña; Publisher: Highway 62 Press.
Former army officer Seth Collins, traveling to Silver Hand in response to a letter from his sister is attacked by a man-wolf creature.
Sugar Creek
(2006) [Film; WW]
Premiere: November 7, 2006; Main Cast: Daniel Kruse as Adam Stanton, Rebecca Harrell as Christine, Dayton Knoll as Kane St. Clair, Robert Miano as Pete St. Clair; Story-Director: James Cotten; 95 min.; Dark Highway Films, MagniForge Entertainment, Pale Horse Productions; Color.
A barefooted Adam Stanton stands alone and confused in an Arkansas field in 1898. The mysterious Horseman will track him down and kill him and nobody will come to his aid, for they know the Shoeless Man has been visited by the Horseman and death awaits all who have lived beyond their time.
Sukiyaki Western Django
(2007) [Film; Japan; SFW]
Premiere: August 31, 2007; Main Cast: Hideaki Ito as Gunman, Masanobu Ando as Yoichi, Koichi Sato as Taira no Kiyomori, Yusuke Iseya as Minamoto no Yoshitsune; Executive Producer: Toshiaki Nakazawa; Story: Takashi Miike, Masa Nakamura, Director: Takashi Miike; 121 min.; Dentsu Productions Ltd.; Color.
In a post-apocalyptic future, a gunslinger (Ito) faces the rival Heike Reds and Genji Whites clans feuding over gold in a remote mountain village.
The rival Red and White clans are compared with the historical “Wars of the Roses” with quotes from Shakespeare's Henry VI in this hybrid Japanese “spaghetti Western.”
Sullivan, Vincent
(1911-1999) [Artist; Editor; Publisher]
Vincent Sullivan will be remembered as the man who saw the potential in Superman and Batman and signed their creators to contracts at National Allied Publications later known as DC Comics). Sullivan was also a key figure in the early evolution of the Weird Western in comic books.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 5, 1911, Sullivan had ambitions of becoming a newspaper comic strip artist. His early work at National-DC Comics included the cover artwork for Detective Comics #1 in 1937 as well as writing, lettering and editing duties. Within a year Sullivan was editor of Action Comics. Two years later he quit National to join Charles McAdams and Frank Marky at the newly formed Columbia Comics.
Columbia Comics failed to live up to its early promise and in 1943 Sullivan decided to form a new publishing company named Magazine Enterprises.
The company published comic books in various genres including film-radio an television-licensed titles, crime, adventure, jungle, humor and Westerns. With their Western strip The Calico Kid floundering, Sullivan decided to revamp the character by giving it a “supernatural” twist and a new name, Ghost Rider. A similar revamp occurred with Tim Holt when the amiable movie star suddenly became the Red Mask. The move from standard Western comic books to titles with added mystery and flair resulted in increased sales. The work of editor Ray Krank, artists Dick Ayers, Frank Frazetta, Fred Guardineer, Frank Bolle and Bob Powell and writers Gardner Fox and Carl Memling were an essential element of their success.
With the restrictive Comic Code and the rising popularity of television eroding comic book sales Magazine Enterprises folded in 1957 and Sullivan retired from the comic book industry.
Sunabozu
[Manga; Anime; Japan; SFW]
1. First publication: Comic Beam, August 5, 1997; Story-Art: Usune Masatoshi; Publisher; Enterbrain.
2. Air date: October 4, 2004; Director: Inagaki Takayuki; 24 × 24 min.; Gonzo; Color.
In the nuclear-ravaged Great Kanto desert, Kanta Mizuno a.k.a. Desert Punk is a sex-obsessed mercenary, equipped with a Winchester Model 1897 rifle, who survives by hiring himself out to anyone willing to pay for his talents. But the desert is full of enemies including Rain Spider, a rival debt col
lector who collects not only money but souls. And the devious Junko Asagiri, “Vixen of the Desert,” uses her huge breasts to great advantage with Mizuno.
Based on the manga by Usune Masatoshi.
Season One
(U.S. release titles): The Demon and the Double D's (1:01); Rock, Paper, Scissors (1:02); Fire Dragon Kong (1:03); An Ace in the Sand (1:04); The Price of Water (1:05); Wandering Lust (1:06); Age Before Beauty (1:07); A Dog in Heat (1:08); All That Glitters (1:09); A Little Bit of Wisdom (1:10); Compromising Positions (1:11); A Change of Heart (1:12); Opposites Collide (1:13); Kosund: Fully Automatic (1:14); The Girl Next Door (1:15); A Load of ... (1:16); Perv in Pursuit (1:17); Too Close for Comfort (1:18); Scratching the Surface (1:19); A Raw Deal (1:20); Successor of the Desert (1:21); Hidden Agendas (1:22); Voices in the Wind (1:23); The Demon Revealed (1:24)
See: Desert Punk
Desert Punk from Sunabozu © 2004 Masatoshi Usune, Enterbrain/Benriyakumiai. Licensed by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
Sundown Arizona
[Comic book; WW]
First publication: July 2005; Creators: Jay Busbee, Ryan Bodenheim; Art: Jason Ossman; three-issue mini-series; Publisher: Arcana Studios.
New York Herald crime reporter Will Dalton and his brother Sheriff Clay Dalton search for the truth behind the brutal killing of preachers in Arizona territory in 1880.
Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat
(1989) [Film; WW]
Premiere: May 18, 1989; Main Cast: David Carradine as Count Jozek Mardulak, Morgan Brittany as Sarah Harrison, Bruce Campbell as Robert Van Helsing, Maxwell Caulfield as Shane; Executive Producers: Dan Ireland, Jack Lorenz; Story: John Burgess, Anthony Hickox; Director: Anthony Hickox; 104 min.; Vestron Pictures; Color.
The town of Purgatory has a secret: two rival factions of vampires, one feasting on human blood, the other on synthetic bottled blood. But with a new family arriving in town the temptation for fresh blood is overwhelming. Bruce Campbell plays a descendant of the original vampire hunter Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
Sundowners: Ghost Town
[Novel; WW]
Author: James Swallow; First publication: London: Scholastic, 2001.
The first in a series of adventures set in 1878 featuring gunslinger Gabriel Tyler, Native American shaman Jonathan Fivehawk, an evil force known as the Faceless and its servant, rail baron Robur Drache.
Sundowners: Iron Dragon
[Novel; WW]
Author: James Swallow; First publication: London: Scholastic, 2001.
The search for Fivehawk's sister Eyes-Like-Amber leads the pair to Winterville where Drache is building a railroad that apparently leads to nowhere.
Sundowners: Showdown
[Novel; WW]
Author: James Swallow; First publication: London: Scholastic, 2001.
The final showdown with Drache and the Faceless as warriors rise from the dead in an ancient battleground.
Sundowners: Underworld
[Novel; WW]
Author: James Swallow; First publication: London: Scholastic, 2001.
Tyler and Fivehawk track Drache to the Burnt Hills mine and attempts to rescue family members held captive by Drache's minions.
Super-Chief
[Comic book character; SFW]
1. First appearance: All-Star Western #117 (February-March 1961); Story: Gardner Fox; Art: Carmine Infantino; Publisher: DC Comics.
After Iroquois Indian Saganowahna, Flying Stag of the Wolf Clan, prays to the Great Spirit Manitou, he comes into contact with a radioactive meteorite which gives him super strength and the ability to leap great heights and distances for one hour at a time. Flying Stag became Saganowhana (or Super-Chief) in honor of Manitou and the magical meteor amulet he wears. The continued wearing of the amulet grants Super-Chief an extended life but it comes at the expense of greatly diminished mental powers over time.
Super-Chief's original strip only lasted three issues before All-Star Western ceased publication. He was later featured in 1870s storylines with fellow Weird Western characters including Black Bison, Firehair and shaman Wise Owl.
2. A Native American utilized Super-Chief's powers in “The Return of Saganowahna.”
See: Pulp Heroes
3. First appearance: 52 #22 (October 2006); Story: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Art: Eddy Barrows; Publisher: DC Comics.
Ex-convict Jon Standing Bear gains possession of the meteor amulet after suffocating his grandfather at his request. But after Jon Standing is banished to another dimension, Flying Stag regains control of the amulet.
Super Spook
[Comic book]
Adventures of a superhero ghost in the style of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
“GO WEST!” [WW]
First published: Super Spook #4, June 1958; Publisher: Ajax-Farrell Publications.
Super Spook meets Native American Indians, cowboys and the Haunted Horse in this humorous tale.
Superboy
[Comic book]
The adventures of Superman as a youngster in Smallville.
“SUPER BOY MEETS SUPER-BRAVE” [WW]
First publication: #41 (June 1955); Art: Curt Swan, George Klein; Publisher: DC Comics.
An American Indian boy's magical powers drain Superboy's strength.
See: The New Adventures of Superboy
Superman & Batman: Generations III
[Comic book]
An Elseworlds series of Imaginary Tales.
“THE 26TH CENTURY: PART TWO” [SFW]
First publication: #8 (October 2003); Story-Art: John Byrne; Publisher: DC Comics.
Superman is thrown back in time to the Old West where he discovers a young Jonathan Kent is out for revenge on bounty hunter Jonah Hex. But events lead to Martha Clark being shot and losing any chance of having children in the future.
Superman Batman
[Comic book]
“ABSOLUTE POWER CHAPTER 3: WHEN TIME GOES ASUNDER...” [SFW]
First publication: #16 (February 2005); Story: Jeph Loeb; Art: Carlos Pacheo, Jesus Merino; Publisher: DC Comics.
In an alternate modern-day Gotham City, the law enforcement team of Gotham Central Precinct 13 consists of El Diablo, Bat Lash, Tomahawk and Cinnamon who wears the costume of Madame .44.
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen
[Comic book]
The adventures of the young red-headed reporter for the Daily Planet.
“THE FASTEST GUN IN THE WEST” [SFW]
First publication: #3 (January-February 1955); Story: Otto Binder; Art: Curt Swan, Ray Burnley; Publisher: DC Comics.
Jimmy Olsen's latest assignment lands him in serious trouble with the local gunslinger in the modern-day Western town of Tumbleweed until Superman comes to the rescue.
This story resembles the Adventures of Superman episode “Bully of Dry Gulch” (3:10) broadcast September 24, 1955.
“THE FEATS OF CHIEF SUPER-DUPER” [SFW]
First publication: #14 (August 1956); Story: Otto Binder; Art: Curt Swan, Ray Burnley; Publisher: DC Comics.
Jimmy Olsen and Superman journey through the time barrier to the Old West, where Jimmy's control over nature earns him the respect of the Native Indians who make him their chief.
“THE GUNSMOKE KID” [SFW]
First publication: #45 (June 1960); Art: Curt Swan, John Forte; Publisher: DC Comics.
Jimmy Olsen travels in time to the Old West where he is mistaken for the outlaw the Gunsmoke Kid and becomes part of the Jesse James gang.
“Suspended Animation”
[Pulp fiction; WW]
Author: Lon Williams; Character: Lee Winters; Real Western Stories (October 1956).
This was the strangest corpse anyone in Forlorn Gap had ever seen, for in the unfortunate's pockets was a note reading: “....Please do not bury me. I am not dead.”
The Swamp of the Lost Monster
(1957) [Film; Mexico; WW]
U.S. release title for El Pantan
o de Las Ánimas.
Switching Well
[Novel; SFW]
Author: Peni R. Griffin; First publication: New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1993.
Two twelve-year-old girls, one living in 1891 and the other in 1991, exchange time and place through a magic well.
Tales from the Texas West
[Book Anthology; WW]
Author; Michael Moorcock; First publication: 1997; Publisher: Mojo Press.
A collection of short stories, essays and reviews from the acclaimed British writer includes the supernatural Western “The Ghost Warriors.”
Tales from the Trails: Mexico
[RPG book; WW]
Author: James Moore; First publication:1999; Setting: Werewolf: The Wild West; Publisher: White Wolf Publishing.
19th-century Mexico sourcebook for the World of Darkness. The final book for the short-lived Werewolf: The Wild West game.