Cover painting by Hank Hartman
Maybe it's just coincidence. Maybe it's just the The Ranger never sets foot in town until he's ready to round up the bad guy, or less'n he's disguised as an old prospector, but whatever the reason, it seems like none of the Masked Man's faithful companions can get anywhere near a town without one of 'em is gettin' lynched.
This time, it's the horse. From Lone Ranger #19,
This story originally appeared in Dell's Lone Ranger #111 September, 1957 (where it was 2 pages longer!)
Cover painting by Hank Hartman
Cover painting by Hank Hartman as it originally appeared on Dell's Lone Ranger #110
Nothing to do with this story, but just found your site a few days ago and looked through the archives, to discover the '50s story "The Guns Of Rio Vegas." Wanted to let you know that isn't Alex Toth on pencils, as you credited, it's Mike Sekowsky. Not sure who the inker is, but I'd guess Mike Roy or Mike Peppe, who frequently inked Sekowsky in the early '50s and sometimes inked Toth as well, so there's always a little visual confusion, but the figurework and character body language is identifiably Sekowsky and also identifiably Not Toth.
ReplyDeleteSteven: Nice catch! I suspect you're right. It does feel VERY Sekowski. The GCD (Grand Comicbook Database) was where I found this attributed to Toth. I didn't feel it looked much like his 60's and 70's work, but it wasn't so very different from his 40's work on Green Lantern that I just shrugged it off as an earlier style.
ReplyDeleteIt does bear a much greater resemblance to Sekowski's work on Captain Flash.
Could Toth have inked this, I wonder?
It's possible Toth inked it but unlikely, which is why I suspect either Roy or Peppe, because both while working with Toth affected something of a Toth inking style, but still spot their blacks differently. Very few people have ever had Toth's precise eye for light and shadow. Also possible it's Frank Giacoia on inks, as Giacoia had an inking style that was slick and rough at the same time and that certainly fits here. (Plus S & G worked together a lot.) But it's definitely Sekowsky; you can compare his figure work and positioning to his early JLA work and see the same compositions.
ReplyDeleteThe Comic Book Database is a great, invaluable resource and I praise their efforts immensely, but you have to be careful with their assessments of uncredited stories, esp. of the '40s and '50s. Someone who has indexed for them has misidentified Sekowsky as Toth on other stories, and I've corrected them a couple of times. One thing about CBD, they're always more than happy to admit they got it wrong if it means they can get it right.
Well, once again I totally had this one...
ReplyDeleteAnd I assure you I had no idea in the 70s that I was reading a story written and drawn 7 years before I was even born! It seemed fresh and new to me I have no doubt.
Love me some masked man!
Albie: Heck, I'm startin' to wonder if the three 70's issues of Lone Ranger I have were part of a Whitman 3-pack your bought or something'. Oddly enough, I bought all of these separately and years apart. Maybe you just REALLY liked the Lone Ranger as a kid and bought a wagon-load of 'em?
ReplyDeleteYou know, you might be right! Come to think of it I am pretty sure they WERE all Whitmans and not Gold Keys. And I remember buyin' those 3-packs down at Bill's Mercantile, too.
ReplyDelete