As depicted on the cover, the real Annie Oakley was famous for her skill with a rifle. In the comics, she seems pretty handy with a Colt. This series was a spin-off of the TV show, starring Gail Davis, which ran from 1954-1957.
On the cover, Gail Davis always looks to me like she's thinking about blowing her brains out with that bullet.
This one's for you, Albie!
Thanks, Aaron!... classic Dell kid-western [YAY!] with a cool O. Henry ending!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you about the percieved suicidal sub-text of the photo cover, though. It's all about Gail's strange wistful-but-sad expression. Like she's thinking "I am the world's best shot, but it hasn't brought me peace and joy... " LOL
And get this... I just saw Gail Davis the other day on the old ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. She played a female sharpshooter who could out-mark Andy on every shot. Talk about bein' typecast!
Albie: Gail Davis typecast as a sharp-shooter! That is awesome! I have a few episodes of Annie Oakley on some $1 DVD's. It's pretty enjoyable. Of course, I also dig The Cisco Kid and Bat Masterson.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm looking for more sophisticated TV Western fare, I turn to Warner Bros for Maverick, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco and Lawman...
Yeah we have a DVD sampler of this show as well. I think these comics are better somehow.
ReplyDeleteI'm just like you... I watch 'em all, from the kiddie oaters-- to the big budget A features-- to the mighty one-hour "white-hat" matinee "Bs"-- to the '60s horsified soap operas-- to the spaghetti mock-epics!
I'm always game to saddle up the armchair!
I agree about WB TV westerns, too. Always a good product. I have been digging LAWMAN lately myself. My 2 all-time TV faves, though, are THE BIG VALLEY and THE HIGH CHAPARALL.
I am actually from AZ where I was raised on a ranch [we were tenants though-- my dad was a copper miner] and I was brainwashed pretty early... :)
I am now posting a blog that sort of tracks my life-long addiction to westerns if you're interested.
Anyway, as always... thanks for what you're doing here.
Albie: I've never been any further West than Madison, WI. But West Virginia in the early 70's was also a hotbed of TV Western re-runs. Bonanza, The Big Valley, Rawhide, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid and Alias Smith and Jones- to name a few.
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa had a pretty good collection of Zane Grey hardbacks and Louis L'Amour paperbacks. He passed away a couple of years ago, leaving behind a stack of John Wayne DVD's that would make a Walmart electronics department blush.
We didn't have any ranches where I lived. Quite a few farms, some with horses. Oh, I guess my Jr. High Science teacher was a horse breeder/boarder so I assume his place would sort of qualify as a ranch.
I have another picture of my dad as a kid wearing that cowboy hat and standing next to a big, spotted hog. That hog was most assuredly eaten by my dad and his siblings that winter.
I have added your blog to my links.
Gail Davis made a cameo appearance as Annie Oakley in Bob Hope's "Alias Jesse James." (Along with James Arness as Marshal Dillon, Ward Bond as Major Adams, James Garner as Bret Maverick, Jay Silverheels as Tonto, Hugh O' Brian as Wyatt Earp, and several others.)
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