The American frontier meets the final frontier in a new trade paperback that collects the entire Space Western Comics – a bizarre 1950s mashup comic from the creator of iconic crime fighter, The Shadow.
The series, which starred electrical engineer-turned-cowboy Spurs Jackson, was created by writer Walter Gibson along with a trio of artists: John Belfi, Stan Campbell, and Lou Morales. Each adventure sees Spurs and his band of Space Vigilantes tackling the UFO menace, as well as more Earth-bound threats, which the title of the new book neatly sums up...
Space Western Comics: Cowboys vs. Aliens, Commies, Dinosaurs, and Nazis! is edited by comics historian Craig Yoe and Clizia Gussoni, and represents the entire series, along with a previously lost instalment. As Yoe's introduction to the book reveals, Space Western Comics started life as a bit of a joke, but even though it remains a pretty obscure title, it's one that has had a substantial amount of influence, perhaps even feeding into the likes of Star Trek and Star Wars. Newsarama caught up with Yoe over email to find out more about the new collection and its strange origins...
Newsarama: Space Western Comics is going to be a new one for many of our readers. How would you describe the title for those who are only just hearing about it?
Craig Yoe: Let me search for the right word. Wacky, oddball, surreal. Bizarro would be a good word to describe Space Western Comics but, FUN is the operative word! Comics can be wonderfully engaging and even amazing these days, but there's nothing like the F-U-N of reading this wild collection of 1950s space/cowboy stories.
What was your first exposure to this strange and delightful series?
The Space Western Comics are legendary among the collectors and fans of vintage comics, but I had never seen a copy of these rare, hard to find, comics until years ago I snagged a copy of the first issue at a little comic book convention held in a New York City basement of a church – praise God!
Spurs Jackson is the hero. What makes him an interesting character?
Spurs' world of the West and his meet ups with wild creatures there and in outer space reflected the world of the 1950s. Cowboys ruled the big movie screens then, and on the little screens of TVs that were starting to flicker in family living rooms. And the Space Race between the US and Russia was on. So the bizarro – FUN – mashup of space and Westerns was a stroke of brilliance from the publisher of Charlton Comics.
Walter B Gibson was the writer for these strips, but more famously developed The Shadow. Do you see a lineage between that character and Gibson's work on Space Western Comics?
Walter Gibson was the consummate writer. Gibson kept a typewriter in every room in his house and moved through his abode pecking out scripts on every one of them. These stories are all full of imagination and bravado. His imaginative and unique mind begot the Shadow, and Spurs Jackson leapt from the same creative, fevered brain!
John Belfi, Stan Campbell, and Lou Morales drew these stories. What do you admire about their art?
Those artists were journeymen artists who well-knew how to tell a good yarn that reads and moves with gusto. They were each obviously having a good time delineating this far-out fare and it shows. The readers are up for a hell of a ride! We also include a "space western comic" by maybe the most virtuoso team of artists ever assembled in the field… the masterful Al Williamson, Frank Frazetta, and Roy G. Krenkel. This trio of moonlighting EC Comics artists were superstars of illustrative comic art and their joint story in the book is a thrill art lovers will experience. This story and all the rest were lovingly restored to make that experience pleasurably top-notch.
Could you tell us a little about your experience of editing this volume? What was the process like?
Clizia Gussoni and I thoroughly enjoyed putting together this book. We are always passionate about editing, designing and infusing our books with fascinating context and background history. But, creating the Space Western Comics book was an especially good time dealing with this funk-tastic unholy alliance of cowboys and creatures from out of this world!
What is your favourite story in the collection, and why?
Don't make me choose! When Spurs battles commies from space, Hitler and his Nazis from Mars, and the cowboy hero mixes it up with dinosaurs, you can't pick a fave! If you DO make me choose, I lovelovelove the story where our cowpoke heroes meet up with cosplayers from a science fiction convention. Together they stop planet Earth from being blown to smithereens by invading aliens! This was the historical first time us fanboys and cosplayers were depicted in comics! Way beyond cool!
What do you think has been the legacy of Space Western Comics?
Space Western Comics may have inspired some recent movie fare, and – who knows – David Bowie. The readers of this crazy comic will have to decide. However, it is guaranteed they will have *WHAT?* reading the complete Space Western stories (including a LOST one we discovered)?!? F-U-N… FUN!!!
Space Western Comics: Cowboys vs. Aliens, Commies, Dinosaurs, and Nazis! is published by Dark Horse Books on November 5.
