[Pikabruce]

This comic adaptation of the movie "Rose of Cimarron" is adequately presented. When the outlaws kill Rose's adoptive Cherokee parents the comic wisely omitted the virulently racist remark ("the only good...") spoken by one of the outlaws in the movies. But the comic added a Christian cross to the burial rock mound of each parent, which was not present in the movie. The artwork on faces could be much better, particularly to create a stronger sense of the main villain's ability to be charming when he wishes to impress. One of the memorable moments in the movie was when Rose gets into a quick-draw showdown against two outlaws at the same time, killing them both. The comic places a strong emphasis on this scene: a movie still showing the aftermath of that gunfight is displayed on the front cover; the gunfight itself is drawn on the opening splash page; and the gunfight is drawn in its proper place in the story. The movie clearly depicts one of the outlaws drawing first, but in the comic we just see her firing both guns, with no indication as to who drew first. And in the movie both outlaws die silently, but in the comic they both shriek ("AIIEEE!" "AAAGGG!") when they are shot. The fight scene in the jail isn't drawn particularly well, and the comic omits the scene of Rose leaping into the saddle. The train robbery sequence is fairly faithful to the movie, and the action panel where Marshall Bret swings into the box car is well done and better than the same moment in the film. Once the final chase scene starts, there is no more dialogue in the film, but the comic naturally included some dialogue to round out that final page, adding a romantic clinch with a promise of marriage to give the film a happier ending than simply disposing of the main villain. It would be nice to see this story someday redrawn by a better artist.

Link to the book: Fawcett Movie Comic 17 - Rose of Cimarron