Ah, a Dell comic based on a ZIV Television Production (like the old Highway Patrol and Sea Hunt television series) with a photograph of Gene Barry as Bat Masterson on the cover. Does that bring back memories for a kid from the ‘50s? I used to watch the show on television whenever I could. So, I was delighted to find this collection.
Lead Souvenir: This story proved to be better than its initial set-up. I thought it was going to be a “no good deed goes unpunished” story. I thought that was strange as it didn’t fit the Bat Masterson tone. The resolution of the tension between my presupposition and the actual story was quite satisfactory. In fact, there was an additional element to it that I liked. Regarding the art, I really liked the use of duotone red/black on PDF page 4 to highlight the leaders of the fast-riding gang and duotone blue/black for the trailing members of the posse. I’m not sure why only one of the leaders was shot while the trailing members was spared, but I still liked the effect. It seems like the technique is used whenever certain characters are in the shadows. I really like it.
Animal Friend: Aesop would have proud of this variation of the Androcles and the Lion story.
The Red Hot Ringer: I won’t know till I read more of these whether “Softspoken Smith” is a regular back-up character in this title, but this one works nicely. It seems to work because the protagonist doesn’t give away what he’s thinking. It will be interesting (if this is a regular back-up) to see how this “close to the chest” strategy works in other stories. In terms of art, the facial expressions in this story are far superior to those in the cover story.
The Vanishing Gandy Dancers: There is a nice middle frame on page 25 of the PDF that looks like a wide-angle television camera shot. The building detail is lovely, particularly the center building. The story treats the Cheyenne with dignity and certainly fits the idealistic justice one expects in every Masterson story.
When I was a kid, I would read the one-page historical notes like the inside back cover on Bisbee, AZ and the back cover on “The Saline Pueblos.” Of course, the whitewashing of the Native American labor to build those towers was typical of the era when this title was published.
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Bat Masterson 2
