[MarkWarner]

Last week's book Jackpot #4 not only proved a hit, BUT it also sparked a lot of interesting (at least for nerds) discussion, which is still on-going. So if you haven't please read and join in!

This week's book is a suggestion from one of the group, which has been hanging around on "the list" for quite some time. Apparently it is a "superior western comic", I hope so as so far I have not been overly impressed with this genre.

So we are reading Black Diamond Western #49 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=21368, and the story we are concentrating on is the Mask of Terror.

[Drahken]

Wrong link, that's the jackpot one from last week. :p

Here's the black diamond #49: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=21368

[Morgus]

The story kept me reading all the way to the end, which is something. Dialogue reminded me of BLAZING SADDLES sometimes...really liked the art, though. But boy oh boy, what a great bad guy...complete with Dick Dastardly top hat and evil smirk from the first...good to see the black head vacum around...and I wonder just how popular guys WERE with the snake bow tie...

[SuperScrounge]

My initial reaction to anything Western is almost always, "Oh, god, not another Western!?!" Which isn't really a condemnation of quality (there are Westerns I've enjoyed), but rather the glut of Westerns that filled TV when I was a kid. While production was on the wane it was still believed to be a popular genre so new shows were being made and reruns of old shows and movies were syndicated to independent stations and it was still possible to change the dial and find nothing but Western, Western, Western, yet another Western. 

What's that you say, an Off Switch???  TV addicts don't know that term. 

Anywayyyyyyy...


The Mask of Terror - Not bad. Man was Varick a piece of work. Although if the goal was to kill everyone, why bother finding Cramm first? Why not just start shooting and/or lock everyone below decks and set the ship on fire?

Danger at Deadman's Chasm - Okay, but why is the Triple Star Rodeo following the same route as the Hill Rodeo? No wonder they're not making money, but rather than change their route they are willing to murder???

Trigger Happy - *shrug* Okay, but nothing special.

Western Lore - Interesting.

The Stampede of Death - One guy's buying up all the land and nobody is suspicious of this??? That knocks the story down to a below average for me.

[crashryan]

Very nice pseudo-Toth cover by Bill Discount (it says here). Best thing in the issue.

The stories were interesting enough to keep me reading. I appreciate that the dialogue isn't as rich with "local color" as that in our last Western. What immediately strikes me is how cavalier the bad guys are about mass murder. One plans to kill everyone aboard a steamboat; the other plots to kill everyone aboard a circus train.

I can understand Judge Varick believing he must wipe out witnesses after revealing himself as a criminal mastermind. The problem is he didn't have to reveal himself. He could have continued to use underlings for his dirty work. They'd probably have smoked out "Cramm" by killing one or two passengers. Then the judge could have pulled strings to free them. The revelation of Cramm's identity is a surprise. So Cramm has been doing her spying disguised as a man in a checkered suit? Okay...

The art here is maddeningly familiar, especially the way the men's mouths are drawn. The backgrounds are embarrassingly crude, making the villain's big finish look funny rather than dramatic.

SuperScrounge has pointed out the fatal flaw in "Danger at Deadman's Chasm." I've read of old-time travelling shows following each other to siphon off their rivals' customers, but in this story no one is visiting Dever's circus anyway. It'd make more sense for him just to work another route. I'm also troubled by Devers resorting to murder to put Hill out of business. In the first story Varick already has plenty of blood on his hands. Here Devers is (so far) just a greedy creep. Surely blowing the bridge would wreck Hill's schedule and put a crimp in his business. Killing a couple of dozen people seems a bit extreme.

The Raymondian art isn't bad, though Buck looks much younger in some panels than in others. I like the idea of a "story arc" in which Buck is working his way up in the circus. Considering that he jumps onto a stampeding bull and saves a herd I'd say his "fine points" are already pretty fine.

Pete Morisi's art is nice to see but his filler pages are awfully wordy. I didn't read the text story.

"The Stampede of Death" is okay, but those townspeople are awfully dense. They have a rash of unexplained stampedes and each is followed by some unshaven mugg buying the victim's property cheap. Doesn't anybody sense a connection?

I have issues with the art. One problem is that Red Fire (is this a first and last name or a compound name like "Brave Eagle"?) is supposed to be a redhead but his hair is brown. More annoying is that we hardly ever get a readable shot of the kid's face. Long shots, back views...Clifford the Big Red Dog gets as much screen time as Red Fire does. Otherwise the art is competent. The artist doesn't scrimp on crowd scenes, action, or backgrounds. It's nice to see someone who can't draw a dog any better than I can.

I have sent away for a Snake Bow Tie. Maybe the girl who ignored my glowing Kiss Me In The Dark Baby Tie will finally see me as the Big Hit of the Party.

[narfstar]

Not a bad read. Dialog was not the best but the story was OK. I love how BD just drags the bad guy behind his horse. It does not seem likely that Fifi/Cramm would have gotten away in the first place. Do riverboats lack door looks? They just go into every room and check away. I too thought it strange they did not just kill everyone. Even with the flaws I enjoyed the read

[Italo.Perazzoli]

Only apparently Jamesville is a quiet hamlet on the missouri river.

The mask of terror is the judge Varick, being a judge he should be respectful and fair, he has a fundamental rule in the society to separate the good vs evil, using the laws.

In reality he is the opposite, he is a crooked politician, traitors, killer, womanizer, he is the symbol of a corrupted society who will invade the world.

Fortunately there is Black Diamond and and intelligent girl, the good part of the world.

The best phrase is the following:

"If you call a ceespol of corruption a garden spot, you can smell the stench of your evil deeds all over the west"(P:5)

[Morgus]

I just don't KNOW, crashryan...what if the girl you hit it off with is the SISTER of the guy she goes to parties with? The one with the vacuum marks from removing the black heads??? The whole thing sounds creepy. Let's invest in the 33 WAYS TO MEET WOMEN instead...

[MarkWarner]

I confess that although I loved them when I was a kid I am no longer a Western aficionado. Also, the western themed comics the group have already read have not set my world on fire. So, I thought this would be a bit hard going, but it was actually a REALLY good read.

The first story has a twist that I didn't see coming. Following that is Buck Roper, and this too is very well done. Both had strong story-lines.

Our page 20 features a Christmas themed advertisement for subscription. The cover date is February-March

[narfstar]

Mark US comics were dated at least four months in advance of their actual in stands sale date. This allowed them to, hopefully, sit on the stands for four months before being removed. What I have found about western is they appeal to the young and old. I liked them as a kid and started liking them again when old. I have found a lot of "older" individuals tend to start liking westerns again.

[SuperScrounge]

Mark US comics were dated at least four months in advance of their actual in stands sale date.

It's actually varied through the years, when I was a kid it was 2-3 months, so it wasn't unusual to have a Christmas issue dated February or March. I read somewhere that in the 80's or 90's it was up to 6 months, at which point someone realized that since most comics were sold to comic shops that didn't return unsold copies for a refund they didn't need to have them dated so far out.

[bowers]

I didn't get a chance to read the entire book, but I did get to enjoy the feature story. Serviceable art and good writing. None of the pseudo-western dialect and no bumbling comedy-relief sidekick- this crew actually treated the readers as adults!
Good storyline and a nice twist at the finish. Judge Varick was a proper murderous rat which is why I so enjoyed the manner of his demise. Black Diamond seemed a little understated as the hero of the story. He took action when called for and just let the story play out to a satisfying ending. A bit different from his contemporaries, but it works for me.
Also, let me welcome a new member, Italo.Perazzoli. It's always nice to hear another viewpoint. And let me invite any others reading our discussions to join in- the more the better! Cheers, Bowers