Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns

by Paul Green

“Martian Quest”

  [Pulp fiction; SW]

  Author: Leigh Brackett; First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (February 1940)

  A traditional Western plot is transferred to a Martian environment when a mysterious stranger is met with hostility and distrust by a farming community in the Martian desert.

  In true Western fashion, the stranger redeems himself by saving the community from destruction. This short story marked the beginning of Leigh Brackett's distinguished writing career.

  The Marvel Family

  [Comic book]

  The adventures of Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel.

  “THE MARVEL FAMILY BATTLE CHIEF THUNDERCLOUD”

  Chapter One: “Redskin Vengeance”; Chapter Two: “The Pow-Wow of Peril”; Chapter Three: Terror on the Warpath” [WW].

  First publication: #83 (May 1953); Story: Otto O. Binder; Art: Kurt Schaffenberger; Publisher: Fawcett Publications.

  Three-chapter story featuring Chief Thundercloud, Dull Tomahawk and Chief Bloody Tomahawk fighting Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel.

  “Mary Margaret Road-Grader”

  [Short story; SFW]

  Author: Howard Waldrop; First publication: Orbit 18, edited by Damon Knight; New York: Harper, 1976.

  Post-apocalyptic Western where Native Americans have regained dominion over their land.

  The Masked Marvel

  [Comic book character; WW]

  First publication: Gunsmoke—Blazing Stories of the West #1 (April-May 1949); Publisher: Western Comics Inc., Youthful Publications.

  Mild-mannered Chet Fairchild, son of oil millionaire Colonel Carlton Fairchild, originally adopted the menacing persona of the green skull-faced Masked Marvel to prove the innocence of his friend Slim Crane, falsely accused of murder.

  The back-up strip in Gunsmoke-Blazing Stories of the West was primarily a Weird Menace Western with the skull mask designed to instill fear into criminals. But the Masked Marvel did include genuine Weird Western horror tales.

  “PHANTOM DEVILS OF LAREDO”

  First publication: Gunsmoke #11 (February 1951).

  When the Masked Rider discovers local townsfolk dead through fear with “The Mark of the Devil” branded on their foreheads, he learns of a curse placed on Laredo by Indians two hundred years earlier.

  “THE BLOODSUCKER OF BANTA GULCH”

  First publication: Gunsmoke #15 (October 1951); Art: Tony Tallarico.

  The residents of Banta Gulch are terrorized by a blood-sucking monster that can only be killed by a stake through its heart.

  “THE BEASTS OF HORROR”

  First publication: Gunsmoke #16 (January 1952).

  The Masked Marvel's life is threatened by beasts summoned by a deranged Indian medicine man.

  A modern ancestor of the Masked Marvel appeared in Femforce #133's “Day of the Dead” (2005).

  The Masked Marvel in “The Blood-Sucker of Banta Gulch” from Gunsmoke #15 (October 1951); Art: Tony Tallarico. © 2009 AC Comics/Nightveil Media, Inc. Used with permission.

  The Masked Rider

  (1919) [Film serial; WMW]

  Premiere: May 1919; Main Cast: Harry Myers as Harry Burrel, Ruth Stonehouse as Ruth Chadwick, Paul Panzer as Pancho, Marie Treador as Ma Chadwick, Edna M. Holland as Juanita, Robert Taber as Santas, Boris Karloff; Executive Producer: Patrick Sylvester McGeeney; Producer: William Steiner; Story: Aubrey M. Kennedy; Director: Aubrey M. Kennedy; 15 episodes; William Steiner Productions, Arrow Film Corporation; Silent; b/w.

  Mexican cattle rustler Poncho's (Paul Panzer) attempts to drive a Texan ranching family out of the border country result in Pancho being tortured and his hands crushed by the ranchers. The Masked Rider, his face completely covered, serves as a go-between delivering messages from the vengeance-seeking Pancho to the ranchers.

  This was a “lost” 15-episode serial until 21 reels of 35mm tinted nitrate footage were found in the fall of 2003. This early serial is notable for its graphic violence and scenes of torture. The promotion for Chapter 6, Pancho Plans Revenge, stated, “See the miracle which prevents the arms of Ruth from being torn from their sockets. At the word of command, the horses start in opposite directions and Ruth faints at the first pull on her wrists. Watch and wait for this episode.” Boris Karloff appears (his first surviving film appearance) as a roughneck Mexican in a saloon in Chapter 2.

  Chapter titles: 1. The Hole in the Wall; 2. In the Hands of Pancho; 3. The Capture of Juanita; 4. The Kiss of Hate; 5. The Death Trap; 6. Pancho Plans Revenge; 7. The Fight on the Dam; 8. The Conspirators Foiled; 9. The Exchange of Prisoners; 10. Harry's Perilous Leap; 11. To the Rescue; 12. The Impostor; 13. Coals of Fire; 14. In the Desert's Grip; 15. Retribution.

  Master Comics

  [Comic book]

  Anthology title featuring the adventures of Captain Marvel Jr., Master Man, Bulletman, Minute-Man, Hoodoo Hannigan and Balbo, the Boy Magician; who depends on his stage magician skills to deceive, startle and confuse his enemies. At his side is his African-American business partner John Smith. Unlike most black comic book characters of the era, Smith was written as intelligent and articulate. The strip ran from issue #33 (December 1942) through issue #47 (February 1944).

  “HEAP BIG MAGIC” [WMW]

  First publication: #47 (February 1944); Art: Bert Whitman; Publisher: Fawcett Comics.

  Balbo, the Boy Magician, confronts an evil Indian shaman in the American West.

  “Master of Indecision”

  [Pulp fiction; WW]

  Author: Lon Williams; Character; Lee Winters; Real Western Stories (April 1953).

  Lee Winters encounters the disembodied voice of a ghost on his journey home to his wife.

  There were always haunts in a place like this. Winters had half-expected to tie in with a ghost or two on this winding cliff-lined road, but he hadn't expected to get his daylights scared out. He didn't see anything; he just heard a voice that came out of a wall of solid rock. It was a spook's voice, of course, for only a spook could live within a crackless, holeless cliff.

  Matsumoto, Leiji

  (1938–) [Comic book artist]

  Born in 1938 in Kurumé, on the island of Kyushu, Japan, Leiji Matsumoto is best known for his work on Captain Harlock, Ginga Tetsudô Three-Nine and Gun Frontier which he explored in both manga and animated versions.

  Following his first published work in ShÉnen Manga at the age of age 15, his work appeared in shojo magazines aimed at girls. His first science fiction manga, Sexaroid, was published in 1968.

  In 1971 Matsumoto created the popular manga series Otoko Oidon and in 1973 the World War II Senjo Manga series later known as The Cockpit in 1973. Matsumoto entered the world of anime in 1974 as character and conceptual art designer on Space Battleship Yamato, later released in the U.S. as Star Blazers.

  In 2000 he began work with the French house duo Daft Punk on their album Discovery. The animated videos and soundtrack were edited together to create the 2003 animated feature Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.

  Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil

  (1962) [Animated TV series]

  Alternative title for Beany and Cecil.

  Max Mercury

  [Comic book character; SFW]

  First appearance: National Comics #5 (November 1940); Publisher: Quality Comics, DC Comics.

  Max Mercury began life as Quicksilver. An unremarkable imitation of DC Comics' The Flash, he entered comic book limbo when his strip was discontinued in 1949. In January 1995 (The Flash #97) he re-emerged as Max Mercury, a superhero with a history dating back to the 1860s when he was a scout with the U.S. Cavalry. After an Indian shaman granted him the power of speed, he was known as Ahwehota. Mercury has adopted numerous aliases on his travels through time, including Windrunner and Whip Whirlwind. The name Quicksilver was dropped by DC Comics because a Marvel superhero of that name exists.

  McCain's Memories

  [Novel; SFW]

  Author: Maggie
Simpson; First publication: New York: Silhouette Books, 1997.

  Defense attorney Lauren Hamilton's latest client is accused killer Jon McCain. But Hamilton has one major hurdle to overcome before convincing the jury of her client's innocence: He happens to be a cowboy from 1877. This Western fantasy romance was published as part of the Silhouette Intimate Moments series.

  McCarthy, Cormac

  (1933–) [Author]

  Born in Providence, Rhode Island, McCarthy spent his childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee. His first novel The Orchard Keeper in (1965) won a Faulkner Award, but despite recognition from literary circles his work was ignored by the general public. The violent Western Blood Meridian (1985) finally brought him some attention but he would have to wait until 1992 and the publication of the first novel in his Border Trilogy, All the Pretty Horses, to make the breakthrough into greater public awareness. He has solidified his reputation with subsequent novels of merit including No Country for Old Men (2006).

  Selected works: The Orchard Keeper (1965), Outer Dark (1968), Blood Meridian (1985), All the Pretty Horses (1992), The Crossing (1994), Cities of the Plain (1998), The Road (2006).

  Men with Steel Faces

  (1940) [Film; SFW]

  Premiere: May 2, 1940; Main Cast: Gene Autry as Gene Autry, Frankie Darro as Frankie Baxter, Betsy King Ross as Betsy Baxter, Dorothy Christy as Queen Tika, Wheeler Oakman as Argo, the High Priest, Warner Richmond as Rab, Muranian Ray Inventor, Smiley Burnette as Oscar; Producer: Nat Levine; Story: Hy Freedman, Gerald Geraghty, Wallace MacDonald, John Rathmell, Armand Schaefer; Directors: Otto Brower, B. Reeves Eason; 70 min.; Mascot Pictures; b/w.

  Re-edited feature version of the serial The Phantom Empire (1935).

  See: Radio Ranch

  Meteor Monster

  (1958) [Film; SFW]

  This original working title of Teenage Monster was adopted for the television release.

  Mighty Joe Young

  (1949) [Film; WW]

  Premiere: July 27, 1949; Main Cast: Terry Moore as Jill Young, Ben Johnson as Gregg, Robert Armstrong as Max O'Hara, Douglas Fowley as Jones, Nestor Paiva as Brown, Denis Green as Crawford, Lora Lee Michel as Jill Young as a young girl; Producers: John Ford, Merian C. Cooper; Story: Ruth Rose; Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack; 94 min.; RKO Radio Pictures; b/w.

  Promoter Max O'Hara persuades Jill Young to move her giant pet gorilla from Africa to his night club "The Golden Safari” in Hollywood. But the move has disastrous consequences.

  Willis H. O'Brien received an Academy Award for Best Special Effects. O'Brien's assistant Ray Harryhausen did the majority of the stop-motion animation. Scenes of cowboys on horseback attempting to rope and capture Mighty Joe Young foreshadow similar scenes in the cowboy-dinosaur features The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). Both films would be based on Willis O'Brien scripts.

  The Mighty Marvel Western

  [Comic book; WW]

  First publication: 2006; Five-issue mini-series; Publisher: Marvel.

  An umbrella title for a series of five Western adventures with a Weird Western flavor. The titles in order of publication are Outlaw Files, Western Legends, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt and the Arizona Girl and Strange Westerns Starring The Black Rider.

  Miner's Massacre

  (2003) [Film; WW]

  U.S. DVD release title for Curse of the Forty-Niner.

  The Miracle Rider

  (1935) [Film serial; SFW]

  Premiere: April 12, 1935; Main Cast: Tom Mix as Tom Morgan, Joan Gale as Ruth, Charles Middleton as Zaroff, Jason Robards as Carlton, Edward Earle as Christopher Adams, Producer: Nat Levine; Screenplay: John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty; Story: Barney Sarecky, Wellyn Totman, Gerald Geraghty; Directors: B. Reeves Eason, Armand Schaefer; 306 min.; Mascot Pictures Corp.; b/w.

  Zaroff and his gang terrorize Indians with a remote controlled plane in order to gain access to the rare explosive mineral X-94 found on their land. Tom Mix made his exit from the big screen in this Western serial with science fiction elements.

  Chapter titles: 1. The Vanishing Indian; 2. The Firebird Strikes; 3. The Flying Knife; 4. A Race with Death; 5. Double-Barreled Doom; 6. Thundering Hoofs; 7. The Dragnet; 8. Guerilla Warfare; 9. The Silver Band; 10. Signal Fires; 11. A Traitor Dies; 12. Danger Rides with Death; 13. The Secret of X-94; 14. Between Two Fires; 15. Justice Rides the Range.

  Mirage

  [Comic book character; WW]

  A code name of New Mutants member Danielle Moonstar.

  See: Psyche

  The Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson

  [Comic book; SFW]

  First publication: 2007; Creators: Jay Carvajal, Marc Borstel; Four-issue mini-series; Publisher: Ape Entertainment.

  In 1875 Sagebrush, Arizona, Sheriff Clark and Deputy Jefferson fight ravenous aliens with an appetite for livestock and humans.

  Missionary Man

  [Comic strip; UK; SFW]

  First publication: Judge Dredd Megazine #2.29, May 1993; Creators: Gordon Rennie, Frank Quitely; Publisher: IPC Magazines, Titan.

  The introductory story “Salvation at the Last Chance Saloon” established an Old West atmosphere for this post-apocalyptic strip set in the mutant-filled Cursed Earth of former North America. Preacher Cain has rejected Texas City's corrupt government and dispenses his own law in radiation-filled frontier towns with the help of a Bible and guns.

  A Modern Day Western: The Sanchez Saga

  (1997) [Film; SFW]

  Premiere; 1997; Main Cast: Charles Cullen as Reno Sanchez, Ken Tignor as Sheriff Jesse Lobo, Patrick Cooper, Donna Albano; Story-Producer-Director: Charles Cullen; 108 min.; Cullen Studios; Color.

  West Texas, 1884. About to be hung, outlaw Reno Sanchez drinks a bottle of tequila as a last request. As he chews on the worm at the bottom of the bottle he finds himself traveling forward in time to modern-day America where he is pursued by fellow time traveler Sheriff Jesse Lobo, who is on a journey to Nashville and Country & Western stardom.

  Monsters, Muties, and Misfits

  [RPG book; WW]

  Authors: Robin Laws, Charles Ryan, Paul Sudlow, Rob Vaux, Joseph Wolf, John Hopler; First publication: 1999. Setting: Deadlands: Hell on Earth; Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group Inc.

  Sourcebook and bestiary for the Hell on Earth role-playing game.

  Moon Zero Two

  (1969) [Film; SW]

  Premiere: October 20, 1969; Main Cast: James Olson as Capt. William H. Kemp, Catherina von Schell as Clementine Taplin, Warren Mitchell as J.J. Hubbard, Adrienne Corri as Elizabeth Murphy; Screenplay-Producer: Michael Carreras; Story: Gavin Lyall, Frank Hardman, Martin Davison; Director: Roy Ward Baker; 100 min.; UK; Hammer Film Productions, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts; Color.

  In 2021, the moon is frontier territory in the colonization of space. Lunar salvage pilot Bill Kemp helps Clementine Taplin (Catherina von Schell) discover the truth behind the disappearance of her brother Wally, a prospector on the far side of the moon. Originally marketed as “The First Space Western” the movie was budgeted at a large $1,000,000. It failed at the box-office.

  Moore, C. L.

  (1911-1987) [Author]

  Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in January 1911, Catherine Lucille Moore acquired a taste for fantasy books thanks to a childhood of chronic bad health. The year 1933 saw the publication of her first Northwest Smith story for Weird Tales. Moore adopted the asexual C. L. Moore moniker to avoid the restrictions and prejudices towards female writers in the science fiction genre. Although the plots of her pulp stories were often repetitive, Moore's descriptive, imaginative and sensual style ensured that the Northwest Smith series attracted a popular following.

  In 1938 Moore married science fiction author Henry Kuttner, often working in collaboration with him on projects. She turned to television in the 1950s, providing scripts for Warner Bros. TV productions such as Maverick, Sugarfoot and 77 Sunset Strip (under her married name Catherine Kuttner) and the Twilight Zone episode “What You Need” (a
s Lewis Padget). Moore retired from writing in 1963 following the death of her husband and her re-marriage. She died on April 4, 1987 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

  Selected works: Fiction series: Jirel of Joiry (1934-1969); Keeps (1943-1947); Northwest Smith (1933-1981); Science fiction novels: Earth's Last Citadel with Henry Kuttner (1943); The Mask of Circe with Henry Kuttner (1948); Doomsday Morning (1957).

  More Wild, Wild West

  (1980) [Telefilm; SFW]

  Premiere: October 7, 1980; Main Cast: Robert Conrad as James West, Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon, Jonathan Winters as Albert Paradine II, Rene Auberjonois as Capt. Sir David Edney, Victor Buono as Dr. Henry Messenger, Emma Samms as Mirabelle Merriwether; Executive Producer: Jay Bernstein; Story: William Bowers, Tony Kayden; Director: Burt Kennedy; 94 min.; CBS Television; Color.

  Secret Service agents West and Gordon attempt to stop a mad scientist, who can make himself invisible, from taking over the world. Following this telemovie, plans were being made to resurrect The Wild Wild West TV series with Robert Conrad and Ross Martin when Martin died of a heart attack on July 3, 1981, at the age of 61.

  The Mysterious Traveler