Here's some real world finds that I located out in W.Virgina one my way home, nothing too exciting, but to me I find lots to dig into when I get new stuff, as I'm sure you all do too. The Star Western is from Feb 1954, the cover artist is unknown to me, one thing to notice is above the title is Big Romances of the West, kind of sets the tone of the issue. As you can see from this fine illustration that these are not your push over women, like my wife says "built to pull plows". The second story by Dan Kirby, Night Rider, has a opening blurb to the effect of "Outlaw Jack McCord wanted a slim, Blonde, lovely Melissa more than anything. And, Like everything else, he has to get her away from another man---at the point of a gun!" The next story by William E Cook The Failure, has a opening line: "There was only one place a man could trust that double-crossing daughter of hell Dan Keene pursued--smug and tight and helpless--in somebody else's arms!" I see a pattern of the kind of stories you or I are going to read.
And here too, is something that I don't see everyday in a pulp mag: The Cattle Queen Pin-up! Very cool, I must say, a lead into Lee Floren's Cattle Queens Die Proudly! Finally, my favorite artist over at Standard pubs in the Dec. 1952 issue of Texas Rangers Gerald McCann who illustrates Giles A Lutz' Throw Lead Or Die. I haven't read any of his work, but look forward to that one. The lead off story of the Rangers is by Peter Germano writing under the Jackson Cole name, the story is Land Of The Lost. Other stories are by Robert Horton with the Wedding Gift and Gordon Shirreffs' Face of Fear. The cover by Sam Cherry is a classic boarding of the bat wings! Over all a nice find, look forward to some more reading.
