Weird Western Tales #53 Poster Scalphunter vs Abe Lincoln (1979) George Evans

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Description

Weird Western Tales was one of several titles DC offered in the 1970s as an alternative to the more standard spandex-clad hero fare. War, romance, mystery, and horror were other popular genres. Weird Western Tales is famous for its showcasing of Jonah Hex. However, the title also featured the Native American hero Scalphunter, seen here arm-wrestling President Abraham Lincoln in what was, presumably, a fair contest to decide reservation boundaries and limitations of manifest destiny. The artistry of George Evans delivers a cover featuring the sinewy determination of the story’s Old West hero. In the early 1970’s DC unleashed a world of weirdness on comics readers with three supernatural-themed genre titles: Weird War Tales, Weird Mystery Tales and Weird Western Tales. Weird Western Tales originally chronicled the exploits of Jonah Hex, a hard-boiledm, disfigured bounty hunter, but in 1977 he was given his own series, leaving this one in the cpable hands of Brian Savage, aka Scalphunter. A white man raised by Indians (his Kiowa name was Ke-Wols-No-Tay or “He Who Is Less That Human”), Scalphunter was an erstwhile gun-for-hire who now rode the high plains, seeking out wrongs to right and evil plots to thwart. He often worked in concert with venerable DC Western hero Bat Lash, as in this issue, where the pair foil a conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln masterminded by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. At one point, Scalphunter and the Great Emancipator arm wrestle (to a draw!), providing the basis for this eye-catching cover by onetime EC Comics stalwart George Evans. Scalphunter first appeared in Weird Western Tales #39 and was created by Sergio Aragones and Joe Orlando. George R. Evans (February 5, 1920- June 22, 2001) was an American cartoonist and illustrator who worked in both comic books and comic strips. His lifelong fascination with airplanes and the pioneers of early aviation was a constant theme in his art and stories.