Weird Westerns

[Vanatru]

Would that fit here? Or in horror?

Weird western in the Jonah Hex, Deadlands, Dead in the West series type of fiction.

Thanks

-Bill

[dpaterso]

Try it for size here. :)

If it confuses the bejabbers out of us we can always move the thread to Horror.

-Derek

[Cav Guy]

I second that. The West is both a setting and a genre. Some of that "weird" stuff (I'm thinking Jonah Hex here) was quite good.

[Vanatru]

I loved the Hex series..........up until they put him in the future in that lame ass Mad Max clone in which he ended up as bar novelty. What a sad ending for a good guy.

[veinglory]

I have been trying to track down a yellowback supernatural western series from the 70s I read--I swear I had copies and now can't find them and it's driving me crazy.

[Vanatru]

I have been trying to track down a yellowback supernatural western series from the 70s I read--I swear I had copies and now can't find them and it's driving me crazy.

Wierd Westerns? They had some great stuff.........kinda like their wierd WWII line.

Can you remember any details about it?

[veinglory]

It was quite a long series, it was magical. The gunslinger was going up against a magical villain who had his girlfriend in a glass coffin. It was very OTT but I loved it. I must have given it away in a moment of madness because it is gone!

[Festus]

I agree with Derek and Cav. You are more than welcome to post here with us!

Westerns are a frame of mind with no limits to the imagination.

[Cav Guy]

Now ya got me going, Vanatru. I need to find some old Jonah Hex again.:D

[Vanatru]

Well, I've been leery of posting here. You guys are kinda like John Ford
"She wore a yellow ribbon" kind of western, and I'm more of a David Carradine "Wild West Tech" kinda western. I'll see if I can dig up that dang thing I was working on. It kinda got buried by my steampunk WIP.

[Festus]

Just a little note: Gene Autry was pretty well known as a cowboy actor and singer. Some folks don't remember that he made several sci-Fi westerns near the end of his acting career. He retired because he didn't need to work anymore -not because of those films!

We actively seek ALL westerns except Porn with overly graphic descriptions.

Romance, traditional, sci-fi, fantasy, modern, classic, historical, and any others I've missed are all welcome!

Westerns are a frame of mind with no limits to the imagination.

[Cav Guy]

Well, I've been leery of posting here. You guys are kinda like John Ford
"She wore a yellow ribbon" kind of western, and I'm more of a David Carradine "Wild West Tech" kinda western. I'll see if I can dig up that dang thing I was working on. It kinda got buried by my steampunk WIP.
No worries, man. After all, some aspects of the Western did evolve into SiFi (horse opera...space opera).

What I tend to see as key to a Western is the setting and a sense of discovery or exploration. Westerns are for the most part stories about families or journeys (either physical or emotional). I've never bought into the simple morality tale explanation of the Western. Some of the best deal with voyages of discovery, be that a trapper venturing into unexplored territory or a man coming to grips with the best and worst of himself while looking for a lost family member.

As for weird Westerns, the supernatural was a part of the West. All tribes had abundant tales and stories, as did the Mexicans and later Anglo settlers. Haunted mines, ghost towns, you name it. Just give it a little nudge and it becomes something else. The familiar becoming unfamiliar. And, after all, both High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider have strong supernatural overtones...something that even Clint Eastwod has been reluctant to dispel.

[Mr. Jinx]

My manuscript falls into the wierd west catagory. Its basically an old west story where folklore (such as magic) works, and some monsters do wander the darker places.

My love of westerns spans the whole genre. And for what its worth I love Wild West Tech!

I have been trying to track down a yellowback supernatural western series from the 70s I read--I swear I had copies and now can't find them and it's driving me crazy.

Was that the Spectros series by Logan Winters? I have heard about but never seen any of the books. I think the first one was called "Silverado".

[JeanneTGC]

Well, I've been leery of posting here. You guys are kinda like John Ford
"She wore a yellow ribbon" kind of western, and I'm more of a David Carradine "Wild West Tech" kinda western. I'll see if I can dig up that dang thing I was working on. It kinda got buried by my steampunk WIP.
No, I think we cover all the bases. My novel series set in the Old West isn't all that traditional. Neither would the short story I'm writing as a cross-over Western/Lovecraft piece be considered traditional. And I think my vampire hunters of the Old West book would probably not be looked at as John Ford material. :D

Basically, Festus said it best. We'll take anyone who wants to do anything in the Old West, either just the setting or the reality or the myths.

Really, many successful movies and TV shows follow what I'd call the typical Western format. Star Wars has a Western format. Outland (I think was the title) which starred Sean Connery was called High Noon in Outer Space by a lot of critics. Serenity is considered by many if not all of us here to BE a Western. And so on.

So, really, you fit right in with the rest of us. ;)

[Vanatru]

No, I think we cover all the bases. My novel series set in the Old West isn't all that traditional. Neither would the short story I'm writing as a cross-over Western/Lovecraft piece be considered traditional. And I think my vampire hunters of the Old West book would probably not be looked at as John Ford material. :D

By Woden's beard don't tell me your the one who wrote that one about the cowgirl and the vampire put out by Llewlyn (sp) a fews year back. With the white cover and cowboy boot on it.


Basically, Festus said it best. We'll take anyone who wants to do anything in the Old West, either just the setting or the reality or the myths.

Really, many successful movies and TV shows follow what I'd call the typical Western format. Star Wars has a Western format. Outland (I think was the title) which starred Sean Connery was called High Noon in Outer Space by a lot of critics. Serenity is considered by many if not all of us here to BE a Western. And so on.

Sir Connery kicks ass and that movie rocked. Though the book wasn't as good.

The Serenity novel adaptation is not that good.......maybe the show is better.


So, really, you fit right in with the rest of us. ;)

Thanks...........I think. Is that like the crazy patients saying, "Your crazy like us. Welcome home." :Hug2:

Why does is suprise me that YOUR a western fan. That just don't make sense Ma'am.

[Cav Guy]

I don't read many Westerns, actually. I like writing them, but I don't read that many. It's the history of the thing that attracts me more, which I think makes me more open to variations on what some might consider the traditional Western structure.

[veinglory]

Was that the Spectros series by Logan Winters? I have heard about but never seen any of the books. I think the first one was called "Silverado".

That's it! Thank you! Now at least I have enough info to try and track it down again :)

[JeanneTGC]

I don't read many Westerns, actually. I like writing them, but I don't read that many. It's the history of the thing that attracts me more, which I think makes me more open to variations on what some might consider the traditional Western structure.
I'm with Cav. I write more than I read, in terms of Westerns. But boy do I read the research-type books. I don't write traditional Westerns, either, but I do my best to make sure that my facts are right.

By Woden's beard don't tell me your the one who wrote that one about the cowgirl and the vampire put out by Llewlyn (sp) a fews year back. With the white cover and cowboy boot on it.
Nope, that wasn't me. I am only published in humor as of this exact moment. (But we DO persevere and the queries are out on the novel set in the Old West -- okay, not ALL of them, but several and it's a start.)

Why does is suprise me that YOUR a western fan. That just don't make sense Ma'am.
Oh, Van, Van, Van...you don't know that I'm a woman of many facets by NOW?

I grew up in an agricultural county -- I thought (and still do) that cowboy boots and hats were THE style, I thought (and still do) that everyone NEEDED a pickup truck of some kind, and I thought (and still do) that riding a horse or a mule is the best experience you can have outside of bed.

What can I say? I'm a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll.

[AnnieColleen]

Hey, y'all look here:

http://postcardtales.blogspot.com/

Sombody write me a vampire gunslinger story!

(Among many other subjects/settings they're wishing for.)

[JeanneTGC]

Hey, y'all look here:

http://postcardtales.blogspot.com/



(Among many other subjects/settings they're wishing for.)
I love you! Thanks for alerting us to this (for me, anyway) new market!

[fuzzferatu]

This movie has served as an inspiration for me:

The Valley of Gwangi! (http://youtube.com/watch?v=os1m1Gc9k3o)


Cowboys vs. dinosaurs!

Ah, the magic.

[Axler]

This movie has served as an inspiration for me:

The Valley of Gwangi! (http://youtube.com/watch?v=os1m1Gc9k3o)


Cowboys vs. dinosaurs!

Ah, the magic.

You didn't mention the movie that inspired that one:

The Beast of Hollow Mountain (http://youtube.com/watch?v=isY39VD7ijY)

http://www.clubdesmonstres.com/beasthollowjo08.jpg

Who's that rustlin' them cattle? Why, it's Two-Fang Blackie, the nastiest-ass T-Rex this side of the Rio Grandy, that's who!

The best weird western was of course, the original Wild, Wild West TV series.

This topic brings back memories of an online "discussion" I had several years ago with a contributor to several of the "adult" western series.

He claimed as an SF writer, I couldn't write a western...his thesis stemmed from the fact that as a western writer himself, he couldn't write SF...so ergo, an SF writer couldn't write a western.

When I begged to differ, insisting that I could most definitely write a Slocum or a Longarm novel, he challenged me to prove it.

However, since I wasn't about to write a Longarm or Trailsman or whathaveyou on spec, the conditions of the wager was that he put me touch with the editor of said series and I'd pitch a couple of ideas.

When he said he couldn't (or wouldn't) do that, the whole bet sort of fell apart. Go figure.

Has anybody else run into this pigeon-holing attitude in regards to westerns?

[JeanneTGC]

Yes, but I see it more in the literary versus genre argument.

Or, the idea that if you write romance, then you can't write anything else. OR, that if you have romance in a story, that it IS a romance, versus a fantasy or a western or whatever.

I think if you're a good writer AND you work at it (because it all takes work) that you could conceivably write in any and all genres. However, the DESIRE to do so would have to be there, too.

Frankly, it always strikes me that those with the least amount of talent always want to impose their restrictions onto others.

Writers write. Prolific writers write a lot, and in a lot of areas.

[AnneMarble]

DC has made some of the old stories available ina Showcase Presents edition. These editions are huge trade paperbacks, with the stories printed in black and white. The paper is kind of cheap, but between that and the B&W artwork, they're able to sell them for about $17 (U.S.).

Here's the Amazon link for Jonah Hex (http://www.amazon.com/Showcase-Presents-Jonah-Hex-Vol/dp/140120760X/ref=sr_1_2/002-2526761-6009632?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180502486&sr=1-2). (They also have Haunted Tank and Unknown Soldier, which I also want.) Note that not all the stories in this volume are Jonah Hex stories -- some are Billy the Kid: Outlaw stories.

And while we're at it...
Erotic romance author Angela Knight's debut novel was The Forever Kiss (http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Kiss-Angela-Knight/dp/0964894238/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2526761-6009632?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180503343&sr=1-1), a vampire cowboy novel. Not everybody's cup of tea, of course. But it did amazingly well for a book from a small press. I still have to read it, so I can't tell you how it was. :D

[Axler]

DC has made some of the old stories available ina Showcase Presents edition. These editions are huge trade paperbacks, with the stories printed in black and white.

They recently reprinted the "War That Time Forgot" stories from Star-Spangled War Stories...I don't think DC has ever been given enough credit for their weird cross-genre stuff.

Their long-running Tomahawk series went from a fairly realistic historical series about a group of guerillas in the Revolutionary War to one of the most uber-bizarre things in comics history.

Frontier guerillas VS. Gorillias (of the giant Indian variety)

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/705/200/705_2_107.jpg

Frontier guerillas VS. British super-villains like the Thunderer

Frontier guerillas VS. Giant Spiders!

Frontier guerillas VS. Frontier Cave Men!

Frontier guerillas VS. a bearskin wearing Frankenstein Monster!

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/705/200/705_2_103.jpg

And so forth.

Tomahawk made Jonah Hex look pretty tame.

When I was like nine years old, I loved the Daniel Boone TV series and Famous Monsters of Filmland...so Tomahawk fufilled both of those fascinations.

[Anthony Ravenscroft]

I was recently reminded that Ghost Rider was originally a Western serial -- nobody can remember the degree of "weird" content, though.

[dpaterso]

Wow, blast from the past, I must have read Tomahawk back in the '60s when I was just a tadpole... the storylines sometimes featured shaman magic (I remember Tomahawk was killed by the darn Redcoats but "called back" in a tribal ritual) but I didn't see nuthin' as bizarre as those covers!

-Derek

[Axler]

I was recently reminded that Ghost Rider was originally a Western serial -- nobody can remember the degree of "weird" content, though.

Actually, the Ghost Rider got his start in the 1950s, a comic from the long-defunct Magazine Enterprises...he was basically a Lone Ranger clone, only with a supernatural gimmick.


http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/757/200/757_2_01.jpg

Marvel picked up the character in the 1960s and did new stories, but when there appeared to be some legal issues regarding their right to publish the western Ghost Rider, they changed his name to "Phantom Rider" and stuck the Ghost Rider appellation onto the motorcycle-riding Johnny Blaze.

Years later, when the situation was resolved, Marvel ret-conned a connection between the Old West Ghost Rider and the Johnny Blaze version.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/1809/200/1809_2_1.jpg

[Axler]

Wow, blast from the past, I must have read Tomahawk back in the '60s when I was just a tadpole... the storylines sometimes featured shaman magic (I remember Tomahawk was killed by the darn Redcoats but "called back" in a tribal ritual) but I didn't see nuthin' as bizarre as those covers!


Bringing Tomahawk back to life was pretty tame compared to most of the stories.

In my estimation, Tomahawk was one of the most bizarre and yet strangely overlooked comics titles of all time...there was nothing else like it.

I'm not saying it was necessarily a good comic, but for a series that started out featuring the adventures of a frontiersman during the Revolutionary War, Tomahawk certainly morphed into one of the weirdest titles of all time.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/705/400/705_4_079.jpg

[Will Lavender]

You can't get any weirder than Cormac McCarthy's brilliant Blood Meridian.

[JeanneTGC]

Geez...I don't know ANY of these. Where have I been? (Wait. Don't answer that. Van especially. :D )

[AnneMarble]

You mean no one has mentioned Turok, Son of Stone (http://www.toonopedia.com/turok.htm) yet?
:cry:

The original, of course, because to me, it just ain't Turok without Andar. And without cavemen and "honkers" and a lost valley. :D

[AnneMarble]

You can't get any weirder than Cormac McCarthy's brilliant Blood Meridian.
I've heard great things about Cormac McCarthy. But then comes the fact that he doesn't use quotation marks. What's up with that?! :tongue

[Axler]

Technically speaking, Turok wasn't a western since it dealt with Indian tribes before European colonization...at least the original Turok did, anyhow.

[AnneMarble]

Technically speaking, Turok wasn't a western since it dealt with Indian tribes before European colonization...at least the original Turok did, anyhow.
Hmm. I guess if it weren't for the dinosaurs and cavemen, it would qualify as historical. (Although I have problems calling any comic book about Indian tribes "historical" as I don't think any were known for their accuracy; correct me if I'm wrong. :D)

Or is there a separate term for stories about pre-Columbian Indians (such as the Kathleen O'Neal Gear and Michael Gear books)? I've seen them classified as historical, prehistorical, etc.

[Axler]

The original Turok was about a couple of Indians in pre-Columbian America who discovered a lost valley full of dinosaurs, which they called "Honkers".

Frankly, I never cared much for the book.

I generally only read it when I was in the barber-shop. Me and my friends were kind of comic-book snobs (this was in the mid-60s, the Marvel Age of Comics).

Despite its painted covers, Turok, Son of Stone was generally considered pretty lame, a comic for the barely literate, since the stories were all the same...Indians running from one type of dinosaur after another, yelling, "Honkers! Big honkers! Flying honkers! Hungry honkers!"

http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blogimages/ddm/TurokCover01.jpg

My most vivid memory of Turok was that the host of my local late-night "Shock Theater", Shock Armstrong, the All-American Ghoul was, in one segment, inspired to write the Great American Novel after reading an issue of Turok, Son of Stone.

Don't know if it ever got published...
http://www.shockarmstrong.info/_Media/index3_sidebar.jpeg

[AnneMarble]

Frankly, I never cared much for the book.

I generally only read it when I was in the barber-shop. Me and my friends were kind of comic-book snobs (this was in the mid-60s, the Marvel Age of Comics).
I was reading these in the 1970s, mostly in digest forms. At the time, I was young and still easily scared. (My how times have changed. :D) My mother gave me a hard time when the first time I bought one of those Boris Karloff digests, because she was sure it was going to give me nightmares. She didn't seem to mind Turok, though.

Despite its painted covers, Turok, Son of Stone was generally considered pretty lame, a comic for the barely literate, since the stories were all the same...Indians running from one type of dinosaur after another, yelling, "Honkers! Big honkers! Flying honkers! Hungry honkers!"
There's something about two half-nekkid men who live together in the wilderness and spend most of their time screaming in terror about big, hungry honkers... No wonder I write slash today. It's all Turok's fault.
:roll:

My most vivid memory of Turok was that the host of my local late-night "Shock Theater", Shock Armstrong, the All-American Ghoul was, in one segment, inspired to write the Great American Novel after reading an issue of Turok, Son of Stone.

Don't know if it ever got published...
I hope it did. :D