Friday, September 25, 2020
CD Review: Spaghetti II: 'Revenge !'
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Ron Cobb RIP
September 21, 1937 - September 21, 2020
Other works featured in 'Colorvision' also demonstrate Cobb's genius for composition and color. If you should happen to see a copy of the book on a shelf in a used bookstore, by all means grab it !
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Book Review: Edge: The Loner
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Book Review: El Mestizo
Book Review: 'El Mestizo' by Alan Hebden and Carlos Ezquerra
2 / 5 Stars
'El Mestizo'(64 pp) was published by Rebellion in November 2018. It's part of the 'Treasury of British Comics' imprint, which - as its name implies - features graphic novels that compile comic strips that appeared in children's papers and magazines in the UK during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
'El Mestizo' ran from June to September 1977 in the British Boy's digest 'Battle Picture Weekly', a very popular title that was published by IPC Magazines from 1975 to 1988.
Even as 'El Mestizo' appeared in the pages of Battle Picture Weekly, artist Ezquerra also was illustrating 'Judge Dredd' stories in another IPC title, 2000 AD. And writer Hebden would of course go on to create memorable stories in 2000 AD, like 'Harry 20 on the High Rock' and 'Meltdown Man'.
'El Mestizo' not only channeled the Spaghetti Western vibe, but broke from the traditional depiction of western heroes by featuring a half-black, half-Mexican lead character.
Unfortunately, Rebellion apparently was obliged to use scans of printed comics, rather than the original art pages, and the result is predictably disappointing. Given that 'Battle Picture Weekly' was offset printed on newsprint-grade paper, the scans simply can't capture sufficient detail, and as a consequence the panels have a murky, barely legible character. It's a shame that the original artwork wasn't available for scanning, as Ezquerra's artwork certainly was of a high quality.As for the writing, for a series that was published in three-page installments, there obviously wasn't sufficient page length for more elaborate narratives. Given these constraints, Alan Hebden did as well as anyone could in terms of coming up with stories that could be standalone in each installment, while adhering to a larger story arc.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Book Review: West Texas
I am familiar with Al Sarrantonio’s novels and short stories in the horror genre ('Moonbane', 'The Man with Legs') so I was interested to see what he could do with the western genre.
‘West Texas’ takes place in the late 1880s and is centered on Fort Davis (in modern-day Jeff Davis county), and the nearby Davis Mountains. The war with the Apaches is past, although concern over possible raids by disgruntled renegades keeps the Fort’s personnel – which includes a detachment of Buffalo Soldiers – from becoming too indolent.
The novel’s opening chapter makes clear that this western features a deranged Serial Killer, akin to those peopling the novels of Thomas Harris (‘Red Dragon’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Hannibal’).
When a Senator’s son goes missing, expert tracker Thomas Mullin – recently dismissed from the Army and the Buffalo Soldiers – is hastily recruited by the dissembling Captain Seavers, the Fort’s commander, to conduct a search and rescue mission.
As Mullin investigates the trails and campsites of the mountains, he comes across multiple graves, indicating that the killer has been operating within the Davis Mountains for some time.
But a killer loose in the Davis Mountains isn’t the only problem confronting Mullin, for there are signs that the Mescalero Apaches are assembling in the hills for a major assault on Fort Davis. Can Mullin stop both the killer, and the Mescaleros, in time to save his comrades in the Fort ?
In my opinion, ‘West Texas’ comes across well enough as a western novel; however, it gains little from the inclusion of the serial killer trope. At times, the ‘mind of the serial killer’ exposition, as well as the florid presentation of the ‘eerie land of death’ that serves as his hunting ground, are a distraction from the narrative. Take, for example, this purplish passage:
……..Coming out of the hailstorm, out of the bizarre lightning flashes amidst a rain of ice stones, out of the booming thunder banging off the mountains, it sounded like the wail of an angel – or devil. A high, pained, faraway screech of pain, it sounded like the storm had ripped a hole in heaven itself to let the cry of an agonized creature through.
Summing up, if you are looking for an offbeat treatment of the western theme, and are willing to overlook some overly melodramatic passages, then you might like ‘West Texas’. At 181 pages of large-font type, it’s a quick read.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Book Review: Fire in the Wind
(The Gringos, No. 3)
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
CD Review: Spaghetti: Duck You Suckers !
There are some duds in 'Spaghetti !', such as the opening track - a two-minute rendering of the theme from 'Hang 'Em High' on fuzz box guitar, by Hank Ray and Thee Executioneers.
According to Discogs, CDs and vinyl versions of 'Spaghetti: Duck You Suckers !' have rather steep asking prices, and one guy on eBay is wanting $158 for a 'mint condition' CD.
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Book Review: The Slavers
Book Review: 'The Slavers'
(Carmody)
by Peter McCurtain
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Hot Lead All Reviews Special
So……… ‘Hot Lead Most Wanted’ is a worthy effort to take the paperback Western genre – one that saw hundreds of novels published each year, during its heydays of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s - and promote its best examples.
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
September is Western Month
Here at the PorPor Books Blog, we like to take a break from
reading and reviewing sci-fi, horror, and fantasy novels to spend time with
books from other genres.
For September 2020, we’ve
decided to focus on western novels, particularly those published from around
1968 to 1988, the same time interval we use for our sci-fi surveys.
You can go into any used bookstore and among the shelves
devoted to western fiction find stacks of books written by Louis L’Amour, Zane
Grey, Max Brand, and Luke Short……….as well as what seems to be fossilized piles
of ‘Longarm’ westerns by ‘Tabor Evans’.
We will not be reviewing those novels.
Instead, we’ll be taking a look through the above layout of books for those titles that are less traditional, less formulaic, in scope. These include titles from more obscure authors, along with entries from such series as ‘Edge’ and 'The Gringos'.
We’ll also be taking a look at some novels that deal
with the ‘modern’ west, as well as some graphic novels that offered up
something different from the usual Cowboys-and-Indians themes. And why not offer up some CD reviews as well.... !?
Reading western novels published during 1968 – 1988 is going back in time to an era when men read for entertainment; when it was routine for shelves to hold paperbacks under 200 pages in length; and paperbacks could feature page inserts advertising cigarettes.
So strap on your gunbelt, grab your hat, pull on your boots, and prepare to ride the range......