Television Favourites Comic Annual [1957]

[1956] Annual. Original price 7/6.
96 pages. Full colour & tone contents.
World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd.

Cover by Walt Howarth (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 UNTITLED endpaper; illustrated by Walt Howarth (signed).

 4 Indicia

 5 Television Favourites Comic Annual title page; illustrated by Walt Howarth (uncredited).

 6 Contents

 7 Roy Rogers and Trigger Two Angry Men w: Gaylord Du Bois (uncredited); p: John Buscema (uncredited), i: Mario Aquaviva (uncredited).

r: Roy Rogers and Trigger (Dell) #97 (Jan 1956).

20 Tawny text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Roy Rogers and Trigger (Dell) #97 (Jan 1956).

21 The Lone Ranger The Grayson Trail w: Paul S. Newman (uncredited); a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #42 (Dec 1951).

39 The Cisco Kid The Double Failure w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Bob Jenney (uncredited).

r: The Cisco Kid (Dell) #03 (Apr 1951).

49 Trigger Challenge of the Wolf Pack w: Eric Freiwald & Robert Schaefer (uncredited); a: Till Goodan (uncredited).

r: Roy Rogers' Trigger (Dell) #15 (Dec 1954 - Feb 1955).

65 The Flying A's Range Rider Thirst for Revenge w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: UNKNOWN.

82 Showdown text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Cheyenne (Dell) #05 (Nov 1957 - Jan 1958).

83 Rin Tin Tin The Wild North w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Sparky Moore (uncredited).

r: Rin Tin Tin (Dell) #05 (Jun 1954 - Aug 1954).

94 UNTITLED endpaper; illustrated by Walt Howarth (signed).

The illustration of all the western heroes together is something to admire - a crossover which was always, on screen at least, an impossibility, is given solid form by the masterful hand of Walt Howarth. It is an image which provides much enjoyment, and shows the style we could have had in original strips had he been given the opportunity.

Sue Landry informs Pat that there is going to be a range war unless action is taken quickly - Coyote Springs, a much-prized area of land, has been revealed to not belong to the Rafter M despite Boyd Mastik believing he has owned it for the past twenty years. To quell rival ownership claims, Roy decides to file on the land himself. After building himself a reinforced home, able to withstand the bullets of angry homesteaders, Roy settles in to prepare for a siege.

Sue joins Roy and Pat for breakfast, just as the first bullet hits the building...

It is interesting to see Roy get in the middle of things deliberately, and the ending - while very predictable - holds hope that its creators may be building subtle continuity for the strip. With much to admire in the artwork, especially a fair likeness of Roy Rogers, and evocative, desolate landscapes, it is no wonder that a playfulness is evident. Sue has a touch of Elizabeth Taylor about her, and Boyd Mastik also seems to be based on an actor.

The Lone Ranger gives Tonto a message to deliver to Marshal Wild Bill Holly, in Santa Fe chasing the Scar Grayson gang, informing the lawman that they have doubled back, and are now in Batesville. Noting that time is of the essence to stop the Grayson terrorists, the Lone Ranger leaves Tonto to get the message through, but when Tonto discovers a man impersonating Holly - and gunshots ring out - he is forced to step in.

Chasing down the imposter, the Lone Ranger and Tonto discover the Grayson Gang, although leave for an alternate route to Batesville. Too late to stop an attack on the town, they are forced to ride out once more...

A solid, if largely uninspiring, tale, with the Lone Ranger relying too much on luck to convince of his superior abilities. Once more, in a scripting stumble, Tonto is portrayed as a second-rate sidekick, captured by the criminals. That he's meant to be an equal, despite rarely given the opportunity to really shine, really makes the plot point stick out.

The Cisco Kid, in a looser, cartoonier style, is largely unappealing, and seems to rely on a familiarity with the series to carry along its charm. With so little attention to detail displayed, it is difficult to get behind even the slightest of his adventures, and this is very slight indeed.

I'm not sure where Roy has gone off to, but Trigger's solo tale finds the horse fending off attacks on his herd from wolves and a bear. Not quite a story of identical twins, but close enough to raise my ire at the storytelling device being brought out once more. As it is a wolf whose identity is in this case mistaken, the level of irritation is diminished somewhat, though more could have been done to set up the story's twist.

Range Rider isn't a series with the largest cultural footprint, and as a strip based on the series is up next I feared that the intricacies of the source material might limit enjoyment of the story. Not so, opening as it does with a rock being thrown through a sheriff's window. Immediate and obvious, yes, though the threat is clear enough even for those unfamiliar with the characters to understand.

Moving from a jailbreak, through a chase, to a tense tale of homestead invasion, the story doesn't let up, ably accompanied by some great artwork. Packing a lot into its pages, there is still room for small character moments to shine.

And then there's the Rin Tin Tin strip.

As much as I am predisposed to sighing dramatically when the franchise is raised, this lowers my tolerance even further. Some of the artwork is really poor, and the story isn't as impressive as it should be given the snowy landscape. With little in the strip's favour, it must be congratulated for being so brief a tale, and doesn't take up too much room.

[1956]

Television Favourites Comic Annual

[1958]