I've always been a sucker for painted covers, but it was until the last couple of years that I've fallen for the charms of the Cisco Kid. Cisco Kid #33 is the best of the handful that I've read. It's a lot of good clean 50s fun from Dell. The first Cisco Kid story involves a wrongly accused snake oil salesman who comes within a few seconds of the gallows. It's actually quite an intense story towards the end. The 'Pedro' story is quite amusing - with a mustache playing a very important role. We end with another Cisco Kid story; this one revolves around money hidden in a schoolhouse and the importance of books. Like the Lone Ranger series, the stories are light and lively - very inventive with just a touch of humor. The bad guys are truly bad, and the good guys rely on their brains as much as brawn. The art by Bob Jenney is remarkable - it is so subtlety beautiful that you may not notice just how great it is at first. He uses shadows and silhouettes wonderfully. I picked up my VG copy for $5, and it was worth every penny. There are plenty of good, cheap old books out there in the marketplace. I'd love to eventually put together a full run of the series, but my obsessive collecting days seem to be behind me.
No comments:
Post a Comment