Charlton Notebook: Black Fury #54

A few weeks back, I won an auction for a stack of Black Fury comics from the 60s, including this issue from September, 1965. If you've read enough interviews with classic comic artists, you'll have noticed that many of them tried to steer clear of western books due to the relative difficulty of drawing horses. I imagine that drawing a series with a horse as the star would have driven some artists mad. Black Fury is one of a number of classic comic series featuring a horse as protagonist. This is a pretty standard issue, with simple and enjoyable stories of Black Fury fighting other horses to remain King of the Ramada in one story, while protecting a palomino from rustlers in another. The best story here, A Friend in Need, involves Black Fury paying back a family who had earlier rescued him from drowning. Rocco 'Rocke' Mastroserio is a great fit for this series, as he draws horses beautifully. The Nicholas/Alascia stories are a real step down in quality as far as a I am concerned. Overall, it is good fun and avalaible for relative peanuts.