Four Color #57

Against a vivid golden sky, Gene Autry charges across the open range on horseback, revolver drawn and a lasso coiled at his saddle, as a thundering herd of longhorn cattle surges around him — a cover by Till Goodan that crackles with the energy of the wide-open West. This 1944 Dell Four Color entry, subtitled "Raiders of the Range," captures Autry in his element: red-shirted, blue-kerchiefed, and utterly in command of the chaos around him. It's a ten-cent snapshot of midcentury cowboy adventure rendered with real confidence and flair.