Lash La Rue Western #81

Charlton's Lash La Rue Western puts its hero squarely in the crosshairs with this December 1960 cover by Pete Morisi — Lash strides forward in his signature black outfit, whip in hand, while a ring of suspicious faces surrounds him and a "Wanted" poster bearing his own likeness looms nearby. The cover text poses the tension plainly: why is Lash wanted by the law, and can he survive the "owlhoot death-trap" long enough to clear his name? With a gunfight already breaking out at the bottom of the cover and the story "Gun Bounty" promised inside, this is a tight, well-crafted slice of 1960s Western comics atmosphere.