Lash LaRue Western #43

In the dusty heart of a frontier carnival, a masked outlaw—disguised as a brown bear—makes a bold move to free his jailed comrades, only to find the sheriff unmoved by his threats. When the sheriff refuses to hand over the keys, the outlaw takes him hostage and leaves a chilling note for Lash LaRue: release the prisoners, or the sheriff won’t survive. Stan Campbell’s stark, expressive art brings the tension to life in this gritty, high-stakes western tale.

Molasses Mouth shares his peculiar wisdom about telling mushrooms from toadstools, while elsewhere a stagecoach driver finds a mysterious bundle of counterfeit cash—and when roving marshal Lash LaRue begins investigating who it belongs to, the answers get curiouser and more contradictory by the minute. This 1953 tale from Lash LaRue Western #43, written and illustrated by Howard Boughner, blends frontier humor with a mystery that keeps everyone pointing fingers in different directions.

In "The Stagecoach Riddle," a fortune in cash turns up in a Laredo-bound stagecoach, sparking a web of conflicting claims—each rider insists the money is theirs, then just as quickly denies it. With tensions rising and trust crumbling, Stan Campbell’s crisp pencils and inks bring the dusty frontier to life as the truth behind the counterfeit haul begins to unravel.

Wagonwheels has had a frustrating day of fishing with no luck—until Sappy Charlie shows up to make matters worse. When Charlie asks the obvious, Wagonwheels delivers a deadpan retort that sends the hapless fellow reeling in this quick-witted frontier comedy.

Dusty returns from his Ozark farm full of tall tales about his flower crops and peculiar agricultural experiments, much to the annoyance of Charlie, who finds himself on the receiving end of one outrageous joke after another. As Dusty's stories grow increasingly ridiculous—from crossed plants bearing impossible results to wild claims about his dangerous hometown feud—Charlie's patience wears thinner and thinner, leading to a reckoning between the two would-be comedians.