Lash LaRue Western #44

This Fawcett publication from September 1953 puts the "King of the Bullwhip" front and center — a smiling, black-hatted Lash LaRue leans against a fence alongside a handsome Great Dane, with his holstered sidearm and the promise of "Rip-Roaring Action!" making the cover hard to resist. The photo-cover format gives the whole thing an appealing authenticity that perfectly suited Western fans of the era. At a dime a copy and packed with more pages of frontier adventure — including the story "The Buffalo's Tooth" — issue #44 is a fine snapshot of early-'50s cowboy comics at their most charming.