Lash LaRue Western #6
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLash LaRue Western #6 is a key structural issue in the Fawcett run because it introduces — in comic-book form — the Frontier Phantom, Lash's identical twin brother and recurring antagonist, a storytelling device that would drive some of the series' most dramatic plots and eventually inspire a standalone 1952 film of the same name. The issue's lead story pivots on the doppelgänger device of an imposter wearing Lash's clothes while the real marshal lies beaten and unconscious, an early example of the identity-theft thriller in Golden Age Western comics. Issue #6 also marks the final number in which Fawcett placed a real-photo back cover of the actor, closing out a six-issue run of that distinctive format and signaling the series settling into a standard production routine. It was produced at a moment when the Lash LaRue title was at its commercial peak, with series circulation in the first six months of 1950 approaching one million copies.
In "Yes, We Have No Bananas," Lash LaRue finds himself framed and abandoned, his identity stolen by an imposter who's now posing as the marshal in a doctor's office. With the real Lash unconscious in the brush, the truth lies hidden in the nearby hills—where a desperate man must reclaim his name before the outlaw he once hunted turns the law against him. Tony Sgroi handles both the interior art and the cover, bringing the mystery to life with sharp, cinematic detail.
Molasses Mouth is so hungry he'll try just about anything for a banana—even if it means spelling a word that might be trickier than it looks.
In "The Frontier Phantom," the real Lash LaRue lies unconscious in the brush, his identity stolen by a lookalike who now walks the streets of a dusty frontier town. The mystery deepens when a stranger in a doctor’s office claims to be the marshal—leaving the truth hidden in the nearby hills.
Dusty trades wishy-washy philosophies and absurd logic with his friend Buster in this four-page humor western, complete with a postcard mix-up that sends their ridiculous banter spiraling into punchline after punchline. It's a showcase of pure slapstick comedy where the real plot is just an excuse for one joke to tumble into the next, and Dusty's scrambled reasoning never quite lands the way he intends.
In "The Gold Mine Murder," two struggling miners turn to Lawyer Shotten for help, only to find themselves ensnared in a scheme that puts Jed’s life on the line. With Shotten’s sharp eyes watching from the shadows, the frontier justice of the West hangs in the balance.
When mail robberies plague Cactus Valley's stagecoach route, Roving Marshal Lash LaRue goes undercover to catch the culprits—but his investigation uncovers a more complicated crime than anyone expected. After capturing a suspect who claims he was forced into the robbery by two mysterious strangers, Lash must decide whether to trust the man's story or accept the easy solution. As the real perpetrators remain loose, Lash prepares to set a trap on the next mail run, knowing they may strike again.
Wagonwheels stops by Chuck's Grub House for a meal and wastes no time finding fault with everything served to him—the soup, the bread, the service—until Chuck finally turns the tables and lodges a complaint of his own. It's a quick, playful clash of wills between a picky customer and an exasperated cook in this one-page western humor strip.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Fawcett Publications launched the Lash LaRue Western series in 1949, capitalizing on the actor's popularity as a B-Western draw distinguished by his all-black outfit and bullwhip skill. The book was edited under the credit 'C. V. Woods' — a pen name for Kay Woods, who also served as art editor alongside executive editor Will Lieberson on adjacent issues. Lash LaRue and other Western stars of the era were initially not paid royalties by Fawcett, accepting the comic as free publicity for their film careers. The Frontier Phantom villain concept had already appeared in the 1949 film 'Outlaw Country,' so issue #6 brought the twin-brother antagonist into comics continuity, where he became one of the series' signature recurring threats.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published July 1950 by Fawcett Publications; cover-dated bi-monthly during this period of the run.
- First comic-book appearance of the Frontier Phantom (Lash's identical twin brother and villain) and Doctor Fred Kure, per the Grand Comics Database character index for this issue.
- Black Diamond, Lash's horse, is indexed as a character in this issue and continues as a series fixture throughout the Fawcett run.
- Issue #6 is the last issue in the Fawcett series to feature a photo back cover — only the first six issues carried that format.
- The lead story employs an identity-theft plot: an imposter steals Lash's clothes after drygulching him, with Doctor Fred Kure's office serving as the scene of the deception.
- Content from this issue was reprinted in at least three other publications: L. Miller & Son's Lash LaRue Western #81, Bell Features' Lash LaRue Western #6 (circa August 1950), and Gwandanaland Comics #626 – The Complete Lash LaRue Western: Volume 1 (November 2020).
- Americomics (AC Comics) published a 1990 reprint edition, Lash LaRue #1, which contains material from Fawcett's issue #6, including the story 'Lash LaRue and the Frontier Phantom,' with artwork attributed to Tony Sgroi.
- The Fawcett series ran through issue #46 (January 1954), after which Charlton Comics continued the numbering from #47 through #84 (1961), making the complete run one of the longest unbroken Western comic series of the Golden Age.
Cast · 4 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Lash LaRue Western #6 (1950), Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal #13 (1956), Cowboy Western #62 (1957), Tex Ritter Western #35 (1957), Le Fantôme #104 (1966), Gunfighters #57 (1979), Lash LaRue Western #1 (1990), Gwandanaland Comics #626 (2020), Lash Larue Western #81
Key issues in Lash LaRue Western
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