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Crack Western #72 (1951)
Free to read · restored edition by comicbooks.com · Issue details →
Arizona Raines and his young partner Spurs are forced to go on the run after being framed as outlaws by Sheriff Manx and the corrupt land baron Cole Yoder. With the townspeople turning against them and a rigged trial looming, the duo must use their wits and a daring escape plan to clear their names and expose the truth behind the stolen ranches and false charges.
Two-gun Lil Peters arrives in Grim Gulch to find the superstitious prospector Hank Trott terrified of the Ghost of Grim Gulch—only to discover the "haunting" is a clever ruse by a gold-hungry outlaw using fear and tricks to scare off rivals. As Lil sets a trap to catch the phantom, she uncovers a plot to steal Hank’s claim, revealing the ghost was never a spirit, but a man in a mask using noise, fake scares, and rigged traps to drive off competition.
Frontier Marshal Bob Allen, known for his cool head and quicker draw, finds himself in a deadly game of nerves when a notorious gunman known as "The Fastest Gun in the West," Randy Swift, arrives in town at the behest of banker Cade Holt. As tensions mount and Holt brazenly boasts of hiring Swift to eliminate Allen, the marshal prepares for a showdown that tests not just speed, but the weight of a man’s choices.
In the dusty town of Canyon City, Arizona Raines and his partner Spurs are just looking for a quiet meal and a good night’s sleep—until a desperate woman named Fran Carter asks them to fetch her brother Dade from a saloon, where he’s been swindled by the town’s powerful figure, Mal Hartz. As tensions rise and Mal’s true intentions begin to surface, the duo must outwit a corrupt rancher and his henchmen to protect Fran’s family and clear her brother’s name.