Sunday 27 November 2011

The Rainbow Trail - in pictures


By Zane Grey
Comic Book Version

Like the Ace Doubles this contains two stories bound back-to-back. These are both comic adaptations of books by well-known authors. This Double Western Pictorial was published in Australia by the Junior Readers’ Press and distributed by Gordon and Gotch (A/sia) Ltd. I believe Dell originally published it in America. The comic isn’t dated so I can’t tell you when it was published. The comic measures 18.5cm X 13.5cm. It has a colour cover and a black and white interior.

I’ve never read the book of The Rainbow Trail, which was a sequel to Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage, which is often said to be his best novel, so have no idea how much has been cut for this comic version, or how truthful it is to the original.

From comments in the dialogue it seems that many of the characters are from that previous novel, although none of them take centre stage for very long as we follow the fortunes of different people, all intent on rescuing Jane and Lassiter. The story has strong roles for both male and female leads, a fair amount of action and a lot of dialogue. The story takes place over a number of years, which allows little Fay Larkin to grow into an attractive young woman so she can become the love interest for John Shefford, who eventually finds Jane and Lassiter with the help of Indian guide Nas Ta Begay.

There isn’t any mention of who drew the comic but the drawings are clear with recognizable characters, and contain a fair amount of background detail.

Max Brand backs The Rainbow Trail with Silvertip’s Roundup.

Click on the scan of the first two pages below to see a readable version.


1 comment:

Ron Scheer said...

Looks good. Many thanks. I've been putting off reading more Zane Grey until I've got through all of his contemporary western writers. He mostly followed the original pack but emerged with a best seller with RIDERS.