WESTERNS (COMICS) 685
Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1999; Nyberg, Amy. Seal of Approval:
History of the Comics Code. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998; Reibman,
James E., ed. A Fredric Wertham Reader. Laurel, NY: Main Roads Books, forthcom-
ing; Reibman, James E. My Brother’s Keeper: Th e Life of Fredric Wertham. forthcoming;
Wertham , Fredric. Seduction of the Innocent. Laurel, NY: Main Roads Books, 2004.
James E. Reibman
WESTERNS ( COMICS ). Comics and the American West have always shared a strong
affi nity, as Maurice Horn observes: “Just as the Western pioneers were conscious of
opening a new geographical frontier, the pioneers of the comics were quick to realize
that they were exploring a new artistic frontier” (10). Another medium can be added
to this relation: fi lm. Th e history of Western comic books is strongly connected with
Western movies. Hundreds of heroes from television and movie Westerns have been
adapted into comic book series and vice versa. Th e medium of fi lm learned a lot from
the hyperbolic atmosphere of comics and comic strips, especially derived syntactic tech-
niques from fi lm editing. Th e iconography of the American West is already situated in
the pictures of Frederic Remington (1861–1909) and Charles Russell (1864–1926),
which constitute a model for the whole visual and graphic tradition. Th e adventures
of Western comics derive from two diff erent traditions. Th e fantastic one, addressed
to juvenile readers, found its roots in the dime novels of the 19th century (and in the
20th century in Western pulp magazines, e.g. by Zane Grey), in Wild West shows like
those of Buff alo Bill and in the “horse operas” of silent fi lms. Th e second tradition,
the realistic illustration of the West, was targeted at adult readers; newspapers, diaries,
photographs, and chronicles are the sources of its pictures.
Th ree major elements defi ne the genre: setting (what became the Western United
States, extending also to Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and even Australia),
period (the later half of the 19th century), and the characters who lived in this time
and place. Furthermore, the depiction of violence plays a central role in the genre. Th e
history of the genre enlarged this close defi nition and added new themes and interpre-
tations to the traditional stories. Th ese concepts will be illustrated using examples from
some of the most signifi cant Western comic books.
Setting
Th e most recognizable feature of any Western is its setting, an idealized “Garden
of the West” with a wide geographical palette. Film director John Ford established
the unmistakable Monument Valley (Utah) as the Western landscape par excellence.
Depending on the knowledge or skills of the authors and artists, the deserts, plains,
rivers, and mountains of the West are elaborated in a more or less authentic way. Th e
vegetation, like the ever-present cactus, is not only used for decorative reasons, but can
even become an allegorical motif as in the comic strip Krazy Kat. Landscape can also
refl ect the feelings of the fi gures or the atmosphere of the situation. Th e confl ict between
man and nature often develops into real battles against blizzards, dust storms, and the
