VINTAGE CELEBRITY COMIC BOOKS: WILL ROGERS WESTERN #2

Will Rogers was an American actor, social commentator, author, and vaudevillian who appeared in seventy-one films throughout his illustrious career, starting with 'Laughing Bill Hyde' in 1918 and ending with 'In Old Kentucky' in 1935. Will was also one of the few celebrities from the silent era who starred in his own series of comic-book adventures.





Well, when the superhero craze that dominated the 1940s started to wane, comic-book publishers began looking elsewhere for their next cast of characters. Before long, they found suitable replacements in successful film genres, such as the Western film genre, and set their sights on several cinematic cowboys. One of these cowboys was Will Rogers, who was deemed an ideal candidate because he was a popular Western hero in the early 1950s, despite dying in a plane crash in 1935. So popular, in fact, that Fox Feature Syndicate decided to capitalize on his lingering fame by transforming Will's early life into a series of fictionalized, action-packed comic-book adventures. What now follows is one of these adventures.

Titled 'Rangeland Terror - Plunder of the Range', this eight-page adventure originally appeared in 'Will Rogers Western' #2, with a cover date of August 1950. The comic-book series was an anthology published by the Fox Feature Syndicate and it ran for only two issues. Prior to their release, Fox didn't obtain a license or permission from Will Rogers' family or estate, as they exploited the lack of legal protection over a deceased celebrity's name and likeness, which allowed them to profit freely from Will's identity. By framing his adventures as historical biographies or true-life tales, Fox could also easily bypass privacy laws under the guise of educational and newsworthy content.

The comic-book adventure on display was written by an uncredited author and illustrated by an unknown artist. Each page has been modified to improve clarity and fit the website's dimensions. To see this comic in its original form, please feel free to click here to visit ComicBookPlus.com.