New Year’s Trouble – Johnston McCulley

A couple of stories by the creator of Zorro set on New Year’s Eve. One crime tale and one western.

NEW YEAR’S PITFALL appeared in the January 1949 issue of Popular Detective: Lt. Keith Powry is investigating a jewelry theft ring when he gets a call from a nigh club manager informing him that a mistake had been made by a new employee and indeed a table for two was reserved for him.

Except Powry hadn’t called the club. 

It seemed a set-up, but Powry and his partner wanted to smoke the gamg out.

NEW YEAR’S AT COYOTE CREEK appeared in the February, 1947 issue of Texas Rangers magazine” Miner Rusty Rawlins has been away, but returns in time for the New Year’s celebration with a prize more precious than gold. 

The rest of the ebook is filled out with a mailbag for Texas Rangers magazine as well as a gallery of images, covers and interior illustrations from the issues concerned.

Available HERE.

Sixgun Santa – Johnston McCulley

A pair of Christmas themed westerns from the creator and author of Zorro, plus an article about the Christmas tree capital of the world. The stories and article have accompanying artwork and photographs taken from the originals, as well as the magazine covers.

RANGER SANTA CLAUS first appeared in the December 1947 issue of Texas Rangers

Ranger Jim Renbolt is trailing an outlaw named Bully Hague, an elusive fellow that would pull his jobs and disappear back into the wasteland. But that wasn’t the only reason Renbolt was after the outlaw. 

He had a young boy with him, twenty year old Harry Burley, son of the blacksmith, and apparently a hero worshiping kid. He was also Renbolt’s future brother-in-law, kid brother of Anita, and he was determined to catch them before the boy committed some crime that would alter his future.

SANTA IN THE SADDLE comes from the December 1948 issue of Masked Rider Western.

Outlaw Bart Durling hadn’t celebrated Christmas in the traditional way in years. Circumstances had made him an outlaw and every crime was blamed on him. None of which he actually committed.

He had a plan though, involving the real criminal in the area and a destitute family that had once helped him without questioning him.

CHRISTMAS TREE CAPITAL by Rafe Gibbons came from the December 4, 1948 issue of Colliers and tells the tale of how Eureka, Montana went from a town almost dying when the sawmill closed in 1924 to becoming the, as the title says, the Christmas tree capital.

Liked these stories. Available HERE at a reasonable price.