John Wayne Adventure Comics #18

John Wayne tracks a mysterious killer known as the Panther Man, believed to be a vengeful ghost of the legendary "Long Claw" black panther, after a series of brutal killings on the Pool Table Mesa. As the sheriff and his men close in, Wayne realizes the true threat isn't a beast, but a madman using a dead panther’s claws to terrorize the frontier—forcing him to outwit a cunning predator who thinks he’s beyond capture.

When Rancher Bill Keels asks John Wayne to meet his son Avant at the depot, the simple request spirals into a deadly mystery after Avant is found dead and Wayne is accused of the murder. As a mob demands justice, Wayne flees only to uncover a shocking twist involving the rancher’s true intentions and a hidden truth about the boy’s fate.

In the dusty aftermath of a long-forgotten robbery, a fugitive known only as the Masked Killer—revealed to be the once-derided orphan Nathanial Hilton—flees a relentless posse through the merciless desert, haunted by the scar that defines him. After being abandoned by his past and nearly dying of thirst, he is rescued by a mysterious Indian who offers him water and a shared ride on a single horse, forging an unexpected bond that changes everything. The story follows his desperate flight and the quiet, fateful choice that leads him to a life far beyond gold and vengeance.