Monte Hale Western #71

When a teacher announces plans for a Parents' Week play production of "Rip Van Winkle," she asks the well-behaved Bronko Betsy what role she'd like to take on—only to get an answer that's deliciously unexpected. This quick-witted Western humor tale proves that sometimes the best jokes come from taking things just a little too literally.

A character named Seery learns a practical—if groan-worthy—lesson about keeping secrets when talking near a horse in this quick frontier humor bit from Monte Hale Western #71. A clever pun on "tails" and "tales" delivers the punchline in true 1952 comic-book fashion.

Gabby Hayes, the fearless foreman of the Bar Nothing Ranch, discovers that hired hands have attacked a neighboring farmer named Johnny Hayseed and destroyed his tools, forcing the nester to convalesce with the local doctor. Gabby takes it upon himself to work Johnny's farm while he recovers—and when the same varmints return to finish the job, they find the ranch foreman's improvised farming methods more than a match for their destructive schemes.

Monte Hale rides into a remote village and discovers sick townspeople afflicted with Perdition Fever—a disease spread by deadly spotted ticks normally found only in the high mountains. When he traces the outbreak to an insect control station studying the disease, Monte uncovers a dangerous escape and soon finds himself pursuing ruthless outlaws who've stolen the ticks to use as weapons in a terrifying crime spree. Now, with the fever itself taking hold, Monte must race against time and his own failing body to stop the criminals before they can unleash a plague on the entire territory.

Old Slick helps a fellow out of a smoking predicament when they can't find any matches, offering up a clever workaround that's equal parts practical and funny. This quick western humor bit proves sometimes the simplest solutions are right under your nose—or in this case, in your hand.

When Travers returns from a Florida vacation with his brother, he recounts the expensive mishaps that plagued their getaway—from his sibling's insistence on staying at the priciest hotel in town to an unfortunate horseback riding accident. This two-page humor tale plays out the cowboy's tale of woe with the kind of deadpan practicality you'd expect from a western frontier comedy.