Episode 029 – Westerns
Yee-haw! Episode 29 has us reading Westerns! We discuss whether Westerns need cowboys, if stories featuring Mounties count as Westerns (maybe?), the idea of black hats and white hats, and Mr. Coffee Nerves! Plus: Matthew shows his ignorance of US history and everything rural.
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In this episode
Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray
Recommended
- The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
- True Grit by Charles Portis
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
- Far Out & Far Out 2 (in French) by Gautier Langevin and Olivier Carpentier
Did Not Finish
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
- Riders of The Purple Sage by Zane Grey
Links and Stuff
- The Lone Ranger Matthew’s pretty sure he watched this version.
- The space western BraveStarr in action
- Lucky Luke by Morris (and others) (Belgian Comic)
- The Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt
- Firefly and Serenity
- The most recent Jonah Hex series ran for 70 issues from 2006 – 2011, All Star Western then ran for a further 34 issues from 2011 – 2014. None of you care.
- Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos (Matthew was wrong, there are 10 issues)
- Loveless by Brian Azzarello and others
- Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests (Genreflecting Advisory Series) by Diana Tixier Herald, edited by Wayne A. Wiegand (There are more recent editions; this is just the one we have with the essay Anna read and recommended.)
- Maple syrup rustlers
- Dudley Do-Right
- Mountie pulps are called “Northerns” or “Northwesterns” and apparently Zane Grey was influential in this genre too! There are some serious fans who keep track of this stuff!
- Heritage Minutes: Sam Steele – the RCMP of the Wild West
- There is also a cool podcast episode from Library and Archives Canada on Canadian Pulps! You should listen to it!
- Due South – our Canadian ‘90s moment
- The Spur Award (& the winners) from the Western Writer of America Awards
- When Matthew says what sounds like “beh day”, he’s actually saying “bd”, with a terrible French Accent, for “bande dessinée”, meaning the Franco-Belgian comic tradition
- Zane Grey is fascinating
- The Wikipedia page for Riders of the Purple Sage is elaborate (and spoilery)
- Postum shows up in old restaurant menus and in a marketing campaign using Mr. Coffee Nerves. Search for it in New York Public Library’s historical menus.
- Zorro, a story and character that existed long before Antonio Banderas
- Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner
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- Or, if you are like Matthew, instead you could watch Cadillacs and Dinosaurs or read the comics called Xenozoic Tales
- The Oregon Trail game (a Western?). Play it on archive.org!
- Cowboy Batmans can be seen in:
Say “Hello”
Upcoming events we’ll be attending. Tweet at us if you’ll be there!
- LA Zine Fest, May 28, 2017 (Anna and Matthew)
- LJ Day of Dialogue, Book Expo America, & Book Con, May 31-June 4, 2017 (Anna)
- ALA Annual Conference, June 23-26, 2017 (Anna and Matthew)
Questions
- Do cattle rustlers still exist?
- Does a Western have to be historical?
- Can anyone tell us about any Spanish Language tradition of literature similar to Westerns?
- Is Oregon Trail (the game) a Western?
Check out our Pinterest board and Tumblr posts for all the Westerns people in the club read (or tried to read), follow us on Twitter, and join our Facebook Group!
Join us again on Tuesday, June 5th for an episode on rereading.
Then come back on Tuesday, June 19th, when we will inflict upon you the genre of QUILTBAG/LGBTQ+ NonFiction!
About The Author
