As we open, Billy the Kid and his pal Joe are riding through the woods when a man who has been spying on them telephones another figure (telephones?!?). A man garbed in glasses and a pith helmet stalks them and shoots Billy dead with his rifle. For this, Billy is accused of murder and sent to prison. The glasses-wearing man's confederate turns out to be Pete Jameson, a deputy and he smuggles a gun into Billy's cell. Billy escapes the prison and rides to the home of the glasses-wearing man, Zuko, whose address was given to him by Pete. Zuko promises to help hide Billy from the law. Over dinner, Billy sees Zuko's chess set and Zuko boasts "I play the most exciting game of all...!"
He goes on to list all the animals he's beaten but "Animals are dumb! Except one variety! You see, I've discovered the most dangerous game of all... I hunt human beings!" Zuko intends to hunt Billy the Kid and has already emptied the Kid's guns so he can't simply shoot him. Billy exits the house and tries to escape on horseback but Zuko shoots Billy's horse dead. While Billy runs into the woods, Zuko and his men prepare their hunting dogs. Billy's escape is compliated because he's still a wanted man and can't simply head to town for help. Billy falls into a pit but when one of the dogs follows him he punches the dog in the face, knocking him unconscious.
Billy next finds a quicksand trap but tricks the hunting dogs into dragging one of the hunters in, killing them. Then Billy goes to a steep cliff and hangs over the ledge. This time the dogs run over the ledge, dragging Pete by their leashes. Boy, these dogs are dumb, to say nothing of these men too thick to let go of a leash! This leaves Billy versus Zuko but when Zuko shoots his rifle it kicks up a cloud of smoke; Billy isn't hit but feigns injury to draw Zuko in, then knocks him out with his fists. The sheriff arrives and Billy identifies Zuko as Joe's killer. When the sheriff asks why Billy fought a man armed with a rifle he replies: "I got tired of running away!"
Thoughts: Relocating The Most Dangerous Game not only from an adventure scenario to a western but from an island to the countryside is a bit risky. I debated covering this story at all because taking it away from an island mutes a lot of the original story, but this version still retains so many familiar elements from The Most Dangerous Game that it would have been an injustice to omit it. It's perfectly fine as a western adventure hero comic story.
All images courtesy of The Digital Comics Museum
The Hunter:
A Russian nobleman(0/4 points)- Who is a big game hunter (4/4 points)
- But is no longer challenged by big game (4/4 points)
- So he hunts men on his secluded
islandproperty (3/4 points) Justifying this through a eugenics/Darwinian philosophy(0/4 points)- He is aided by his servants
, including a disfigured mute(2/4 points) - And his vicious hunting dogs (4/4 points)
He obtains his prey by scuttling nearby ships(0/4 points)His victims are given a time limit of 3 days; if they are alive at the deadline, they win the hunt(0/4 points)As a further example of his sense of "sportsmanship", he will deliberately prolong the hunt if he finds it interesting(0/4 points)His victims are placed on display in his trophy room(0/4 points)
The Hunted:
A famous big game hunter(0/4 points)Who philosophizes about what (if anything) animals sense while being hunted(0/4 points)- He is
cast overboard and finds himself on the hunter's islandstranded on the hunter's property, alone (1/4 points) - The hunter knows him because of his reputation (4/4 points)
When he learns the hunter's scheme he refuses to hunt alongside him(0/4 points)- Hunted by the hunter, he flees into the wilderness trying to avoid detection (4/4 points)
His only tool is a knife which the hunter gave him(0/4 points)- In time he constructs traps to kill the hunter or his servants (4/4 points)
- He survives the ordeal by leaping over a cliff (4/4 points)
- Although the hunt is over, he confronts the hunter and
duels him to the deathpunches him (2/4 points)
The Island:
Is a tropical island in the Caribbean(0/4 points)Surrounded by dangerous reefs which wreck ships(0/4 points)- The
islandarea has a dangerous swamp (3/4 points) - And high cliffs (3/4 points)
Total score: 42/100
The trail has not yet gone cold! More to come!
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