A strip from The Hornet

See The Hornet issues 192 - 217.

Writer:- The Hornet editorial team. Artist:- Josep Marti.

Main cast:- Slim Sherman; Andy Sherman; Jess Harper; Jonesy.

Time period:- Wyoming, American Wild West.

This month a western, based on the American NBC TV series that aired in the US from 1959 to 1963. The TV series is a bit before my time, but it appears that the stories (possibly all, maybe some), published in The Hornet are based on the actual episodes broadcast, if in a shortened version. For example, the opening TV episode featuring how the main characters met to run a stagecoach relay station, (Jess Harper and brothers, Slim and Andy Sherman), is also the first story published in the Hornet. Further TV episodes were also adapted for the comic including The General Must Die. (The above about the TV series is based on articles I read on the www, so the information may or may not be all accurate).

What’s interesting about this series is that Thomson’s didn’t tend to adapt TV series for their comics, American or British. They always relied on home grown produced stories. So how this series ended up in the Hornet isn’t known, but it would be interesting to find out. I’m assuming it wasn’t a great success as the idea wasn’t repeated. (The Hornet also experimented with re-publishing two series of an American comic strip called Rusty Riley which I’ll be looking at, at some point in the future). As I’ve mentioned before the editor of the Hornet seems to have taken a much different approach to the type of stories published in the comic to other Thomson editors.

Did the Hornet editorial team adapt the scripts or were the scripts bought from NBC or were they based on other Laramie produced comic stories? Again, I don't know the answer. The Hornet stories of the series began publication in May 1967, which is four years after the series was broadcast in America. Possibly the series wasn't shown in the UK until that year. The artwork is by Josep Marti, who does an excellent job in portraying the Wild West and the various characters / actors facial features.

Those wanting to find out more about the series will find plenty of information on the www and a DVD has been released featuring all episodes of the series. Dell comics in America published four issues of Laramie. As far as I can tell they were new stories and not based on any of the TV episodes.

The following adventures of Laramie are from issues 192; 195; 196; 202; 206; 209 & 214.

***Please note that I am using a standard thumbnail image for all the full size pictures on this page. This is purely being done to save myself sometime.***

Please read the stories below left to right, row by row.***

Artist Josep Marti. © D.C. Thomson Co. Ltd
Issue 192