Black Rider #19
Black Rider
Outlaw Hatchet Haines has hatched up a scheme to dress as the Black Rider to frame the hero while committing robberies, forcing a local tailor named Chuck Norman into making him a Black Rider costume. When Chuck refuses to go along with the plan, Haines and his men decide to deal with him and take him away. They leave a note for Chuck's wife telling her that he has left to do a favor for the Black Rider. Finding this suspicious, Chuck's wife calls for local doctor Matthew Masters and confides that she finds it suspicious. Masters decides to look into it and rides away. Finding cover, Masters changes into the Black Rider and goes off to search for Chuck. As he rides he is spotted by Marie Lathrop who wonders what danger her love will face.
The Black Rider finds Chuck Norman in the desert, dying of dehydration. Despite his best efforts, the Black Rider cannot save his life, but Chuck tells the Rider about Hatchet's plot before he dies. As the Black Rider races back to town, his impostor has begun attacking local ranches. When he demands that Jim Lathrop and orders him to sell his ranch for cheap, Jim and Bobby are convinced that the Black Rider has gone bad and refuse. Marie however, notices how the Black Rider has not recognized any of them and concludes that it must be an impostor. When Jim refuses to sell the ranch, the faux Black Rider shoots Jim in the chest and then takes Marie prisoner and rides off, leaving Bobby to care for his father.
Later, the real Black Rider has returned home and changed back into Matthew Masters. He is shocked when Bobby suddenly bursts into his doctors off with a gun, seeking to avenge his father. However, Masters convinces Bobby that the real shooter was an impostor and changes back into the Black Rider and seeks out to find Hatchet Haines. The Black Rider finds Haines' secret hideout and guns down his men. Hatchet leaves his guard of Marie to find out what the noises outside are. The Black Rider attacks Haines, and easily disarms him of his guns. Fighting hand-to-hand, the Black Rider easily overpowers Haines and throws him off a cliff to his death. He then frees Marie.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Marie Lathrop
Jim Lathrop
Bobby Lathrop
Satan
The Fangs of the Mad Wolf!
The Black Rider is in a cave facing off with a wolf infected with rabies. As the maddened beast lunges at him, the masked hero recalls back to how he got into this situation in the first place...
A day earlier a Comanche brave and has come to town with his son, who is in a coma. He tells the people of Leadville that his son was bitten by a mad wolf and he is taken right to the local doctor Matthew Masters. Masters takes in the boy and examines him and tells the brave that his son can be cured with a rabies vaccine. Masters only has one vial of the vaccine left, but before he can treat the boy he fumbles the vial and it smashes on the ground. The only hope for the boy now is to catch and kill the infected wolf and make more antidote. Acting as though nothing happened, Masters pretends to treat the boy and tells his father that he needs a few days rest and sends him away. Changing into the Black Rider, Masters rides out and tracks the wolf down to the cave it dens in....
.... The Black Rider kills the beast and rushes it back to his office. There as Matthew Masters, the Black Rider makes the much needed vaccine and cures the boy and reunites him with his father.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Comanches
Satan
Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is confronted by two outlaws trying to make a name for themselves and guns them down. Having grown tired of constantly squaring off against outlaws seeking to take him down, the Two-Gun Kid leaves town to find peace someplace else.
As Two-Gun Kid rides across the range he is ambushed by two brothers, ranchers, who accuse him as being a hired gun for a group of cattle rustlers who recently stole their entire stock. Two-Gun manages to disarm them with his superior shooting skills and convinces them that he is not a gun runner, giving them a fake name of "Sandy" to keep his true identity a secret.
Taken to the ranch house for a meal, he learns that one of the men has a son who believes that being an honest rancher is a waste of time and how he wants to go up and join the rustlers.
Seeking to convince the boy otherwise, the Two-Gun Kid goes up to where the rustlers are hanging out and manages to recover the stolen cattle, wiping out the rustlers in the process. Returning to the ranch, the rancher's brother suddenly pulls a gun revealing that he was behind the rustling, seeking to make his brother leave so he could take control of the ranch for himself. Two-Gun Kid then allows him to leave with his life. In the aftermath, the boy is convinced that the life of an outlaw is not worth it.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Cyclone
Black Rider
During a powerful storm the Black Rider spots a stage coach being attacked by outlaws. He wipes out the outlaws but finds that the coach riders have also been killed. Using Satan, the Black Rider manages to slow the coach down to a stop. Inside he finds a woman who has passed out. He rushes her to the office of his alter0ego, doctor Matthew Masters. Marie Lathrop happens to be passing by and wonders what the Black Rider might be up to.
Going inside, she finds only doctor Matthew Masters treating the young woman that the Black Rider brought in. Marie becomes instantly jealous when the woman -- named Lola Montace -- begins to flirt with Masters and bursts out of the room. After explaining everything Lola realizes that she has dropped her purse and Masters goes out to look for it. When he finds it he looks inside and is troubled to find a gun hidden inside. Later that night, Matthew Masters finds that he cannot sleep and decides to check in on his patient, but finds her gone from her room and the window wide open. Looking out the window he spots Lola and some men riding away. Masters finds it all very suspicious.
The following morning, Masters runs into Marie Lathrop and learns that she is taking a coach to Silver City. Masters decides to join along as well, buying a ticket aboard the coach. The coach is then stuck up by Lola and her minions. When Marie demands that Matthew do something, he reminds her of his oath of non-violence. Lola then returns the kindness she showed her the day before and allows him to go free, keeping Marie as a prisoner.
This allows Masters to slip away and change into the Black Rider, he then catches up to the stolen coach and guns down Lola's men, taking Lola prisoner and taking her back to down along with Marie.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Marie Lathrop
Satan
