Gunhawk #12
Comanche Vengeance!
Along the Santa Fe trail a gang out outlaws guns down a government land agent, stealing his documents and leaving him for dead.
Three weeks later, the Gunhawk rides into the area and spots smoke on the horizon and goes to check it out. What he finds is a burned out farm house and evidence suggesting that the local Comanche tribe is responsible. As he continues on he sees more and more farm houses that have been burned to the ground. Coming across some survivors of the attack, Gunhawk questions them and learns that the Comanches are on the warpath due to documents from Washington that have ordered them off their land so settlers can take it over.
Riding into town he finds a man working up the citizens to join up in a war against the Native Americans and finds this odd behaviour to be something government sanctioned. Questioning the rabble rouser he learns that the Indian Commissioner George Blackwell is calling for the strike. Paying a visit to Blackwell, the Gunhawk demands answers and is shown the documents that apparently came from the documents. Figuring that it will lead to much unwanted bloodshed, the Gunhawk decides to go and talk to the local Comanche tribe and try to sort out a peaceful resolution.
Arriving on the Comanche land he is greeted by a war party and surrenders to them, asking to meet with their chief Running Bear. Gunhawk is taken prisoner and brought before Running Bear and learns that the Comanches only want peace and their land but are willing to go to war to defend it. While trying to establish a peaceful solution, he learns that there is another white man in the village who had been injured some weeks ago. Gunhawk is taken to him and succeeds in reviving the man and learns that he is a government agent. The agent explains that he was bushwacked by some outlaws who took his papers and left him for dead. He gives Gunhawk a copy of papers from the government stating that he Comanches have full rights to their land.
Realizing that Blackwell is using forged papers to get what he wants, Gunhawk leads Running Bear and a war party under a peace banner back to town. As they enter the Indian Commission office they walk in on Blackwell and the outlaws as they boast about their plan to drive the Comanches off the land and buy it dirt cheap. Gunhawk guns down Blackwell's gang and before Blackwell can shoot him, Running Bear pins his arm with an arrow. With the uprising over, Gunhawk turns over the real documents to the sheriff and leaves town, leaving the sheriff and Running Bear to flip a coin to decide who gets the right to give Blackwell the justice he deserves.
Recurring Characters
Gunhawk
Blaze
Devil Horse!
While camped out, Gunhawk notices that his horse Terror is acting up and spots the reason for the commotion -- a wild black stallion, which Gunhawk marvels at. Later that day, he catches a horse thief trying to steal Terror and easily stops him. He then brings the horse thief into the nearby town and turns him over to the sheriff. However, Gunhawk does not like the ruthless way that the sheriff sentences anyone to hang for even the most banal crime. Gunhawk takes the horse thief out to be tried somewhere more fair. When the sheriff tries to draw on him, Gunhawk shoots the gun away and leaves. Outside of town, he decides to let the horse thief go since he has learned his lesson.
Back out on the range he spots the wild stallion again and is surprised to see the sheriff from town trying to shoot the horse. Gunhawk stops him and learns that for years the sheriff has attempted to capture and tame the horse, and is the source of all his frustrations. Having given up he had decided to kill the horse. Gunhawk sends the sheriff on his way, and then succeeds in capturing and taming the stallion.
The next morning the sheriff wakes up and is surprised to find the stallion in his barn with a note from Gunhawk telling him that with a great horse he will need to be a great sheriff.
Recurring Characters
Gunhawk
Blaze
The Gal Who Hated the West!
Gunhawk rides into the town of Tomahawk Creek and finds men fleeing from the local saloon and learns that a woman is the cause of all the commotion. Inside the saloon he finds a eastern girl named Donna Dane on a rant about how she hates the west, it's customs, and savage people. Gunhawk extends her the first courtesy she's seen since she had arrive and calms her down. He learns that she inherited a ranch and intends to sell it in order to get back east.
However, the Gunhawk takes it upon himself to teach her the beauty of the west and how to survive. When she scoffs in disgust at a vulture, Gunhawk shows her that not all nature in the area is bad when they witness a roadrunner kill a rattle snake that threatens Donna's horse. When Donna becomes thirsty she bemoans that they are in the desert with no water. However, Gunhawk proves her wrong by cutting open a cactus.
When she is frightened by an arriving band of Native Americans, he convinces her to keep calm and is delighted when they gift her with clothing as friendly offering to their new neighbour. As the day comes to a close, Donna realizes that there is more to the west than she thought and decides to keep the ranch and stay, and thanks Gunhawk for showing her the error of her ways.
Recurring Characters
Gunhawk
Blaze
