Weekly Reader — June 22 – 28, 2025 – The Lure of the Dim Trails

I finished two books during this week, as well as one pulp magazine issue.

Books

Redrawn by Request: The Great Cartoons of J. R. Williams, by J. R. Williams. I first encountered the comic art of J. R. Williams in a number of reprint volumes put out by Lee Valley, the Canadian tool, hardware, and more company. I much enjoyed his many depictions of life in the first half of the 20th century, with recurring characters such as the Bull of the Woods and the Worry Wart and recurring themes such as “Why Mothers Get Gray.” So I was pleased to discover this 1955 hardcover reprint volume while shopping a recent library sale, and over the past few weeks, I’ve been very much enjoying spending time reading through it. Recommended.
River of Ice, by Kenneth Robeson. First published in the July 1940 issue of the hero pulp magazine The Avenger, this entertaining entry in the series postulates an advanced civilization in the Pacific Northwest predating the last ice age. As usual, author Paul Ernst (using the house name Kenneth Robeson) delivers a solid mystery and adventure yarn in which the Avenger takes center stage but his various aides get their chances to shine as well. One surprising omission in this story was the use of a disguise, but perhaps by this point in the series (this is the 11th of the novels) Ernst thought the device a little tired. I’ve enjoyed all the Avenger novels I’ve read so far (in the Warner Books reprint series from the 1970s), and I’m looking forward to reading more. Recommended.

Short Stories, June 10, 1925
The lead story in this issue of Short Stories is the novelette “Chugwater Wallie,” a standard but nonetheless satisfying western by the prolific Clem Yore. The serial, “The Ghost of the Golconda,” is an engaging enough mystery that is perhaps more notable for being the work of Colorado Congressman William N. Vaile; it is unsurprising that the story, which features an unexplained killing and strange goings-on, involves politics in that same state. I look forward to reading the conclusion in the next issue. Prominent among the remaining stories in the issue is an entry in Vincent Starrett’s Jimmie Lavender series; here the sleuth unravels the mystery behind “The Mid-Watch Tragedy.” Beyond that, the tales included are an entertaining mix.