Golden Age idol--Cowboy Sahib!!

I have been reading comics for a looooong time. But, much to my chagrin, I have just now discovered perhaps the ultimate comic book concept ever:

Ho-Ly Crap.

Interestingly enough, Cowboy Sahib didn't actually appear anywhere on the inside of Hooded Horseman #52 (1952). Who the hell puts a "coming soon" character on the fromt of your comic when he's not in the issue? Did someone in the ACG production department slip up and accidentally run a house ad in place of a cover? Did something snafu the planned cover at the last minute?!?

Whatever the reason, in #26, we finally got the proper debut of...Cowboy Sahib:

Look, if this were just a cowboy riding a tiger, it would already be the the greatest comic book ever. But Richard Hughes and Leonard Starr are just getting started!

Who is our hero?

Joe is stationed at an allied base in India, and when the war ends:

Well, Joe sees something he wants:

So, it is on!!

Joe tames the horse, winning the right ot gamble for it!

Well, Joe keeps winning, and cleans the sultan out of all his riches! The poor guy has only one thing left to gamble:

Wow!! Now Joe has the ring, he can rule the kingdom!!

But the Sultan is a bad sport...

The sultan uses a beautiful woman to set up our cowboy...

Joe escapes, gets the ring back, but...

A star-crossed romance?!? Oh, my, this just keeps getting better!

And so begins a sub-continent-spanning adventure:

Folks, we're not even halfway through the first story yet!!

Almita comes to Joe to get her revenge...but:

Greatest. Comic. Ever.

The sultan decides to get his revenge by using Almita as the bait in a lady & the tiger trap. And what follows is brilliant:

AIIIIEEEEE indeed!

The sultan is routed--but alive, and vowing vengeance! And our lovers?

And the citizens of Larijuna rejoice at the new leader:

Wow.

The fun continued next issue...

...as the sultan hires a Cossack mercenary to kill Joe!

Oh, and Joe learns to ride an elephant!

That is the greatest thing ever!!

That was the last issue of Hooded Horseman. ACG revived the series almost 2 years later, so Cowboy Sahib had 5 more appearances before vanishing into obscurity.

Which is unjust, because man o man, this was a freakin' great comic book.

Someone, please, I'm begging you--revive this title!!