Jimmy Daze Comics

Never heard of Jaime Portillo or Jimmy Daze Comics? Well that’s all about to change. I just finished reading the first four installments of his limited series comic book; Hell Paso; The Dallas Stoudenmire Story. This series is published by Jimmy Daze Comics and Death Moon Comics. All I can say is: WOW!

Issue #1 opens with the storm of gunfire that heralded in the new year of 1881 here in El Paso. Jimmy explores the men of city council and their relationship with City Marshal George Campbell. He also introduces us to the Manning brothers, and their flunkies John Hale and Bill Johnson. The issue closes with the arrival of Stoudenmire to become City Marshal, and his altercation with Johnson.

Iffn you want to know more, you’ll have to buy the books!

Jimmy created, wrote and lettered this project. Arturo Delgado did the artwork on issues #1 & 2, with Rick Martinez drawing #3& 4. Dany Morales did the coloring. It all blended into a very nice piece of work. Now, iffn you are expecting a chapter and verse retelling of the Stoudenmire saga, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. Jimmy himself will be the first to admit that this is a fictionalized version of the story. And what a story he wrote. Personally I found it to be a crisp, refreshing change of pace. Through Jimmy’s eyes, I got to look at these men and their deeds from an entirely different point of view. I had to set back and scratch my head a bit and ponder. A few folks have poo pooed the concept. Ironically these are the same folks that embraced Carlos Blake and his historical fiction on Pancho Villa. Me, I use my old mantra, and take it for what it is, a damned good story with great artwork, that just might get a younger generation interested in our history.

The series is well written. The artwork and color are fantastic. The first four issues are on sale at WWW.INDYPLANET.COM.

Last I talked to Jimmy; he was finishing up issues five and six. I give Jimmy and the crew a two thumbs up, job well done. Iffn He should decide to do another series along the same line, and it garners more interest in the history and heritage of the Pass of the North, all the more power to him!!!!!

untilnext time, keep your powder dry......

It's the beginning of a new year, and it started with a bang. I worked the El Paso Museum of History's "Fan Fest" for the Sun Bowl. Helped Curator Barb Angus with the chuck box and cowboy cooking set up. As always the was a blast.
Jimmy Blaze had a table set up at the Museum as well. Now for those of you into independent comic books, Jimmy Blaze is the creator of the "Hell Paso" series. "Hell Paso" is a mini series of six comic books, dealing with El Paso's turbulent early years and our 2 gunned City Marshal; Dallas Stoudenmire. The first 4 issues of the series are completed and available for sale. Besides at Barnes & Nobles, Hell Paso is also available online. I was impressed with the series, and can't wait to see how Jimmy ties everything up in the final two issues.

The first Old West El Paso Gunfight Tour of the year went off without a hitch. Had several folks from Indiana along. Found it ironic that they flew over 750 miles to hear another Hoosier talk about gunfights. I was personally very satisfied with the turn out. Now I did get asked one question that I have not found an answer to yet. Looking for a difinative book on El Paso's Missions and Presidio Chapel. There are booklets and pamphlets, but not a serious book that I know of....yet.

Was talking to Constable Rick Gammon this week at the court house. The good Constable introduced me to yet another gunfight, another 20th Century one at that. As I research it, I'll get it written up and posted for you folks.

I did get some major work done on the website over the holiday period. Got most the kinks worked out of the digitizing of the Old West Tales booklets. And cleaned up the format for the gunfight listings.

One criticism I received on the listing does need explaining. the former gunfight listing page has been renamed Gunfight Capital of the World. The entries found there are actually the rough drafts of my detailed accounts of each encounter. Believe me, the hard copies have a multitude of crib notes and personal questions scribbled between lines and in the margins. Eventually, all of that will be cleaned up, edited and become my serious book of the same title. So folks visiting the GFCoW page can actually see the book being born. ( and it might take years to finish the research, so don't expect miracles).

That's enough rambling for now. Hope you all had a Happy New Years Keep your powder dry.

It's the End of another Year

I had figured that with the holidays and all, I would be able to keep up with the blog. Well..... we see how that went. Anyways, another year is almost gone.
Earlier this month Heidi, the Buckaroo, and I headed up to Indiana to see the old folks at home. On the flight up, I couldn't but help notice that Indiana has made it's fair share of notables to Old West history. Depending on whose version of the stiry you wanna believe, Henry McCarty, William Antrium, Billy Bonny, or Billy the Kid may have been born a Hoosier. We know for sure that Sam Bass was born in Indiana, before migrating to Texas, and buying the "Denton Mare". John Ringo was another Hoosier that would make his mark in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before committing suicide in 1882. And of course you have yours truly, who hopefully will have made a mark before I am finished. Goshen, Indiana wasn't exactly a sleepy town it's self. During the 1930's three banks occupied the corners of Lincoln Ave and Main St. With John Dillinger and his ilk running rampant, a pill box was erected on the corner of the court house square. A policeman, armed with a Thompson machine gun would keep an eye on the banks day and night in case of a robbery. It was good to go back and touch base with my roots again.

This month we saw the anniversaries of two notable encounters in El Paso history. The First was a double header. Most folks remember December 7th. Mainly for the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval installation at Pearl Harbor. Even before that, a District Court Judge had been shotgunned, and a local attorney gunned down, all over politics. The year was 1870. Albert Fountain had been elected to the State Senate the previous year. He arranged for Gaylord Clarke to be appointed the Judge of the 20th District Court here in El Paso. Attorney B.F. Williams was not a happy camper about this, as he was expecting that position. Williams took some pot shots st Fountain. Judge Clarke ordered the arrest of Williams. The attorney's response of all this was a double dose of buck shot at close range. Fountain and LT French of the State Police terminated Williams career as an attorney.( Full Story)

Of the recent things we did this month, attended the grand reopening of the Coney Island. Now I have to admit, Judge William Moody did the organization and really put things togather. It was a great get together, and some darned good food. Now the occasion was also the 102nd anniversary of the shooting of Mannie Clements. Now Clements had entered the Coney Island the evening of December 29th, 1908, and with in 20 minutes, someone had put a bullet in the back of his head. Ironical, three of the more prominent lawmen of the period were sitting not more than 10 feet away and quietly slipped out the side door. (Full Story) While the case is still an unsolved murder, many still believe the owner, Tom Powers was the man that did the shooting.

That's about all for now. Have more pages to work on for the web site, and then back to the grind of school. So until next time, keep your powder dry.

Now How Cool is This?

We have yet another milestone in El Paso history coming up. Ironically, it is also a personal one.

November 20^th, 2010 sees the centennial of the beginning o f the Mexican Revolution. Porifiro Diaz had been president of Mexico pretty much since 1874. Under his regime, foreign investors had developed the resources of Mexico, and built miles of railroads. All this came at a price. While the richer got richer, the poor became poorer. There had been rumblings of discontent, even an aborted revolt as early as 1894. In the election of 1908 Diaz actually had a worthy opponent. Francisco Madero was the son of a wealthy family. He actually cared about ALL the people of Mexico, not just the rich. When Madero became too much a threat, Diaz had him jailed. Upon his release, Madero realized that there was not a peaceful way to make changes. He planned and organized. There were skirmishes and fights with Federal forces. Then Madero set the date. The Revolution would begin on November 20^th, 1910.

The Mexican Revolution would have a great impact on El Paso. The city of Juarez sat on the northern terminus of the only north-south railroad running the length of the country. It was a vital embarkation point for arms and supplies. The merchants in El Paso were more than willing to provide those arms and supplies… for a price. To keep the fighting contained in Mexico, the U.S. government set more troops to patrol the border. Overnight FT Bliss went from a sleepy brigade sized post to a facility housing over a division sized force.

The personal milestone? On November 20th,2010, the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, I turn 50 years old. Now how cool is that?

November 2010

Yesterday was an interesting day for this old gunslinger. I have a long list of honey do's, plus one invite I just had to attend. Of course, I got the call from Sue Taylor about a Boyscout Troop wanting a down and dirty tour of downtown. So at 9:00 I was at the Museum, scraping off the "good" stuff to make it suitable for 12 year olds. That said I did have fun with the gentlemen from Troop 164. They asked good questions and seemed to have a good time.

The big event was a reception held for a dear friend down at 5 Points. November 6th marked the 80th birthday of author, historian and story teller, Leon Metz. Leon has had quite a career. Born and raised in West Virginia, as with most of us, he was brought to the Pass of the North by the military. In Leon's case it was the Air Force. After his hitch in the Air Force, Leon worked at Chevron, later working for Mayor Tom Westphall. The Leon became the first archivist at the University of Texas, El Paso. He had the privilege of working with such literary/ history greats as Haldden Braddy, Dr. Timmons, John O. West, Doc Sonnichsen, Chris Fox, and Carl Herztog. Along the way, Leon began writing himself, and the rest is history.

I have most of Leon's books on my selves here at"Gun Fight Central". Most folks remember Dark Angel of Texas, Dallas Stoudenmire, John Selman, and of course El Paso Chronicles. Two that are often over looked are Desert Army: the story of Ft Bliss, and Border. By and far, I find that Border is the best of Leon's work, followed by Dark Angel of Texas. For those of you that didn't know, or don't remember, Deen Underwood wrote a biography on Leon back in 1995. Contact her or her husband Ham for information about getting a copy. And before I forget about it, I want to thank Ham Under wood for the use of his photos for this issue of Gunfight Central.

One of the things Cheryl wanted us to do was to write a quick note on a 3x5 card, with any special memories we have of Leon that we'd like to share. I got to thinking about it, and Cheryl wouldn't let me use 4 or 5 packets of the darned things. As I think about it, I wasn't the only one. I do have some very special memories. Through Leon I met Chuck Parson, and my membership into the Wild West Hertiage Association. Plus learned not to let Leon drive.

I can mark the first time I met Leon Metz almost to the hour. It was just after 7:00, August 19^th, 1995. We were in attendance at the Centennial celebration for the Demise of John Wesley Hardin at the Hacienda restaurant. At the time I had not transitioned to Old West stuff yet. I was still very active in the Horse Cavalry Association’s Memorial Troop, specializing in the Mexican Revolution and the Punitive Expedition. Leon was waiting for Dark Angel of Texas to be released. I had been listening to Leon’s radio show every Thursday since I can remember, and was a frequent caller. I was usually pointing out anniversaries of various events during Pershing’s operations in Mexico. What really struck me upon introducing myself was that Leon treated me like a long lost friend right from the start. We chatted about this and that, about history in general, and the event. It was a pleasant evening. That is how Leon Metz is, everyone is a long lost friend, you just did not know it.

Two years later, I decided to actually sit down and write a real book. There were quite a number of volumes on the shelves concerning the Civil War and Indian War period Cavalry. There are not any reference volumes dealing with what the everyday “Joe” faced in Mexico during the Punitive Expedition of 1916. I decided to write that missing book. Of course to explain the why and how of the expedition, one has to cover the revolution and events leading up to Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus.

I roughed out my outline, and actually got three chapters written. Then I asked Leon to go over it and tell me what he thought. I would be lying if I did not admit I was more than a little miffed when he returned my manuscript. Poor Leon, after using up one red pen with in the first 25 pages, he gave up and wrote a 3 page letter listing the changes and edits. That is when I received the second best piece of advice I ever received from Leon. When someone edits your work, you have three choices to make; 1: Follow the edit to the letter 2: ignore the edit or 3: Maybe the edit suggests a better way all around than you thought of in the first place. I have come to appreciate this advice over the years, and follow it religiously.

Now it is 15 years later, and we have traded places. I am concentrating on the Old West, while Leon is trying to get his book on the Mexican revolution published. There is a serendipity to all this, I guess.

What is the best piece of advice I ever received from Leon? If you are going to write and speak on history, do not quit your day job.

Happy Birthday Leon and may you have many more.