The Trailsman #1: Seven Wagons West: Seven Ways to Die

What a surprise when I came across this No.1 Episode of the Trailsman series.It just didn't make sense as it looked brand new.It was in a small store that sold new,remainders, as well as used books.I checked the copyright page and there was nothing to suggest it was anything but a First edition and showed the First Printing as July,1980.However;there are three numbers below the first Printing,10 9 8 which should have tipped me off as to it being a reprint.Not only that ,when I got home with it ,I checked my library, and my earliest Trailsman was No.28,and was published in April,1984. Something is amiss here! Since these episodes ar published monthly ,and if No.28 was April,1984; No.1 should have been published in February 1982,not July,1980.Be that as it may,I was keen to read No.1 and enjoyed it very much.I am assuming it is a true reprint of the first Episode.Another thing that should have tipped me off is that the artwork and "look" of the cover is much more like recent Episodes as opposed to the earlier Editions that showed a quite different looking Fargo with a backdrop of a wagon wheel with a mountain scene in the background and scenes from the story in the foreground. This saga was well written and had Fargo leading a Preacher and his band of followers into the mountains in search of a hidden treasure,for which the Preacher had a secret map.There are lots of well developed ,interesting characters,lots of fast action and gunfights,and one is left wondering if there is going to be anyone still left standing in the end.This was a great starting episode in what turned out to be a long-lasting and exciting series;andlittle wonder that it has continued to the present.I have read,and thoroughly enjoyed many of the now over 330 Episodes that have been published ,and look forward to many more.