Benedict and Brazos 5

It had been months since Brazos and Benedict had started their search for Bo Rangle, the outlaw who’d killed most of their comrades in the War and stolen a fortune in gold while they were at it. But the west was a big place and Rangle could have gone anywhere.

Then they chanced upon the best lead they’d had in months … the only trouble was that Race Sackett, the man who could take them right to Rangle, was behind bars, awaiting a noose. There was only one thing to do – bust the outlaw out and force him to take them to Rangle’s lair. But that was going to be easier said than done …

E. Jefferson Clay was just one of many pseudonyms used by New South Wales-born Paul Wheelahan (1930-2018). Starting off as a comic-book writer/illustrator, Paul created The Panther and The Raven before moving on to a long and distinguished career as a western writer. Under the names Emerson Dodge, Brett McKinley, E. Jefferson Clay, Ben Jefferson and others, he penned more than 800 westerns and could, at his height, turn out a full-length western in just four days.

The son of a mounted policeman, Paul initially worked as a powder money on the Oaky River Dam project. By 1955, however, he was drawing Davy Crockett—Frontier Scout. In 1963 he began his long association with Australian publisher Cleveland Pty. Co. Ltd. As prolific as he was as a western writer, however, he also managed to write for TV, creating shows like Runaways and contributing scripts to perennial favorites like A Country Practice. At the time of his death, in December 2018, he was writing his autobiography, Never Ride Back … which was also the title of his very first western.