Scout – EHT Comics

Picking up the main character’s story over a decade after the events of Scout #24, with the lead now a widowed father of two. To promote the new series, retailers were encouraged to create a display for the series in order to win original Truman artwork. The first issue reached #98 on Diamond Comic Distributors‘ chart in January 1988, a solid performance for an Eclipse title. Truman also produced the Scout Handbook, a collection of profiles, maps and other material, while Eclipse collected Scout #1-7 in the trade paperback Scout – The Four Monsters. While War Shaman #2 was delayed due to colourist Sam Parsons falling ill, War Shaman became monthly from #3. Scout: War Shaman #8-9 featured the character Beau La Duke (a fictionalized version of Eclipse sales manager Beau Smith), who then appeared in a backup strip in #14-16. As planned by Truman, the series ended after 16 issues, ending with Rosa killing Scout. Truman stated that Santana would not be resurrected, with the series instead slated to continue with the wider supporting cast he had built up.

The story stars a Native American Apache named Emanuel Santana. The setting of the series is a dystopian United States that has become a Third World country. Twenty-four issues of the first series were published.

After the series ended, a short comic featuring Santana’s marriage ceremony was published inside Timothy Truman’s first album release entitled Marauder by his band The Dixie Pistols.

Two mini-series were published that ‘bridged the gap’ between the two Scout series: New America and Swords of Texas, each four issues long. While Truman oversaw them, others (including Ben Dunn) wrote and drew them. A one-shot ‘Scout Handbook’ was also published.