Weird Western is a subgenre that blends the Western genre with elements of fantasy, horror and science fiction, its stories set in a frontier world known as the Weird West and featuring strange encounters and, often, elements of steampunk. The term originated with DC Comics' Weird Western Tales in 1972, though the underlying blend of genres is older, appearing in B-movie Westerns, comic books, movie serials and pulp magazines from at least the 1930s.
Facts
Place of OriginUnited States; the term originated with DC Comics' Weird Western Tales series, launched in 1972, though genre-blended Western stories date to pulp magazines and B-movies of the 1930s. 1 Notable ExampleDead in the West (1983) by Joe R. Lansdale 1 Defining TraitBlends the Western genre with elements of fantasy, horror and science fiction, set in a frontier world known as the Weird West that often incorporates steampunk. 1 FAQs
What kinds of weird Western are there?
Five main types: weird menace, science fiction, space, steampunk and romance westerns.
Paul Green's Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns outlines five main types: weird menace westerns, science fiction westerns, space westerns, steampunk westerns and weird western romances. The word weird here does not mean merely rare or unusual. It marks westerns that are genre mash-ups, such as westerns that include zombies or aliens. These are not the only possible categories, but Green's list is fairly foundational for how the subgenre is understood.
Connections
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Weird Western (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Weird Western (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph, first sentence
Weird Western is a subgenre that blends elements of the Western genre with those of fantasy, horror and science fiction.
Lead paragraph, third sentence
The term originated with DC's Weird Western Tales in 1972, but the idea is older as the genres have been blended since the 1930s, possibly earlier, in B-movie Westerns, comic books, movie serials and pulp magazines.
Literature section, Lansdale paragraph
An example is Dead in the West (1983), in which zombies rise after an unjustly lynched Native American shaman has cursed the town of Mud Creek, Texas.
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