The Western Raider was an American pulp magazine. The first issue was dated August/September 1938; it was followed by two more issues under that title, publishing Western fiction, and then was changed to a crime fiction pulp for two issues, titled The Octopus and The Scorpion.[1] Both these two issues were named after a supervillain, rather than after a hero who fights crime, as was the case with most such magazines.[2] Norvell Page wrote the lead novels for both the crime fiction issues; the second was rewritten by Ejler Jakobsson, one of the editors, to change the character from The Octopus to The Scorpion.[2]
The Western Raider was published by Popular Publications. There were a total of five issues; three under the title The Western Raider, one as The Octopus, and one as The Scorpion. There was one volume of four numbers; with the final issue the numbering was restarted at volume 1 number 1. It was in pulp format, with 128 pages, priced at 15 cents for the three Western issues; the last two issues were 112 pages and 10 cents. The schedule was bimonthly, starting with August/September 1938 and ending with April/May 1939. The co-editors for the two crime fiction issues were Ejler Jakobsson and Edith Jakobsson.[3]