By issue 86 (March 1967), Two-Gun Kid was nearing the end of the trail.
He’d actually been two distinct characters during the title’s run — first wandering gunfighter Clay Harder, then masked avenger Matt Hawk.
This issue pitted the fictional Two-Gun Kid against the real Cole Younger, a Civil War Confederate guerrilla who later committed robberies with the James-Younger Gang.
He’s jailed here by the Two-Gun Kid, but in real life Younger was imprisoned in 1876 after a botched bank robbery. Paroled in 1901, Younger wrote a book, toured in a wild west show and died in his hometown of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 1915, age 72.
“Kid Colt Outlaw #139 and Two-Gun Kid #92 (both dated March 1968) marked the end of two of Marvel’s three Old West titles, leaving Rawhide Kid as the last cowboy standing until the 25-cent Mighty Marvel Western series (comprised of Kid Colt, Rawhide and Two-Gun reprints) premiered during the summer,” observed John Wells in American Comic Book Chronicles.”
Cancelled in 1968, Two-Gun Kid returned in May 1970 mainly to limp along as a reprint title. But the title, like Marvel’s other westerns, had contributed significantly to the development of Marvel’s superheroes.
“The early, formative years grew out of a period in Marvel’s history that was dominated not by superheroes but by westerns, teen humor, romance and weird adventure comics,” recalled Pierre Comtois in Marvel Comics in the 1960s. “It was among these categories that many of the themes incorporated in the later superhero comics were first explored: western heroes like the Two-Gun Kid and the Rawhide Kid were misunderstood outcasts just as Spider-Man and the X-Men would be, the Hulk and the Thing were direct descendants of many of the brutes that roamed through scores of weird tales, and the desperate, paranoid characters who populated Lee and artist Steve Ditko’s fantasy stories would later seek out the help of Dr. Strange or skulk in dark alleys for an unwary Daredevil.”
ReplyDeleteBob Bailey:
Most Marvel fans don’t realize that it was the teen comics and westerns that kept Marvel going during the Atlas and later no-name period. They were a big part of their sales way into the supposed superhero dominance.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Williams:
Dan, here we go.
Dan - By issue 86 (March 1967), Two-Gun Kid was nearing the end of the trail.
He’d actually been two distinct characters during the title’s run — first wandering gunfighter Clay Harder, then masked avenger Matt Hawk.
Me - That two different western characters taking up the same mantle was pretty rare back then.
Dan - This issue pitted the fictional Two-Gun Kid against the real Cole Younger, a Civil War Confederate guerrilla who later committed robberies with the James-Younger Gang.
He’s jailed here by the Tw0-Gun Kid, but in real life Younger was imprisoned in 1876 after a botched bank robbery. Paroled in 1901, Younger wrote a book, toured in a wild west show and died in his hometown of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 1915, age 72.
Me - Even as a ‘child’ I felt an uneasiness at confederates being portrayed in the mainstream as heroes. The character Johnny Yuma in the series The Rebel though played sympathetically was not a favorite in my household full of TV western fans. Even further back the television series The Gray Ghost glorified confederate major John Singleton Mosby. My Mother explained to me what her issues were with that program when I was a little bit older and could understand her meanings.
Dan - “Kid Colt Outlaw #139 and Two-Gun Kid #92 (both dated March 1968) marked the end of two of Marvel’s three Old West titles, leaving Rawhide Kid as the last cowboy standing until the 25-cent Mighty Marvel Western series (comprised of Kid Colt, Rawhide and Two-Gun reprints) premiered during the summer,” observed John Wells in American Comic Book Chronicles.”
Cancelled in 1968, Two-Gun Kid returned in May 1970 mainly to limp along as a reprint title. But the title, like Marvel’s other westerns, had contributed significantly to the development of Marvel’s superheroes.
Me - Both cancellations hit me hard. I actually was a fan of Marvel’s western titles and bought them on a basis almost as regularly as the superhero titles. Those (and the early Marvel monster) books were an early part of my growing appreciation for the artists did Timely/Marvel whose styles were markedly different from the DC house styles.
Dan - “The early, formative years grew out of a period in Marvel’s history that was dominated not by superheroes but by westerns, teen humor, romance and weird adventure comics,” recalled Pierre Comtois in Marvel Comics in the 1960s. “It was among these categories that many of the themes incorporated in the later superhero comics were first explored: western heroes like the Two-Gun Kid and the Rawhide Kid were misunderstood outcasts just as Spider-Man and the X-Men would be, the Hulk and the Thing were direct descendants of many of the brutes that roamed through scores of weird tales, and the desperate, paranoid characters who populated Lee and artist Steve Ditko’s fantasy stories would later seek out the help of Dr. Strange or skulk in dark alleys for an unwary Daredevil.”
Me - Not much more need be added here. I agree completely. That mirrors my experiences.
I do plan to speak more at length about the ‘artistic’ aspects of this in a future post of my own.
Vincent Mariani:
ReplyDeleteJust as Julius Schwartz's science fiction comics heavily influenced his launching of revived superheroes, the pre-Fantastic Four and Spider-Man Atlas/Marvel line was determinative of the early Marvel superhero direction. The transitions were fairly seamless, with the main innovation being Marvel's introduction of conflicted protagonists as superheroes.