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Western comics is acomics genre usually depicting theAmerican Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of theMississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with anAmerican comic books genre published from the late 1940s through the 1950s (though the genre had continuing popularity in Europe, and persists in limited form in American comics today). Western comics of the period typically featured dramatic scripts aboutcowboys,gunfighters,lawmen,bounty hunters,outlaws, andNative Americans. Accompanying artwork depicted a rural America populated with such iconic images as guns,cowboy hats, vests, horses,saloons, ranches, and deserts, contemporaneous with the setting.
Western novels,films, andpulp magazines were extremely popular in theUnited States from the late 1930s to the 1960s.
Western comics first appeared in syndicatednewspaper strips in the early 1910s.Victor Forsythe introduced humorous takes on the genre withBad Bill the Western Wildcat (1911)[1] andTenderfoot Tim (1912–1914),[2] both published in theNew York World. In October 1927, J. Carrol Mansfield, best known for the educational stripHigh Lights of History (1924-1942),[3] launchedBuffalo Bill, Scout of Scouts, a daily continuity strip recounting the formative years of youngBilly Cody.[4] In June 1927,Harry O'Neill'sYoung Buffalo Bill (later changed toBuckaroo Bill and then, finally,Broncho Bill),[5] distributed byUnited Feature Syndicate.[6] After O’Neill’s departure, Fred Meagher continued the feature briefly, and the title was later replaced by the actual Buffalo Bill strips (1950–1956).[7]
Starting in the 1938,Red Ryder,Little Joe, andKing of the Royal Mounted were syndicated in hundreds of newspapers across the United States.Garrett Price'sWhite Boy (later changed toSkull Valley) was another syndicated strip from the 1930s.[8]
The first Western stories to appear in the comic books were in the mid-1930s:National Allied'sNew Fun Comics #1 (Feb. 1935) ran themodern-West feature "Jack Woods" and theOld West feature "Buckskin Jim";Centaur Publications'The Comics Magazine #1 (May 1936) ran the feature "Captain Bill of the Rangers"; andDavid McKay Publications'sFeature Book #1 (May 1937) and a single issue ofKing Comics (also 1937) featuredKing of the Royal Mounted reprints before Dell took over licensing of the character.Dell Comics'The Funnies published a run of short adaptations ofB-movie Westerns starting in vol. 2, issue #20 (May 1938). Whitman Comics'Crackajack Funnies ran regular Western features (includingTom Mix stories) beginning with issue #1 in June 1938.
The first stand-alone Western comics titles were published by Centaur Publications.Star Ranger andWestern Picture Stories[9] both debuted from the publisher in late 1936, cover-dated Feb. 1937.Star Ranger ran for 12 issues, becomingCowboy Comics for a couple of issues, and then becomingStar Ranger Funnies. The series ended in October 1939.Western Picture Stories ran four issues in 1937. Dell Comics publishedWestern Action Thrillers #1 shortly thereafter (cover-date Apr. 1937), and began publishingRed Ryder Comics,[10] initially reprinting the long-running comic strip, in 1941.Edward “Tex” O’Reilly, the creator of thefakelore figurePecos Bill, collaborated on thePecos Bill comic strip with cartoonist Jack A. Warren (also known as Alonzo Vincent Warren) distributed byGeorge Matthew Adams Service from 1936 to 1937.[11]
In 1939, the Associated Features Syndicate, run byRobert W. Farrell,[12][13] launched the newspaper stripLightnin' and Lone Rider. Written by Farrell and illustrated by two young artists at the beginning artist:Jack Kirby andFrank Robbins, the strip was later reprinted in Eastern Color Printing'sFamous Funnies.[14]
Western comics became popular in the years immediately followingWorld War II, when superheroes went out of style. Adult readership had grown during the war years, and returning servicemen wanted subjects other than superheroes in their books. The popularity of the Western genre in comic strips and other media gave birth to Western comics, many of which began being published around 1948.[15][10]
Most of the larger publishers of the period jumped headfirst into the Western arena during this period, particularlyMarvel Comics and its forerunnersTimely Comics andAtlas Comics.Kid Colt Outlaw debuted in 1948, running until 1979 (though it was primarily a reprint title after 1967). The company soon established itself as the most prolific publisher of Western comics[16] with other notable long-running titles, includingRawhide Kid,Two-Gun Kid, andWild Western.
The six-issue 1950Harvey Comics seriesBoys' Ranch, byJoe Simon and Jack Kirby, was a seminal example of the Western comics genre.DC Comics published the long-running seriesAll-Star Western andWestern Comics.Charlton Comics publishedBilly the Kid,Cheyenne Kid,Outlaws of the West,Texas Rangers in Action, and the unusual titleBlack Fury, about ahorse that roamed the West righting wrongs. BothDell Comics andFawcett Comics published a number of Western titles, includingThe Lone Ranger (Dell) andHopalong Cassidy (Fawcett, later continued by DC after Fawcett folded in 1953). Many issues of Dell'sFour Color featured Western stories during the 1950s.Avon Comics published a number of Western comics, the most notable titles being based on historical figures likeJesse James andWild Bill Hickok.Youthful published the Western titlesGunsmoke,Indian Fighter, andRedskin (later known asFamous Western Badmen). AndToby Press published its ownBilly the Kid Adventure Magazine.
The first Western hero published byTimely Comics was theMasked Raider, beginning in 1939.[17]
Timely/Atlas/Marvel favored Western characters with the word "Kid" in their name, including theApache Kid,Kid Colt, theOutlaw Kid, the Rawhide Kid, theRingo Kid, the Two-Gun Kid, and theWestern Kid—as well as the more obscure heroes the Prairie Kid, the Arizona Kid, and the Texas Kid. Other companies followed suit, with DC's Stuff the Chinatown Kid and theWyoming Kid;Charlton Comics' Billy the Kid and the Cheyenne Kid; and Dell's theCisco Kid.
Black Rider andPhantom Rider were two other Marvel company characters from the genre's peak. Other early DC Comics Western characters includedJohnny Thunder,Nighthawk,Pow Wow Smith,Tomahawk, theTrigger Twins, andVigilante. A new version of the Lone Rider was launched in 1951 by Robert W. Farrell through his publishing house,Farrell Publications.[13] The character was subsequently relaunched under the titleThe Rider in 1957.[18]
Dell Comics featured theLone Ranger, and Dell'sLobo (debuting in 1965) was the medium's firstAfrican-American character to headline his own series.
Tom Mix's prolific comic book presence was an extension of his popular radio show,The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters (1933-1951), in which actors voiced his part. This radio success directly spawned his first comics: a single-page advertisement inNew Fun #1 (February 1935) where the cowboy star endorsed "official Tom Mix Zyp-Guns."[19] His first proper narrative appearances followed inDell Comics'The Comics,Popular Comics andCrackajack Funnies from 1936[20] to 1939. This was succeeded by a direct mail-order series fromRalston Purina, the sponsor of his popular radio series; from 1940 to 1942, the company produced nine issues ofTom Mix Comics and three issues ofTom Mix Commandos Comics, available to fans in exchange for cereal boxtops.[21]
The years 1946–1949 saw an explosion of titles "starring" Western film actors and cowboy singers. Almost every star, major or minor, had their own title at some point; and almost every publisher got in on the action:Fawcett publishedAllan Lane,Monte Hale,Gabby Hayes,Lash LaRue,Tex Ritter, and Tom Mix comics; Dell publishedGene Autry,Rex Allen,Roy Rogers, andWild Bill Elliott comics;Magazine Enterprises publishedCharles Starrett andTim Holt comics;Toby Press published aJohn Wayne title; and DC produced short-livedDale Evans andJimmy Wakely titles. (Dale Evans andReno Browne were the only two Western actresses to have comics based on their characters.)[citation needed] Most of the cowboy actor titles featured photo covers of the stars; most series had been canceled by 1957.
Publishers sometimes used models to portray “faux cowboy” heroes. Actor and modelSteve Holland posed as Bob Colt, a fictional Fawcett cowboy who appeared in ten issues (1950–1952). Timely Comics used the same trick withTex Morgan,Tex Taylor andRex Hart. In a notable instance, Timely editorStan Lee himself dressed up as the title character for the cover ofBlack Rider #8 (March 1950).[22]
Since Westerns were such a popular genre in the 1950s, many of the period's notable creators spent at least some time doing Western comics.
WriterPaul S. Newman and artistTom Gill had an 11-year stretch on Dell'sThe Lone Ranger, a 107-issue run that marks one of the longest of any writer/artist team on a comic-book series.Larry Lieber spent nine years as writer-artist of Marvel'sRawhide Kid.France Herron andFred Ray were the long-time writer and artist of DC'sTomahawk.Gaylord DuBois excelled in writing Western comics featuring realistic animals: he wrote the entire run ofThe Lone Ranger's Famous Horse Hi-Yo Silver, the entire run ofNational Velvet under both the Dell and Gold Key imprints, and many other animal stories for a number of publishers.
Carl Pfeufer was the longtime artist of Fawcett'sTom Mix comics. ArtistFred Guardineer had a long run onMagazine Enterprises'TheDurango Kid.Pete Tumlinson illustrated most ofKid Colt's early stories. Later, Tumlinson drew Western stories forAtlas Comics'Outlaw Fighters,Two-Gun Western, andWild Western.Russ Heath drew a corral-full of Western stories for such Marvel titles asWild Western,All Western Winners,Arizona Kid,Black Rider,Western Outlaws, andReno Browne, Hollywood's Greatest Cowgirl.Vic Carrabotta worked on such Marvel Westerns asApache Kid,Kid Colt: Outlaw,The Outlaw Kid, andWestern Outlaws. ArtistJohn Severin was known for his 1950s Western comics art for Atlas. ArtistMike Sekowsky drew such characters as the Apache Kid, theBlack Rider, andKid Colt for Atlas; he later freelanced for other companies, drawing theTV-series spin-offsGunsmoke andBuffalo Bill, Jr. forDell Comics.
ArtistRocke Mastroserio specialized in Western stories for suchCharlton Comics series asBilly the Kid,Black Fury,Jim Bowie,Rocky Lane's Black Jack,Sheriff ofTombstone,Six-Gun Heroes,Texas Rangers in Action, andWyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal.Pat Boyette worked on such Charlton Western series asBilly the Kid,Cheyenne Kid, andOutlaws of the West.
The Western genre in general peaked around 1960, largely due to the tremendous number of Westerns on Americantelevision.[citation needed] Increasingly, the genre reflected aRomantic view of the American West—and American history in general. As the country grappled with the cultural issues of the 1960s and theVietnam War, the genre seemed increasingly out of touch.[citation needed]
As theAmerican public's interest in the genre waned, Western literature—including comics—began to lose its appeal as well. At the same time, the comics industry was shifting back to superheroes (entering its "Silver Age") and away from some of the other genres which had flourished during the 1950s. In fact, of the original Western comics series begun in the late 1940s and early 1950s, only a handful of titles survived the 1950s. Charlton's low production costs enabled it to continue producing a number of Western titles, but otherwise Dell'sThe Lone Ranger, and Marvel'sGunsmoke Western,Kid Colt Outlaw, andRawhide Kid were the only Western titles to make it through the 1960s.
Gary Friedrich,Mike Esposito, andOgden Whitney are three of the few notable Western comics creators from the 1960s.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the rise ofrevisionist Western film. Elements include a darker, more cynical tone, with focus on the lawlessness of the time period, favoring realism over romanticism, and an interest in greater historical authenticity. Anti-heroes were common, as were stronger roles for women and more-sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans and Mexicans. The films were often critical of big business, the American government, and masculine figures (including the military and their policies).
Reflecting the trend, in 1968 DC debuted the new characterBat Lash, who starred in a short-lived series. They also revived theAll-Star Western title, starting volume two of the series in 1970. In 1972,All-Star Western changed its name toWeird Western Tales, with many stories featuring the newly created Western antiheroJonah Hex (debuting in 1975 in his own title).Weird Western Tales (sister title ofWeird War Tales) defined a newmulti-genre form: "Weird West," a combination of the Western with another literary genre, usuallyhorror,occult, orfantasy. Other Western characters DC created during this period include the heroesScalphunter andEl Diablo, and the villainsEl Papagayo,Terra-Man, andQuentin Turnbull.
Marvel also attempted to capitalize on the renewed interest in the Western with two mostly reprint titles,The Mighty Marvel Western (1968–1976) andWestern Gunfighters vol. 2 (1970–1975).
The short-lived publisherSkywald Publications attempted a line of Western titles in the early 1970s, but nothing came of it.
Weird Western Tales survived until 1980, andJonah Hex until 1985. By then no major publishers were producing Western titles, though iconic characters from the DC and Marvel canons would occasionally make cameo appearances in other books.
TheDC Comics imprintVertigo reintroduced the Western genre in 1995 withPreacher, set in a contemporary version of the West. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Western comic leaned toward the Weird West subgenre, usually involving supernatural monsters. However, more traditional Western comics are found throughout this period, fromJonah Hex toLoveless. Series likeDesperadoes,High Moon, andScalped demonstrate the genre's continuing appeal. Creators likeJoe R. Lansdale,Michael Fleisher, andTony DeZuniga were notable contributors to Western comics from this period.
In addition, publishers likeAmerica's Comics Group andAC Comics have reprinted a number of Western comics from the genre's "Golden Age."
The Goodbye Family, about a family of Weird West undertakers, started in 2015 and continues in both online and print formats.
The Western genre's overall popularity in Europe spawned a Western comics trend, particularly inItaly,France,Belgium, andEngland. Many European countries published reprints of American-made Western comics (translated into the respective country's native language). The Italian publishersSergio Bonelli Editore and Editorial Novaro led the field—Editorial Novaro'sGene Autry title ran 424 issues from 1954 to 1984. The Norwegian publisher Se-Bladene and the British publisherL. Miller & Son were also particularly known for their Western comics reprint titles. Se-Bladene'sTexas ran 606 issues between 1954 and 1975. TheAustralian publishers Ayers & James, Cleland, Federal Publishing, Gredown, andHorwitz Publications all published reprints of American Western comics during the 1950s and 1960s.
The most popular and long-running Italian-produced Western comic isGian Luigi Bonelli andAurelio Galleppini'sTex (starringTex Willer), first published in 1948.Tex is among the most popular characters in Italian comics, and has been translated into numerous languages, includingPortuguese,Finnish,Norwegian, Tamil,Turkish,Slovenian,Croatian,Serbian andHebrew.
Captain Miki, by the trioEsseGesse, was published inItaly (and translated into many other languages) throughout the 1950s. Characters in the comic were inspired byGabby Hayes and the popular 1939 Western filmStagecoach. EsseGesse also produced the popular seriesIl Grande Blek.Benito Jacovitti'sCocco Bill is a Western humor comic produced since the mid-1950s.
In 1949,Mondadori launched the comic seriesPecos Bill, written byGuido Martina and illustrated byRaffaele Paparella,[23]Antonio Canale,Pier Lorenzo De Vita, Roy D'Ami, Francesco Gamba,Gino D'Antonio, andDino Battaglia.[24] Published inAlbi d’Oro, it ran until 1955.[25] In 1956, Cesare Solini and Pietro Gamba reinterpreted the character inLe nuove avventure di Pecos Bill, published by Alpe.[26] In 1960, Mondadori reprinted the original stories inGli Albi di Pecos Bill and sold the rights in 1962 to the Fasani publishing house, which continued the saga with new stories written and drawn by artists such as Franco Donatelli, Guglielmo Letteri, and Rinaldo D’Ami, among others, until 1967. In 1978, publisher Bianconi introduced another version of the hero, created by Armando Bonato. Over the years, Pecos Bill has been revisited and reprinted by numerous Italian publishers and artists.[27][28]
Sergio Bonelli andGallieno Ferri'sZagor was first published in Italy bySergio Bonelli Editore in 1961.Carlo Boscarato andClaudio Nizzi'sLarry Yuma was a popular character in the Italian magazineIl Giornalino throughout the 1970s.Giancarlo Berardi andIvo Milazzo'sKen Parker is a popular Western hero appearing in Italian comics since 1977.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, writer Gianfranco Manfredi'sMagico Vento was a popular title fromSergio Bonelli Editore. Since the late 1990s, Enrico Teodorani'sDjustine has been featured in erotic "Weird West" stories in Italy and the United States.
The Western humor comicLucky Luke, published since 1946, debuting inSpirou magazine, is one of the most popular and best-selling comics series in continental Europe. Popular in Canada, about half of the series' adventures have been translated into English.Lucky Luke comics have been translated into 23 languages, including many European languages, and some African and Asian languages.
Tintin magazine featured Western-themed comics starting in 1947 withLe Rallic's various series, and later, between 1955 and 1980 the humor-basedChick Bill byGreg andTibet. The competing magazineSpirou publishedJijé'sJerry Spring, in a realistic vein, beginning in 1954. Albums from theJerry Spring series were published until 1990.
Jean-Michel Charlier andJean Giraud'sBlueberry is a Western series published beginning in 1963 and continuing until 2005. The series were inspired byJerry Spring, and the artist Giraud had been mentored byJijé. Charlier and Giraud created theJim Cutlass series in 1981; subsequent volumes were written by Giraud and drawn byChristian Rossi.
Greg andHermann Huppen'sComanche was published from 1972 to 1983 (with the series being continued by Rouge for four more stories). The Belgian publisherLe Lombard produced the titleBuddy Longway, by Swiss comics creatorDerib, from 1972 to 1987, and from 2002 to 2006.
Durango is a western series created by the BelgianYves Swolfs in 1981. Currently 17 tomes are available.
England'sL. Miller & Son's original Western comics titles includedColorado Kid,Davy Crockett,Kid Dynamite Western Comic,Pancho Villa Western Comic, andRocky Mountain King Western Comic, all published in the 1950s. Jim Edgar andTony Weare's "Matt Marriott" was a daily strip which ran in theLondon Evening News from 1955 to 1977.
Spanish cartoonist Manuel Gago Garcia'sThe Little Fighter was a popular series of Western comics between 1945 and 1956.Yuki the Bold (debuting in 1958) is another popular Spanish series, as were the shorter-lived seriesApache andRed Arrow. Other Spanish Western comics includeSheriff King (beginning in 1964),Sunday (1968), andKelly Hand (1971).
Hugo Pratt andHéctor Germán Oesterheld'sSergeant Kirk was a popular Western comics title in Argentina during the 1950s. Additional Sergeant Kirk stories were published into the early 1970s.
Western comics were popular in Japan in the early 1950s, both translations of American titles likeStraight Arrow, theDurango Kid, andTim Holt; and original Japanesemanga. The story goes that during the American occupation of Japan directly after World War, General Eisenhower forbade Japanese publishers to publishsamurai comics, and that the next best thing were Western stories of adventure.[29]
Hyung Min-woo'smanhwa seriesPriest was published in Korea and the U.S. from 1998 to 2007.
| Title | Publisher | Issues published | Publication dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Star Western | DC | 62 | 1951–1961 | vol. 1 (vol. 2, published from 1970 to 1972, becameWeird Western Tales) |
| Billy the Kid | Charlton | 145 | 1957–1983 | Mostly a reprint title from issue #125 (Jan. 1979) onward |
| Black Fury | Charlton | 57 | 1955–1966 | |
| Gunfighter | EC | 9 | 1948–1950 | Continued asThe Haunt of Fear |
| Cheyenne Kid | Charlton | 92 | 1957–1973 | |
| The Cisco Kid | Dell | 41 | 1951–1958 | |
| Crack Western | Quality | 22 | 1949–1953 | took over the numbering of Quality'sCrack Comics |
| Gene Autry Comics | Dell | 121 | 1946–1959 | title changed toGene Autry and Champion with issue #102 |
| Gunsmoke Western | Marvel | 46 | 1948–1963 | began asAll Winners Comics, vol. 2, before being retitled and reformatted as the Western anthologyAll-Western Winners (#2–4),Western Winners (#5–7),Black Rider (#8–27),Western Tales of Black Rider (#28–31), and, finally,Gunsmoke Western (#32–77), the last primarily starringKid Colt, Outlaw |
| Hopalong Cassidy | Fawcett/DC | 134 | 1946–1959 | DC takes over titles in 1953 after Fawcett's demise |
| Kid Colt Outlaw | Marvel | 225 | 1949–1979 | Mostly a reprint title from issue #130 (Sept. 1966) onward |
| The Lone Ranger | Dell | 145 | 1948–1962 | Gold Key picked up the character, sporadically publishing 28 issues from 1964 to 1977, making heavy use of reprint material from the Dell comics, adding in new material toward the end of the run. |
| The Lone Ranger's Famous Horse Hi-Yo Silver | Dell | 34 | 1952–1960 | |
| Outlaws of the West | Charlton | 71 | 1957–1980 | numbering continues in 7-issue reprint series published in 1979–1980 |
| Prize Comics Western | Prize | 51 | 1948–1956 | |
| Rawhide Kid | Marvel | 151 | 1955–1957 1960–1979 | Mostly a reprint title from issue #116 (Oct. 1973) onward |
| Red Ryder | Dell | 151 | 1941–1956 | Initially reprints of the long-running syndicated newspaper strip. With issue #47 (June 1947), began producing original material.[30] |
| Straight Arrow | Magazine Enterprises | 55 | 1950–1956 | Adapted from a popular radio program |
| Texas Rangers in Action | Charlton | 75 | 1956–1970 | |
| Tomahawk | DC | 140 | 1950–1972 | |
| Two-Gun Kid | Marvel | 126 | 1948–1962 | Mostly a reprint title from issue #93 (July 1970) onward |
| Western Comics | DC | 85 | 1948–1961 | |
| Wild Western | Marvel | 55 | 1948–1957 | Published by the Marvel forerunner Atlas |
| Wrangler Great Moments in Rodeo | American Comics Group | 50 | 1955–1966 |
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