It took me an extra day to find a copy of “Gunhawks”--two of my local comic book shops had no copies. Come to think of it, I don’t think they carried any of the other anniversary one-shots, so my bad not to pre-order. But I did find a copy at the third shop this afternoon. They only had one left. For all I know, they may have only ordered one...
So much to talk about. First, back in the old Western Appreciation thread, we discussed that Marvel has had a few books/characters using the name Gunhawk or Gunhawks. As near as I can make out, none of them appear in this one-shot. However, the first page contains a description of those striving to make order from the chaos of the Old West. “They wrestled the land with ploughs, they corralled vast herds of cattle with a handful of horses and they kept the wildness of man and beast at bay with grit and steel. They were tough. They were fierce. They were...Gunhawks.” So, really, the term is defined broad enough to apply to any Western hero.
Which is why I called this thread “Gunhawks: Marvel’s Western Heroes”--it is not an appreciation thread. We have too many of those, IMHO. I see it more as a discussion thread: to discuss Marvel's rich history of Western characters, whether you appreciate them or not.
But back to the current one-shot. Wow. In one issue, we get introduced to new characters, are given back story, given a current plot and given a resolution. Now THAT is old-style comic book writing!! (i.e., before the curse of the Trade Paperback meant that every storyline had to be inflated to a minimum 5 or 6 issues) Yes, it feels a bit rushed and I wish there had been more. But isn’t that really the sign of a good comic: leaving you wanting more?
I won’t get into details of the plot. When everything is one issue, spoilers can spoil a bit too quickly.
However, at the end of the book there is a brief discussion about the place of Westerns in Marvel’s line-up. And I learned something new! Back on the old thread, I described Kid Colt as the granddaddy of all the Marvel Western heroes. Well, he may have lasted the longest...but it turns out he was not the first. The first? Oh, he appeared in, of all things, Marvel Comics #1 (1939). Yes. The same issue that gave us the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch. That book contained a Western hero known as the Masked Raider. A little research shows that the Masked Raider lasted through Marvel Mystery Comics #12...or for roughly through the end of 1940. Kid Colt does not appear until 1948. So if Kid Colt is the Granddaddy, then Jim Gardley, the Masked Raider, is the great-granddaddy!
So, let the discussion begin!