Owlhoots and Hombres: Western Hero Appreciation

[Tulku]

are there going to be any Western mini series this year? Those that don't involve time travel or anachronistic tech?

None that I have heard of. The industry still thinks that the market will only buy the super-powered crowd and that a highly skilled human with a gun will not sell.

A few pages ago I tried to make the case for a revival of the Ringo Kid: multi-racial with all sorts of opportunity to face racism from both sides; with a family vibe (his father and blood brother always help him out)--a fascinating merger of both the loyal-family trope with the loner trope. And with the mix of the law hunting for him while, at the same time, a number of law officers treating him as a trusted aide--rather like Batman in the early days, or the later Green Hornet: officially wanted, but unofficially friends with the law officers. There is just so much that a decent writer could do with the Ringo Kid.

But nothing on the horizon that I have heard.

[Colt Cape]

Weirdly enough, Exiles #6 featured none of Marvel's classic western heroes... Yet Tony Stark: Iron Man #3 did. (Though it was a brief cameo!)

[JudicatorPrime]

are there going to be any Western mini series this year? Those that don't involve time travel or anachronistic tech?

I'd gladly buy a series that featured a Bass Reeves-type character. For those not familiar with the legend of Bass Reeves, or his superhero like story, google him.

[Colt Cape]

Ways to get people to buy a Western Marvel comic:
>Call it something like "Avengers West"
>Put an all-star team on it
Just do one or both of these two things Marvel. Give Westerns a chance!

[matt levin]

Y'know? They did that, sorta, kinda, with "1872". There, 'old west type' versions of modern marvel powers lived out a Marvel western kind of life. And it was, up until the end, not too bad, as I remember. Have pulled it out to reread this week. But as I recall, it would make for a pretty good continuing "Avengers West" title. Nice idear, thar, Colt Cape.

And as a sidenote, I think Richard Moore is reviving his *cough* western with Phil the Bear, and Meg, the Elf with a big nose and big gun on her hip, "Far West." I am really looking forward to that--.richard moore far west #2 pg 3.jpg

[Colt Cape]

Y'know? They did that, sorta, kinda, with "1872". There, 'old west type' versions of modern marvel powers lived out a Marvel western kind of life. And it was, up until the end, not too bad, as I remember. Have pulled it out to reread this week. But as I recall, it would make for a pretty good continuing "Avengers West" title. Nice idear, thar, Colt Cape.

And as a sidenote, I think Richard Moore is reviving his *cough* western with Phil the Bear, and Meg, the Elf with a big nose and big gun on her hip, "Far West." I am really looking forward to that--.richard moore far west #2 pg 3.jpg

Well, what I was thinking was a team of character such as Kid Colt and Rawhide Kid forming an Avengers precursor. By “all-star team” I meant top-tier writers.

[The Bringer]

I've always wanted to see Marvel do a Magnificent Seven type comic featuring their western heroes. Blaze of Glory came close, and I very much enjoyed it, but I was thinking of a comic featuring them during their prime -- an ongoing --- with none of them being killed off. In fact, I've had a couple of commissioned pieces done featuring such a team. One is by veteran comics artist Val Semeiks (penciller) and inked by Bob Almond:

Mag7 inked.jpg

[Colt Cape]

I've always wanted to see Marvel do a Magnificent Seven type comic featuring their western heroes. Blaze of Glory came close, and I very much enjoyed it, but I was thinking of a comic featuring them during their prime -- an ongoing --- with none of them being killed off. In fact, I've had a couple of commissioned pieces done featuring such a team. One is by veteran comics artist Val Semeiks (penciller) and inked by Bob Almond:

Mag7 inked.jpg

Blaze of Glory was a good standalone story, but it was a bit of a slap to the face of the original stories IMO

[Hypestyle]

I've always wanted to see Marvel do a Magnificent Seven type comic featuring their western heroes. Blaze of Glory came close, and I very much enjoyed it, but I was thinking of a comic featuring them during their prime -- an ongoing --- with none of them being killed off. In fact, I've had a couple of commissioned pieces done featuring such a team. One is by veteran comics artist Val Semeiks (penciller) and inked by Bob Almond:

Mag7 inked.jpg

very cool. so anything coming in 2019? solo series, team-ups, one-shots?

[The Bringer]

If you're referring to Marvel publishing anything like that, not to my knowledge.

[Tulku]

It has been announced that in February 2019, in honor of Marvel’s 80th anniversary, there will be a one-shot Western called “Gunhawks.” So time for a little history lesson!

Marvel does love the term “Gunhawk.”

The earliest book seems to have been from the Atlas Era, when there was a seven issue run (November 1950 to December 1951) of “The Gunhawk” who was also called Red Larabee, a/k/a “The Cowboy With The Smoking Guns.” It later turned out that “Red Larabee” was an alias, too, and his real name was Preston Hardwick. One can hardly blame him for wanting to adopt another name, although the given reason is that he promised his father that he would not let “gunpowder besmirch the family name” of Hardwick. He also appeared in eight issues (April 1951 to June 1952) of “Wild Western” (along with tales of the Black Rider, Apache Kid and Kid Colt). This Gunhawk had the foresight to wear a bulletproof vest under his shirt.

Then there was the “scar-faced, slap-leather outcast” called Gunhawk (a bounty hunter) who appeared in five issues (August 1970 to January 1972) of “Western Gunfighters.” At the time, he was not given any other name, but he was later called Lee Barnett in “Blaze of Glory: The Last Ride of the Western Heroes.” It isn’t clear whether that was his real name or just a convenient alias he used.

Another “Gunhawk,” William Downing, is related to Wolverine and has a vendetta against Logan. He first appeared in 2010, in one of the many “Wolverine #1”s that Marvel has published.

But that gets us to “The Gunhawks,” the team of Reno Jones & Kid Cassidy. They first appeared in “Reno Jones and Kid Cassidy The Gunhawks” #1 (October 1972). The back story was that Cassidy’s father was a plantation owner and Jones one of his slaves. But Papa Cassidy held some unusual (for the time) ideas, such as paying his slaves and educating them. He basically gave Jones the same privileges as his own son. After the Civil War (both Kid Cassidy and Reno Jones fought for the Confederates), the two of them team up to try to find Jones’ lost love, Rachel Brown. And that fuels the plot for the next several issues. Rachel, it turns out, was being held by a Cheyenne chief named Grey Fox. The title would continue to refer to “The Gunhawks” through issue #6 (August 1973), when it would appear that Kid Cassidy dies. In that issue, he was shot by Grey Fox, but in such a way that Reno Jones was blamed for it. The next issue (#7, obviously) was entitled “Reno Jones, The Gunhawk” (singular), as he continued his search for Rachel. The series was then canceled.

“Blaze of Glory” then did a substantial re-write of the Cassidy/Jones history. Papa Cassidy was no longer so enlightened and treated his slaves like they were slaves. But Kid and Reno were childhood friends and they did team up after the war (although now Jones did not fight for the Confederates). The friendship fell apart, though, Kid Cassidy drew on Jones who killed him (or thought he did) with no help from Grey Fox. And Jones eventually gave up on Rachel and married somebody else. But it turns out that Kid Cassidy survived and now hates Reno Jones with a deadly passion. “Blaze of Glory” is a good read, but it does do a LOT of character assassination of Western heroes.

And so that brings us up to the 2019 “Gunhawks” one-shot. Your guess is probably better than mine as to which Gunhawks the title refers to! It would be incredibly esoteric to bring back Preston Hardwick!!! But if it is Reno Jones and Kid Cassidy, be braced for more re-writing of history.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Marvel does love the term “Gunhawk.”

The earliest book seems to have been from the Atlas Era, when there was a seven issue run (November 1950 to December 1951) of “The Gunhawk” who was also called Red Larabee, a/k/a “The Cowboy With The Smoking Guns.”

The Atlas series The Gunhawk started out with issue #12 (cover-dated November 1950); it took over the numbering of WhipWilson (issues #9 - 11), which was previously Rex Hart (#6 - 8) and before that was Blaze Carson (#1 - 5).

. . . Then there was the “scar-faced, slap-leather outcast” called Gunhawk (a bounty hunter) who appeared in five issues (August 1970 to January 1972) of “Western Gunfighters.” At the time, he was not given any other name, but he was later called Lee Barnett in “Blaze of Glory: The Last Ride of the Western Heroes.” It isn’t clear whether that was his real name or just a convenient alias he used.

. . .“The Gunhawks,” the team of Reno Jones & Kid Cassidy. They first appeared in “Reno Jones and Kid Cassidy The Gunhawks” #1 (October 1972). The back story was that Cassidy’s father was a plantation owner and Jones one of his slaves. But Papa Cassidy held some unusual (for the time) ideas, such as paying his slaves and educating them. He basically gave Jones the same privileges as his own son. After the Civil War (both Kid Cassidy and Reno Jones fought for the Confederates), the two of them team up to try to find Jones’ lost love, Rachel Brown. And that fuels the plot for the next several issues. Rachel, it turns out, was being held by a Cheyenne chief named Grey Fox. The title would continue to refer to “The Gunhawks” through issue #6 (August 1973), when it would appear that Kid Cassidy dies. In that issue, he was shot by Grey Fox, but in such a way that Reno Jones was blamed for it. The next issue (#7, obviously) was entitled “Reno Jones, The Gunhawk” (singular), as he continued his search for Rachel. The series was then canceled.

[matt levin]

WOW!!! Thanks for the update, guys! Whoever it is, whatever it is, I just hope it's better than excellently written, hoping for compellingly written, will settle for excellently.

[Hypestyle]

I hope that eventually they will have some female Western protagonists published, at least an online mini series?

[Tulku]

I hope that eventually they will have some female Western protagonists published, at least an online mini series?

Small steps. I am just happy that Marvel is willing to do a Western (assuming that it IS a straight Western and doesn't have spandex wearing heroes hovering around), even if it is just a one-shot. From that, maybe we can get an ongoing Western series. And then maybe we can get a female Western protagonist.