Another KID COLT cover, this one inked by Dick Ayers. I especially like on this one how blatantly the real killer is in fact getting away in the background, right outside the door. Missed that at first.

On the other hand, those attempts to write western accents get old kind of fast.

Published 1960

This issue of the western reprint anthology has the first story of the Kid from RAWHIDE KID #17 (1960), “Beware! The Rawhide Kid”. In this 7-page Kirby/Ayers story we learn that the Kid is really Johnny Bart, from the town of Rawhide, where the law hasn’t yet come.

He was adopted and raised by ex-Ranger “Uncle” Ben Bart, and picked up all of Ben’s skills with the gun and his moral code. One day while Johnny was out getting supplies Ben was killed in a cowardly manner by two outlaws looking to make their reputation. Johnny finds and buries Ben and then goes out for revenge, showing his superior gun skills and then riding off determined to live up to Uncle Ben’s memory and fight cowardly outlaws like his killers.

Very fast and effective first story, though obviously only half the origin (still leaving in question how the kid became to be known as an outlaw).

I especially like those set-up panels of lawless Rawhide, with the one guy stealing another guys hat and splashing a passing woman.

Published 1976

Now here’s a pretty cover. One of the occasional Ditko ink jobs over Kirby from the era, one of the very few westerns among those collaborations.

That’s just an amazing horse. I’m gaining a whole new appreciation for horses in Kirby artwork. After everything else is covered in this weblog (still a few years to go…) I’m going to do a gallery of Kirby horses. And Kirby dinosaurs.  Either that or start a Ditko weblog…

Published 1960

Okay, so the Kid didn’t exactly have the most realistic western adventures…

Silly cover, but effective. I like the look of the buildings on this one a lot.

The Kirby Checklist doesn’t have an inking credit for this one. I only have a fairly low resolution scan to go on, but it looks a little like Chic Stone.

Published 1964

KID COLT was a character that pre-dated Kirby at Marvel, and was the main western character who he didn’t redesign. He did draw a lot of covers for the series, including this early gem inked by Dick Ayers.

I really like the composition of this one, with the multiple levels, almost a 3-D effect. The faces of the horses are great as well. Also kudos to the anonymous Marvel production types of the era for a lot of little touches in the colouring, and the way that horse’s leg comes in front of the title card (on the other hand, that giant CCA stamp covering part of the logo is an eyesore).

Published 1960

Two reprints from RAWHIDE KID #20 (1961) in this issue, both Kirby/Ayers artwork.

“Shoot-Out With Blackjack Borden” is an amusing 13-page story where Borden tricks the Kid by getting a phony marshal to offer him a fake pardon on the condition he give up his guns. The Kid briefly enjoys his freedom before Borden decides to make his reputation as the man who cowed the Rawhide Kid.

Of course it’s not long before the Kid figures out the hoax, storms back into town and takes care of Borden.

“The Defeat of the Rawhide Kid” is another one of the Shane variations, where the Kid, exhausted from a long chase, comes across a father and son. The son is full of hero worship and wants to ride off and live the outlaw life with the Kid, so the Kid pretends to go along with that, saying they’ll have to kill the father as a witness before they leave. The Kid throws the ensuing fight, teaching the Kid that it’s braver to live an honest life.

Two fun stories, with the usual great art from Kirby and Ayers, especially on the first story with its mix of shoot-outs and fist-fights.

Published 1976

A trio of Kirby reprints from RAWHIDE KID #27 (1962) in this issue. Not sure of the inking, the first two look a little different from the usual Ayers (who the Kirby checklist has inking the last story), but I’m hardly an expert on the styles, and the reprint quality makes it even harder to judge.

“When Six-Guns Roar” is a seven-page story where the Kid takes a job at a ranch to build up a grub-stake. The ranch owner’s policy is that no-one can wear guns at the ranch, and some of the other cowpokes think that gives them an advantage, but of course the Kid can take care of himself guns or no.

The no gun policy of course makes the ranch an easy mark for some bandits, with one of the Kid’s tormentors as their inside man. The Kid is able to get loose (thanks to his small hands. No, really), get to the guns that are kept locked up and lead the others in driving off the bandits. The ranch owner learns the importance of always packing heat.

“The Man Who Caught the Kid” has the Kid on the run from the law again, this time making a five-page run for the border. The sheriff leading the pursuit can’t understand why the Kid doesn’t take advantage of several easy opportunities to ambush them. Finally, almost scott free, the Kid stops to admonish a man abusing his horse. The posse catches up to him, but the sheriff lets him go, taking in the horse-beating coyote instead.

There are some great horse-riding scenes in this story, through a variety of terrains. Really just a pleasure to look at.

“The Girl, The Gunmen, and the Apaches” is a six-pager with the kid encountering a family heading west on a stage-coach when they run into an Apache raid. The daughter is taken prisoner, and the Kid pursues, taking on Red Wolf in hand-to-hand combat. The Kid wins, but Red Wolf pursues, so the Kid starts a bison stampede. The Kid then leaves the girl to return to her family, with the usual ending of both wishing they stay together but assuming the other wouldn’t be interested. Bit of a western cliche story, but some pretty art of the girl and the Apache tribe.

Published 1971

Two Kirby/Ayers reprints in this issue, both from RAWHIDE KID #18 (1960).

“At the Mercy of Wolf Waco” is a 13-page story, wherein the Kid is run out of town, doing that usual lame trick of shooting the guns out of everyone’s hands (this time fully a dozen men at once) and then running into the Wolf Waco gang, who were hiding out of town. They recruit him to try to rob a mail-train, which leads to a nice scene where he’s sent with a stack of dynamite to the train, throws it back and boards the train in a hail of gunfire.

Eventually he confronts Waco, who falls off the edge of a cliff. Because you can’t have the Kid actually kill someone.

“A Legend is Born” is a 5-pager takes care of the western comic set-piece missing from the previous story, the saloon, as the Kid, now apparently not recognized by anyone, listening in as various men talk about what they’ve heard about the Rawhide Kid, none of it resembling him. Then the Kid is hassled by Hammer Hogan, who claims to have defeated the Kid, so the Kid finally reveals himself, and mops up the bar with Hogan before fleeing. Even having just seen him, everyone in the bar gives a description of him as tall, with four huge guns and fists the size of hammers, when in fact we’re told he was only five foot three inches, 125 pounds, regular, maybe even small, size hands and two colt .45s.

It’s odd how it alternated in the RK stories. One story he’s recognized on sight by just about everyone, the next he’s not, and he has to prove his identity with his prowess with a gun.

They’re both attractive stories, with the usual Kirby/Ayers flair for drawing the classic western sets and clothing, and full of really good action scenes. I especially liked the horseback action on the two splash pages of the first story.

Published 1971

This issue contains a reprint of a story from RAWHIDE KID #31 (1962), inked by Dick Ayers. In this seven page story the Kid finds his siesta at a local saloon interrupted by a fight between Rock Rorick’s men and the locals whose land Rorick has been swindling. He interjects himself into the philosophical debate thusly:

I especially like the three panel progressions on the top two tiers of this page.

The Kid rides off, not intending to help the swindled ranchers any further, until he comes across another couple who are about to be forced to sell out to Rorick. He then stages his one-man army style raid on Rorick’s place (where, oddly, Rorick has among other things a booby-trapped concrete weight which almost crushes the Kid). He then forces Rorick to sell him all the land with threats of violence and returns it to the original owners. Apparently that passed for heroism in the wild west.

One of the more trivial RK stories, but with a few good action interludes.

Published 1977

This double sized comic from 1971 reprints seven Kirby/Ayers stories from RAWHIDE KID issues of the early 1960s, for a total of 47 pages (with a non-Rawhide solo Ayers 5-pager thrown in as well).

This much Rawhide Kid in one go kind of gets old fast, with the constant theme of just how good a gunman the Kid is, and how revered/feared an outlaw he is. But there is still some interesting variety within the genre.

“Gun Duel In Trigger Gap” (RK #19) features the Kid actually falling in love and wishing he could settle down, but of course his outlaw status gets in the way, and he acts heroically in the end to beat some bad guys and leave his potential sweetheart behind.

“Fight Or Crawl, Kid” (RK #19) has the Kid confronted by someone who thinks he can outgun him, demonstrating some impressive shooting, which of course the Kid out-does with no effort.

“The Little Man Laughs Last” (RK #29) has a great splash of the Kid jumping from his horse to a stage-coach. In this one, he demonstrates his bravery compared to some bigger men, but apparent fear of women.

“The Fallen Hero” (RK #29) is the Shane-variation, where the a young boy admires the Kid above his own father. I think anyone who’s read/watched enough westerns knows where that leads.

“The Trail Of Apache Joe” (RK #29) has the Kid given one of his periodic chances to clear his name, if he helps bring in the outlaw of the title. If you don’t guess that he manages to do the bringing in, but not the name-clearing, you really need to read more westerns…

“The Guns Of Jasker Jelko” (RK #28) the Kid goes up against a travelling carnival’s trick shooter this time, a fine enough story made memorable by the joke ending about Annie Oakley.

“When A Gunslinger Gets Mad” (RK #28) is the last story, which features the Kid walking into a bar and ordering a milk. As it almost invariably did in the old west, this led to a good old fashioned barroom brawl, as cowboys tended to take lactose intolerance to ridiculous extremes.