Once upon a time western heroes ruled the day. Pulps, radio, films, and ultimately television and comics were dominated by the genre which generated hundreds of iterations of the western hero. One of the most distinctive to appear from Charlton Comics, one of the last bastions of the western was Gunmaster. A western hero with a superhero flavor, Gunmaster straddled the transition from the dominance of the one genre into the dominance of the the other.
He first appeared in the fifty-seventh issue of Charlton's Six-Gun Heroes which also starred Annie Oakley and Wild Bill Hickock, among others. Quickly though Gunmaster came to dominate the covers and eventually the entire comic. Gunmaster was the masked identity of Clay Boone, a gunsmith who traveled the western landscape plying his trade and seeking justice where he could. Eventually he would need help in this work. That will be the focus of a second gallery upcoming.
To read Gunmaster's origin story by Joe Gill, Dick Giordano, and Frank McLaughlin go here.
For now enjoy some vintage Charlton covers featuring one of their most distinctive heroes, one who doesn't get a lot of attention.
Rip Off
The Giordano page looks great; I remember Gunmaster having really lackluster art in the issues I saw (Tony Tallarico maybe?)
ReplyDeleteA later Charlton western that was truly fascinating to me was Cheyenne Kid as drawn by Korean Sanho Kim. Innovative panel continuity, with eerie Oriental-flavored visuals.
Cheyenne Kid was maybe the best Charlton western comic. I loved it, and got several over the years. Those issues with Wander as the back up are most desirable. That's a series that needs to be collected desperately.
DeleteRip Off