Once Upon A Comic In The West!

After a full month in the fetid, foul swamps and wine-dark oceans the Dojo needs a good airing out, and no better place to dry out can be found than the sunny and arid terrain of the American Old West. To that end on weekends especially and Saturdays in particular, look for some reviews of vintage western comic book series from several publishers. Not the least of these is Rawhide Kid from Marvel. The Kid was in many ways the first of the Marvel Age comics by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby.

Perhaps the most  important western comic of the Bronze Age was Jonah Hex. This series which started in All-Star Western (re-named Weird Western Tales), was inspired by the atmospheric "Spaghetti Westerns" from Europe, in particular those starring Clint Eastwood. The stories about the scarred and tormented bounty hunter named Hex are potent indeed.

On a lighter note is Bat Lash the series that might just have ruined the West. Created by Joe Orlando, Sheldon Mayer, Sergio Aragones and artist Nick Cardy, this delightful romp of a series introduced us to a west filled with cliches and comedy as our nominal hero found both danger and delight in the arms of beautiful women in many a western town.

Also on tap is perhaps the best western comic book I've ever read -- Doug Wildey's Rio. This series which ran intermittently at Eclipse, Comico, Marvel, and Dark Horse was collected along with some unprinted tales by IDW several years ago. That's the tome in question this month. 

I even expect to read some of Kirby's Boys' Ranch stories, considered by knowledgeable fans of Simon and Kirby maybe the best work they did. I don't have them all, but I have many.

And on the"Favorite Covers" front expect to see Jack "King" Kirby well represented as I've plumbed the best of his cowboy covers to pick out some real dandies. The westerns seem to really have brought out some of Kirby's best work.

And expect lots of other non-western material this month, especially material by the late great Gil Kane, as I get back to regular business more or less after a long October dedicated to monsters and such. Kirby's year continues and there's lots more to look at in that exceedingly deep well.

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