The Resurgence of Western Comic Books in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s Part Two

In 1948 the big trend in the American comic book industry was the Western genre. Western comic books would remain popular until the late Fifties when the genre went into decline. While Marvel Comics and Charlton Comics would continue publishing Western titles, the genre was in a lull for much of the Sixties. In 1967 Marvel Comics published the first issue of Ghost Rider with a cover date of February. While Ghost Rider would only last seven issues, it was significant as the first title in what would be a resurgence of Western comic books that would last into the early Seventies.

Indeed, if one could not take Ghost Rider as a sign that Western comic books were due for a comeback, the fact that DC Comics re-entered the field could be. In 1961 DC Comics cancelled its two Western titles, Western Comics and All-Star Western. It was in the pages of Showcase no. 76 (August 1968) that DC Comics introduced its first new Western character in years. Bat Lash was a gambler and bit of a ladies man who detested violence. Denny O'Neil, who wrote dialogue for the character, described him as  "a charming rogue." Bat Lash's try out in Showcase proved successful enough that he received his own title, the first issue cover dated October/November 1968. This made it the first Western comic book published by DC Comics in years. Unfortunately, Bat Lash would last only seven issues, ceasing publication with its October/November 1969 issue. DC Comics editorial director Carmine Infantino claimed that while Bat Lash sold well in Europe, it did not sell well in the United States. Denny O'Neil tended to doubt this, stating that low sales were always given as the reason for cancelling titles at that time, and he didn't think Bat Lash suffered from low sales. Regardless, Bat Lash won the Alley Award for Best Western Title in both 1968 and 1969. And while Bat Lash's original title was cancelled after only seven issues, the character has persisted ever since, appearing in issues of Weird Western Tales, Jonah Hex, and yet other titles. In 2008 he even received his own self-titled mini-series written by creator Sergio Aragonés.

While DC Comics published its first issue of Bat Lash, Marvel Comics published the first issue of The Mighty Marvel Western, cover dated October 1968. While The Mighty Marvel Western was a new title, it exclusively published reprints stories of Marvel's Western heroes. Every issue featured a Rawhide Kid story and a Two-Gun Kid story, and most issues featured a Kid Colt story. In those issues where there wasn't a Kid Colt story, a reprint of a Matt Slade, Gunfighter story appeared. While The Mighty Marvel Western contained exclusively reprints, it did prove somewhat successful. It lasted for 46 issues until 1976.

With Showcase no. 85 (September 1969) DC Comics tried out another Western character. Firehair was the lone survivor of a wagon train massacred by the Blackfoot Indians in the early 19th Century. An infant at the time of the massacre, he was adopted by the Blackfoot Chief Grey Cloud. The try-out for Firehair would not prove successful enough to warrant his own title, but he would later appear as a recurring character in Tomahawk after that title had shifted its lead character to Tomahawk's son and the time frame to the early 19th Century (more on that later).

The resurgence of Western comic books may well have reached its peak in 1970, with new titles launched and one older title rebooted as a Western. The first new title to appear in 1970 was actually the revival of an old Marvel  title. The Ringo Kid had run from August 1954 to September 1957. It was with a cover date of January 1970 that a new volume of The Ringo Kid debuted. This new volume of The Ringo Kid consisted entirely of reprints and proved somewhat successful, running for thirty issues until November 1976.

The second Western title to debut in 1970 was Western Gunfighters, with a cover date of August 1970. Western Gunfighters shared its name with an earlier Western anthology published by Marvel from June 1956 to June 1957. Unlike The Mighty Marvel Western, this new version of Western Gunfighters did contain original material, at least for its first seven issues. News stories featuring Ghost Rider appeared in those first seven issues, as well as three new features. Gunhawk was a bounty hunter and gunfighter with no name who wandered throughout the Old West. "Tales of Fort Rango" centred on the adventures of the troopers of Fort Rango. "Renegades" centred on a team of adventurers led by a gunfighter known only as The Dude and also consisting of knife thrower Carlos Cortez, young gunfighter The Kid, and outdoorsman and trapper Little Flower. The first seven issues also featured reprints of stories featuring The Apache Kid, The Western Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Black Rider. It was with issue 8 that the new features were dropped from Western Gunfighters and it shifted to being entirely a reprint title. While Ghost Rider would appear from time to time in Marvel titles (renamed "Phantom Rider" to avoid confusion with the newer, motorcycle riding Ghost Rider), Gunhawk, the troopers of Fort Rango, and the Renegades would not appear again for literally years.

It was also with a cover date of August 1970 that another revival of an old Marvel title, The Outlaw Kid, was first published. Like The Ringo Kid, The Outlaw Kid was originally a reprint title. The title sold well enough that with issue 10 it started featuring brand new stories. Strangely enough, with the new stories sales for The Outlaw Kid dropped, so that after issue 16 it switched back to being a reprint title. Regardless, it proved highly successful, lasting for thirty issues until October 1975.

While Marvel Comics published most of the new Western titles in 1970, it would arguably be DC Comics that would publish what might well have been the most significant title of the year. All-Star Western was a revival of a title that had run from 1951 to 1961. That first issue, cover dated September 1970, included a new story featuring DC Comics' old Western character Pow-Wow Smith, as well as a reprint of a  Pow-Wow Smith story from Western Comics. It was with the second issue, cover dated October 1970) the all new features "El Diablo" and "Outlaw" were introduced. El Diablo was Lazarus Lane, a bank teller who was almost killed by outlaws and then struck by lightning. He was resurrected by his friend, the Native American medicine man Wise Owl. Afterwards he fought evil throughout the Old West as the masked avenger El Diablo. "Outlaw" centred on Rick Wilson, the young son of a Texas Ranger who wanted to become a Ranger himself. It was after his father objected to him becoming a Ranger that Rick Wilson fell in with the wrong crowd and found himself on the wrong side of the law. "Outlaw" featuring Rick Wilson would last appear in All-Star Western Volume 2 issue 5 (May 1971). With All-Star Western Volume 2 issue 6 (July 1971), the title's emphasis would be on such real life Western and frontier figures as Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, Davy Crockett, and Buffalo Bill Cody, with the occasional El Diablo or Pow-Wow Smith story.

While both Marvel and DC debuted new titles in 1970 (although some of them were reprint titles), DC Comics also rebooted a title it had been publishing for twenty years. The character of Tomahawk had first appeared in Star Spangled Comics no. 69 (June 1947). The character proved popular enough to receive his own title, the first issue of which was cover-dated September 1950) Tomahawk was a frontiersman and soldier who served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War, leading unit known as "Tomahawk's Rangers" While Tomahawk was a popular title for much of its run, its sale started to decline in the Sixties. With Western comic books enjoying new titles, Tomahawk was rebooted as a Western with Tomahawk no. 131 (December 1970). While its title was still technically Tomahawk, its covers now bore the legend Son of Tomahawk.

The son of Tomahawk as Hawk, the son of Tomahawk by a Native American woman named Moon Fawn. He was born around 1900 and would have adventures in the American West in the early 19th Century. Despite being the son of a legendary adventurer and American Revolution veteran, Hawk despised violence, even though he was a skilled combatant himself. Sadly, the change in the format of Tomahawk would not save the title.  With the "Son of Tomahawk" as its star, Tomahawk only lasted ten more issues, ending with no. 140 (June 1972).

While 1970 was arguably the peak of the resurgence in Western comic books, it would continue for several more years. The year 1971 would see new titles from Marvel Comics and a new publisher entering the field, albeit unsuccessfully. It would be the year 1972 that would see the debut of the most famous character to emerge from the resurgence of Western comic books, possibly the most famous Western comic book character of all time.