Western Gunfighters

Western Gunfighters is the name of two American Western-anthology comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics.

The initial Atlas series ran eight issues, from 1956 to 1957, and featured artists including Gene Colan, Reed Crandall, Joe Maneely, John Severin, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, and Wally Wood, with many stories written by Stan Lee.

Volume two, published by Marvel from 1970 to 1975, consisted mostly of Western reprints but also featured new material, including stories of the masked Old West hero Ghost Rider and the introductions of such short-lived Western features as "Gunhawk" and "Renegades", by writers including Gary Friedrich and Superman

Publication history

Atlas Comics

Marvel Comics' first comic book titled Western Gunfighters was an anthology series published by the company's 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics. It premiered with issue #20 (cover-dated June 1956), taking over the numbering of a previous Atlas series, Apache Kid, the star of which did not go on to appear in the revamped book. Atlas editor-in-chief Stan Lee wrote many of the stories, generally signing them. The artwork included at least two stories each by Dave Berg, Vic Carrabotta, Gene Colan, and Don Heck, and one story each from Reed Crandall, Russ Heath. Angelo Torres, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Wally Wood, and George Woodbridge. Most covers were by John Severin or Joe Maneely. It ran through issue #27 (Aug. 1957).[1]

The series was one of several Atlas Western anthologies that included Frontier Western, Gunsmoke Western, Western Thrillers, and Wild Western; and two successor series that took over its numbering, Cowboy Action and Quick-Trigger Western.

Marvel Comics

Marvel's second series of that name was a Western anthology that ran 33 issues (Aug. 1970 - Nov. 1975) and used an almost identical cover logo. Primarily consisting of reprints of Atlas / Marvel Western stories, it also ran new material through issue #7 (Jan. 1972), with the feature "Ghost Rider", a continuation of Marvel's 1967 series, headlining. These first seven issues were 68- or 52-page, 25¢ "giants", relative to the typical 15¢ comics of the times, with #8-on published as standard 36-page comics at the prevailing price of 20¢, rising to 25¢ by the time it ended publication.[2]

The premiere issue featured a 10-page Ghost Rider story by the character's 1960s team of writer Gary Friedrich and penciler Dick Ayers, and introduced three new features:

In issue #6, Marvel's original Western Ghost Rider, Carter Slade, was killed saving his brother Lincoln, a U.S. marshal. In the following issue, his place was taken by his young friend and sidekick, Jaime Jacobs, who was almost immediately killed in action. In that same story, Lincoln Slade became the third Ghost Rider.[10]

Reprinted backup features in the first seven issues variously starred the Apache Kid

schedule	Monthly
format	Standard
publisher	Marvel Comics
date	(1st series) June 1956 - August 1957 (2nd series) Aug. 1970 - Nov. 1975
issues	(1st series) 8 (2nd series) 33
writers	Stan Lee, Jerry Siegel, Gary Friedrich
pencillers	(1st series) Gene Colan, Joe Maneely, John Severin (2nd series) Dick Ayers, Gil Kane, Severin

Western Gunfighters

Publication history

Atlas Comics

Marvel Comics

External links

References