I remember an early issue of "The Rawhide Kid" in which (Like many B Movie cowboys) he fired his six shooters without reloading . His thriteenth shot to cut the fuse on a stick of thrown dynamite. Even as a kid I had a 'Say,what? Yer dead,Kid." moment.
The issue also had messages in the margins saying "The Fantastic Four are coming." Hmm, I may have to check that out.
The Kirby "Kid" looked, to my eye,like the early Johnny Storm
Kid Colt had one of the more outrageous moments in any Western comic. During a gunfight, he was shown stick a six-gun in his belt and reloading it while firing with his other gun in his other hand. This way, he didn't have to stop shooting.
He also could draw and shoot down arrows in mid-flight, but heck, every Marvel outlaw could do that on a good day.
shooting the gun out of their opponent's hand without hurting them It's what Fran Striker had the Lone Ranger do on radio. I don't recall reading the Kid's comic, and I wonder if, like the Lone Ranger in 40's Striker's Not-So-Wild West, Rawhide Kid would hang out in 'cafés' and not saloons.
Rawhide Kid was usually in regular saloons, although he didn't drink or gamble. He mostly just wanted a meal and to get in out of the sun. Of course somebody always recognized him and challenged him to a gunfight or just started bullying the "runt." (I always figured Jack Kirby was venting a lot of his childhood experiences on the Lower East Side in these stories.) Fights ensued.
Striker's Lone Ranger was consciously designed to be really too-good-to-be-true. He never smoked, drank or gambled, never went upstairs with one of the dance hall girls.* He used correct English without slang. He tried never to kill an opponent even in the worst circumstances, although I think he did a few times when there was no choice. His best friend and partner was an Indian. As cowboy heroes went, he was planned to be a good role model. Maybe he wasn't realistic but he was a major multi-media star for decades.
In the film "Rustlers' Rhapsody", Tom Beringer plays Rex O'herlihan the "Good Guy". When Rex practices with his six guns, his targets are cutouts of hands holding revolvers.
Andy Griffith is great as the fey heavy Col.Ticonderoga. His favored curse is "Well,Gee Whiz".
There were probably a lotta guys with stumps where their hands or arms used to be, sitting around saloons grumbling about the Rawhide Kid's "amazing aim." "Yore jus' lucky he dint try an' shoot YORE belt buckle off", says Squeaky from the corner.
The Kid's aim was off by just a LEEETLE bit that day. He felt bad about it.
The Avenger in the pulp series was just as far-out. He used to crease the top of crooks' heads just enough to knock them out. ("Whoops, took an ear off instead! Sights must be off.."
Good catch. I used to notice that some of Marvel cowboys had a gunbelt with two holsters while others wore two gunbelts (one with a holster on the left). Man! On a hot August day in New Mexico, riding along with all that extra weight, they must have been using language that embarrassed their horses.
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The issue also had messages in the margins saying "The Fantastic Four are coming." Hmm, I may have to check that out.
The Kirby "Kid" looked, to my eye,like the early Johnny Storm
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He also could draw and shoot down arrows in mid-flight, but heck, every Marvel outlaw could do that on a good day.
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Striker's Lone Ranger was consciously designed to be really too-good-to-be-true. He never smoked, drank or gambled, never went upstairs with one of the dance hall girls.* He used correct English without slang. He tried never to kill an opponent even in the worst circumstances, although I think he did a few times when there was no choice. His best friend and partner was an Indian. As cowboy heroes went, he was planned to be a good role model. Maybe he wasn't realistic but he was a major multi-media star for decades.
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*Well, that we were shown.
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Andy Griffith is great as the fey heavy Col.Ticonderoga. His favored curse is "Well,Gee Whiz".
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Didn't he dress like Gene Autry with the fancy shirt and the bad guys were dressed like Spaghetti Western guys in long dusters?
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"Yore jus' lucky he dint try an' shoot YORE belt buckle off", says Squeaky from the corner.
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The Avenger in the pulp series was just as far-out. He used to crease the top of crooks' heads just enough to knock them out. ("Whoops, took an ear off instead! Sights must be off.."
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