Oh do I adore those Trimpe western covers he was doing. This is early and raw Herb before he settled into a cleaner or smooth style. There is an energy and excitement where even the hats, clothes, boots and guns are doing something providing thrills and action on the covers. You can tell Trimpe was having a blast (gun blast pun intended) designing and creating these action packed, wild, woolly western covers.

Rawhide Kid #46, June 1965

“The Deadly Doc Holliday”, 17pgs
Larry Lieber, writer, penciller, inker
Sam Rosen, letterer


Cover pencilled by Larry Lieber


Summary:
Rawhide has left a pursuing posse at the state line, and is now ambling along astride his horse, Nightwind, when he hears the sound of trouble, and rushes to find a white man on horseback, fleeing the Apache, after having inadvertently tread on sacred hunting ground.

Rawhide takes to the top of the canyon gap through which the stranger is trying to escape, and triggers an avalanche of boulders, timed to block the Apache but allow the man to escape.
Rawhide rides down the other side of the canyon and meets the man he’s saved: Dr. John Holliday, a dentist who has come west where the climate might relieve the malady of consumption which plagues him. He invites Rawhide to accompany him into the nearby town.
Rawhide’s recognized by the townfolk, but he’s not wanted in this state...and even if he was, the town’s without a sheriff.

Rawhide visits the barber, who’s fearful of the notorious outlaw, to get presentable. Over in the saloon, the customers are just as fearful of Ox Carson and his gang, who’ve just ridden into town and insist on clearing the barroom for their exclusive use.

The “fancy-lookin’ dude at the bar”, Doc Holliday, doesn’t budge, and Ox Carson makes it clear that he wants everyone else out!

News travels to the barber shop, and Rawhide cuts short the cutting short of his hair, to head to the aid of the presumably out-matched Holliday.

Holliday remains defiant and even threatens the gang: “If you’re not out of my sight in just one minute, I’ll make you rue the day you were born!”

Doc shows he’s got the gunslinging skills to back up his threats:



Doc’s out of bullets, so Rawhide comes to the rescue when the rest of the gang tries to evict him. Once the thugs are cleared out, Holliday explains that he’s developed a fast draw as a longtime gun enthusiast. Rawhide’s a bit puzzled by Holliday’s seemingly-implied threat: “If you and I slapped leather, there’s no telling which of us would survive...not much chance of that happening…for a while!”

Pondering whether Doc’s acting strange because he’s facing death from consumption, Rawhide distractedly bumps a hot-head with a chip on his shoulder. This guy, Frank, is upset because the girl he loves, Julie, doesn’t appreciate him, a lowly store-clerk. She wants a man of action, a gunslinger!

And this must be Julie who eagerly enters the saloon, seeking the strangers who chased off the Ox Carson gang. She’s not allowed in the bar without an escort, and the dapper Doc volunteers for that pleasant responsibility.

When Julie asks who his companion is, Doc seems dismissive: “Some nonentity who happens to have a way with a gun! I think his name is Rawbone or Rawskin or some such thing!”

Next comes Frank, who gets rebuffed by Julie, who invites the more exciting Doc Holliday for a ride. Doc’s already earned enough of a rep in town to order an onlooker to offer his jacket to cover a mud puddle, so that Julie can cross it cleanly. Julie finds it ornery, but thrillingly manly of Doc to dominate the men of the town like that.

As they ride, Julie learns that Doc’s fearlessness is a consequence of his facing death from consumption within a few years, at most. This appears to make her even more attracted to him.

The days roll by. Rawhide finishes his haircut and decides to stay a spell in town, Frank hears nothing from Julie but praise for Doc Holliday, and Doc makes no friends with his brash ways at the card table:



Doc doesn’t slow down at making himself the alpha male in town, and when he learns the express office is keeping a large shipment of money until the next westbound stage hits town, he decides to rob it. He proposes marriage to Julie, who accepts, even knowing that he will soon die: “What matters is that until the end, I’ll be the wife of the boldest, most exciting man I’ve ever known!”

Frank tries to talk some sense into Julie, but she rejects him. But Frank refuses to give up: he will finally take up the gun and make sure that Doc Holliday never marries her!

Julie runs to the only man who can help stop this duel, the Rawhide Kid. Rawhide agrees to help, but has some rough words for Julie:



Frank’s on the hunt for Holliday, but can’t find him in his room. As he searches through town, he spots a broken window at the express office, and catches Doc Holliday trying to pry open the safe box. Holliday confidently taunts Frank, who has challenged him to slap leather. But Doc doesn’t know that Rawhide has also spotted the broken window!

The three men face each other. Frank insists on keeping this between him and Doc, but Rawhide’s response is to knock out the naive young man, giving Doc an ultimatum: leave town before Frank wakes up or go for the gun!

Doc takes the challenge, and tosses an ace of spades in the air: when it hits the ground, they’ll draw. Doc bests Rawhide at the draw, but...




When Julie arrives, the sight of Frank lying “dead” shocks her into realizing it is he that she truly loves. When he awakens, Rawhide has a lecture for the both of them:



With no jail or sheriff in town, Doc’s free to leave, but the townsfolk impose on Rawhide to escort him out of town...and to get out, himself, if’n he don’t mind...this is a peaceful town. As they ride out, Julie sheds tears for both of them: Rawhide, a tragic figure, and Doc, doomed to die soon.

Comments:

Since Doc Holliday was one of the Sensational Seven, it occurred to me that I ought to review this issue in full, like I did with issue 61, when Rawhide met Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. In real life, Holliday was indeed a dentist who traveled west hoping to relieve his tuberculosis. He befriended Earp, took part at the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and did have a short life, succumbing to tuberculosis at age 36. The disease plagued him with coughing spells, and he did have a good reputation with both guns and cards.

It was kind of surprising to see Doc Holliday portrayed as a heel, when he’s usually shown as a hero, a friend and associate of Wyatt Earp. I got the impression that the story was leading to a reveal that Doc knew exactly who Rawhide was, and was setting him up for a confrontation and arrest, but no, Doc’s just a pompous ass that doesn’t have any respect for anyone.

I got an unintended laugh in seeing Doc spouting off this after he drew:  "I've won! I've beaten you to the draw! You haven't a chance now!"...but before he shot! Yeah, that's some quick-shootin' action, Larry!

The 5-page back-up story following this one is noteworthy: “The Warning” is written and pencilled by Alex Toth, with inks by Vince Colletta.

Following that is a letters page, leading off with this message: “Doc Holliday is a great off-beat character, isn’t he? We have a hunch we may be seeing more of him, from time to time, if you say so! So let us know, hear?” I guess they didn’t hear enough from the readers, but one letter writer published in issue 48 takes the bait and tells Stan and Larry exactly what they wanted to hear: “Doc Holliday is a great off-beat character, isn’t he? Wanna see more of him…”

Lieber's art at this stage of his career is crude and inconsistent. Carl Hubbell would help the look of the book a lot when he came on board a few issues after this, but Lieber's work improved noticeably over the next couple of years as he continued to be the Rawhide artist, and as he looked more and more to Kirby's work for inspiration. 

It's Doc who stands up to the thuggish Clantons when they threaten the old actor and later helps him to finish Hamlet's soliloquy.

He is callous to Clem when he tells her to go back to Boston, but he knows he doesn't deserve her, doesn't want her to stay with him out of a sense of duty, and certainly doesn't want her pity.
He knows it's painful to do it this way, but knows it would be far more painful if it went any further.

He does his gallant best to save Chihuahua's life on the operating table, even though he knows he doesn't have the requisite skills as a dentist.

And he is killed when he stands with his friend Wyatt in the showdown with the Clantons.

Likable, maybe not. Lonely, yes. Self-loathing, yes. Honorable far more than most.

Outlaw Files

Writers: Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Jeff Christiansen, Sean McQuaid, Mark O’English, Anthony Flamini, Madison Carter
Artists: Various


And now we come to my favorite of the five Marvel Westerns specials. And it’s not a comic book, it’s a collection of “historical artifacts” that give the reader a glimpse into an impressive array of characters from Marvel’s Westerns, including every single one of the folks we’ve seen thus far in the thread...and more!

I’m on record as not having much love for the dry, rigidly formatted Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. If you’re thinking this book is just the “Official Handbook of the Marvel Western Universe”, you’re way off base. Each page differs in format, and very creatively and engagingly shares some insight into a chosen character or feature, accompanied by art drawn from their previously published adventures. The special is set up as a collection of material gathered by Hamilton Slade, an ancestor of Marvel’s Western Ghost Rider. We’ve got:

An introductory essay running down the characters to be spotlighted in the pages ahead
A historical journal article about the Apache Kid
A memoir from Bobby Lathrop, the young boy who was the only one who knew the true identity of the Black Rider
A two-page text story like we’d see published to qualify for second-class postage rate, featuring “The Captain From Texas”, Jack Kirby’s cowboy Captain America from Captain America’s Bi-Centennial Battles
A page from a movie fan magazine about a visit from the real-life Tex Dawson, whose adventures were made into films in the Marvel Universe
A news article on seeking to put Fort Rango on the National Historical Register
A brief biography of the Gunhawk/Bountyhawk
An email pitch for a movie starring Wesley Snipes as Reno Jones:

An old typewritten letter from the Gunsmoke Kid’s pediatrician
A response to a request for information on Caleb Hammer from a historian at Nevada University
A Kid Colt “wanted poster”, followed by a memorial by Marshal Sam Hawk, the Manhunter
A report on Arizona Annie that also touches on some other notable women of the Old West who popped up in various Marvel comics over the decades
Newspaper articles on the Iron Mask and his gang the “Fat Man”, Dr. Danger, and Bennington Brown, and on the Scorpion and Bull Barton, a couple of Kid Colt villains who haven’t shown up in any of the Western Team-Ups
Magazine articles on villains the Robin Hood Raider and Warroo, the white man posing as a mystically-powered Indian medicine man
A curious article that appears to document a 19th century person with uncanny similarities to the modern-day Punisher
An editorial condemning the Masked Raider, and a newspaper notice on the theft of Lighting the Marvel Horse, who was Marshall Tex Morgan's steed
A “wanted poster” for the Outlaw Kid, followed by a letter from Lance Temple’s wife, Belle
A web page by Marvel villain-turned-hero Moonstone on the “cowboy from Hell”, Pariah
Yet another “wanted poster” for the Phantom Rider, posted by Bison Bend sheriff Ben Brooks, followed by a file from the Avengers’ database on the history of Slade Carter, Jamie, Lincoln Carter, and Reno Jones, who all donned the glowing white costume in the days of the Old West
A letter from Alejandro Montoya on the story of his cousin Paco, El Aguila
The final testimony of Hamilton Slade, who resumed the role of the Phantom Rider in the current day
A news article on the revelation of the true identity of notorious outlaw the Tarantula
A clip from the Philidelphia Inquirer, November 17, 1873, on the mysterious Philadelphia Filly and Spender (who didn’t figure out any more that I did)
An article about Jedediah Ravenstorm a villain you might recall reading about when codystarbuck covered his first appearance over here in this thread:
classiccomics.org/post/394931
As you might have noticed, the Big Guns get a wanted poster. Next up is the Rawhide Kid’s, but I’ll get to his entry later…
A page of historical biography on Hugo, the shortest sharpshooter in the West
A Weekly World News-like article on the Living Totem, touching on the curiously similar Tomazooma from Fantastic Four
Old magazine articles on Western villains Red Raven, the Masquerader (who was there when the Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt teamed up!), the Cougar, and the trained Ape who went all King Kong on the Rawhide Kid
Correspondence from the current inheritor of the mantle of Red Wolf on himself and his historical predecessors
An interview with Davy Crockett finally clearing the reputation of the Renegades
A scholarly journal article on the Ringo Kid
A newspaper article on the true story of Matt Slade
A letter dated 1869 from Isaac Stark on Central Pacific Railroad Co. letterhead on Bob Dolan, steampunk sheriff called “Steam Rider”, who made one solo appearance in Amazing Fantasy #20 in a story written by Joe R. Lansdale
A typewritten recollection by a cowboy named Sundance on his encounters with a time-traveling Thor, Loki, and Black Panther, which sounds like a time-traveling Western Team-Up in Thor #370, which I missed during my run-down here in this thread
An essay on the Texas Kid, Robin Hood of the Range
Two-Gun Kid gets his wanted poster, followed with a tape-recorded interview with the time-traveling Matt Hawk about his days in the Old West
A paranormal investigator’s report arguing that the giant monsters encountered by both Kid Colt and Two-Gun Kid were not the human-perpetrated hoaxes they were reputed to be, but encounters with true monsters
An Avengers file on the Sunset Riders, which Iron Man suspects of representing an alternate reality, given that Two-Gun Kid is currently in Iron Man’s time and prevented from ever returning to his supposed fate documented in Blaze of Glory
Magazine articles on the “Purple Phantom”, speedster Harry “Hurricane” Kane, the Rattler, who joined Iron Mask’s gang when they battled the modern-day time-travelling Avengers, and the fake trained grizzly bear we saw in the Western Team-Up of Rawhide, Two-Gun and Colt.


Whew!

Now, what about that Rawhide Kid entry? I’ve saved it for last, because, paired with its facing right-hand page, it’s the perfect conclusion to this exploration of Western Team-Ups at Marvel, the Rawhide Kid and the Dakota Kid, side by side:




The Rawhide Kid entry is very imaginatively composed as brief summaries of films--as screened only in the Marvel Universe--based on Rawhide. Most entries appear to be inspired by stories we’ve seen in comics published in our universe, including stories such as “Day of the Outcast” and “Shotgun to Deadwood” that I’ve covered in this thread. “The Fightin’ Era” seems to be a reference to long-forgotten Tommy Tyme, who had a backup feature in Young Allies Comics. “Slap Leather, Lawman” references the controversial gay take on Rawhide in Marvel’s MAX line in 2003 and its followup from 2010.

And facing it is a letter from Cliff Morgan, the Dakota Kid, to his sweetheart Lily Lamont, accompanied by a photo we all recognize as the cover of Western Team-Up #1. Unfortunately, this letter does little more than recap the events of that comic, and, as the only other appearance of the Dakota Kid that I know of, we have no information on what followed in his life.

It's thorough, it's deep, it's creative, and it's entertaining. Sure the art is all recycled, but it ensures we get most of the notable Marvel Western artists of the past represented. I didn't spot a single noteworthy omission from the roster, and some of those more obscure features and characters who didn't get a dedicated entry are at least mentioned in passing. 


At the end of the comics is an appendix, listing the significant appearances of the characters catalogued herein. I only spot one notable error: Arizona Annie’s first appearance is listed as Kid Colt and Arizona Annie #1, when in fact, she debuted far earlier than that, as we’ve seen a few posts back. Also, there was apparently a last-minute change on the cover of the referenced issue, which is referred to here and in the Bullpen Bulletins as KC and Arizona Annie, but when it was released, the cover billed her instead as “the Arizona Girl”. 

Thanks, brutalis! I guess I'll do just that before wrapping up here!

Speaking of Jesse James appearing in Two Gun Kid #71, Jesse also reappears in issue #78 seeking Revenge. Then there's also Geronimo showing up in issue #72. Two Gun guest stars the Alamo in issue #75. Cole Younger then arrives in issue #86, proving that Two Gun had the most historical meet ups in all the Marvel Westerns.

I don't know that there ever was a town named Tombstone in Texas. More likely it was Stan using a well known western town name in a fictionalized way. Accuracy wasn't part of Stan's fortitude. As long as it sounds good, feels right and fits the story is what matters. Honestly Stan was creating fantasy based western comics meant to be exciting, fun and entertaining. He wasn't concerned with historically on point concepts.

Let's be real, handguns and rifles came in 3 forms in the west: left over converted flintlocks to cap/balls/bullets, cheaply made rip offs and expensively made brands. Many could never afford new. As to the shooting accuracy to hit guns held in hands? That is non-existent, even if you are a famous well known Shootist. That is movie tropes, all the same as accurately shooting at full gallop from horseback while hitting your intended target. Great visual imagery but not overly realistic.

I don't read or watch expecting 100% accuracy or perfect historical facts from things meant for entertainment so those types of ideas don't bother me at all. It's all part of suspension of belief and enjoying the thrills!