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| © 2023 Mark Ammerman |
I have never had any particular interest in Marvel's Western Comics from the 1950s and early 1960s....until now. I was vaguely aware of the names Kid Colt and The Rawhide Kid, and old tattered copies of those comics would infrequently turn up in second-hand shops in Portsmouth back in the mid-70s, but I quickly passed them by in my eagerness to find a Batman comic that might fill a gap in my collection.
Somehow Marvel's Western Comics were any unexplored branch-line of comics history for me, and I had no desire to mosey on down the path of exploration.
I suppose that my interest in things Western was whetted a few years back by Will Murray's excellent history of Western pulps, "Wordslingers", and then a recent rewatch of an episode of Marvel's Agent Carter featured Howard Stark making a movie about Kid Colt further awakened my interest.
Which brings me to discuss a fantastic new, old-school, paper-in-your-hands, no-digital-version fanzine called MARVEL WEST #1, which celebrates the Marvel Westerns of days of yore, with great articles focusing on the generally uncelebrated contributions of artist Jack Keller, who had as great an influence as Jack Kirby on Western comics in the late 1950s, as well as a leading article by Will Murray on the history of Kid Colt.
The book is the brainchild and labour-of-love of Mark Ammerman, who tells us that MARVEL WEST is published under the collective banner of ENCORE, which will be a multi-zine celebration of the 50-year anniversary of COMIC COURIER, a comic fanzine that Mark produced between 1969 and 1972.
Mark has produced a really professional-looking fanzine - I love the layout - and I look forward to reading issue #2.
Issue #1 can be obtained by jumping to the Comic Courier ENCORE site at http://ccencore.jimdosite.com. In the U.S. or Canada, a single issue is $10. If you live in the UK, a single issue is $20 (because the cost to mail from here to there is nearly $10.) If you live in Australia, you'll have to ask Mark how much postage is required for the 48 pages of MARVEL WEST goodness (you can contact him atHere's a couple of scans to get you interested.
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| Seeing small images of comic covers always made me want that comic! |
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| Great article by Will Murray |
Wouldn't you know, this page from Rawhide Kid #28 came up in my Facebook feed today. (I'm not paranoid, but I know they're watching me). Not a Jack Keller page, but a great Kirby/Ayers page illustrating Kirby's immaculate staging, and featuring a character called Jasker Jelko .........not unlike Funky Flashman....
Until next time, pardners!
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| © Marvel. Rawhide Kid #28 |