John Wayne

Based on the legendary Hollywood actor and Western film icon, this comic-book version of John Wayne starred in frontier and adventure tales reflecting his silver-screen persona as a rugged, courageous cowboy and hero of the American West.

Few figures from the Golden Age carry quite the larger-than-life presence of John Wayne — a comic book character launched in 1949 by Toby Press, riding the wave of the Duke's real-world stardom into the pages of John Wayne Adventure Comics. Rooted in that postwar Golden Age spirit, this version of the icon shares his pages with a colorful roster including Bonanza Bill, Billy the Kid, and even Ronald Reagan, making for some genuinely wild frontier-flavored company. With a publishing footprint stretching an remarkable 68 years — from 1949 all the way to 2017, including appearances in Back to the Future: Biff to the Future — this is a character whose comic book life proved nearly as durable as the legend himself. Collectors take note: there's a key issue in the mix, and 54 catalog appearances make this one of the more intriguing celebrity-comics legacies the Golden Age produced.