Annie Oakley #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAnnie Oakley #2 (Timely Comics, July 1948 cover date) serves as the debut stage for Lana Lane, a wisecracking Broadway hopeful who proved popular enough to headline her own spin-off series, Lana Comics, just weeks after this issue hit newsstands — making it a quiet but genuine launching pad within Timely's post-war humor expansion. The issue also exemplifies Timely's deliberate post-WWII strategy of mixing genre titles aimed at female readers — blending western action with the studio's established romance-comedy house characters like Hedy De Vine — at a moment when publisher Martin Goodman was diversifying rapidly away from superheroes. As an early freelance credit for Harvey Kurtzman, a year or two before he left for EC Comics and went on to create MAD, the issue is a modest data point in the formative career of one of comics' most consequential satirists. Taken together, the issue captures Timely in a transitional creative ferment: one foot in the western genre, one in the girl-comedy format, and a surprising depth of talent working the pages.
In "Beware of the Bear!", Lana’s excitement over landing her dream role in a new show quickly turns tense when a casual game of ping-pong with Mickey leaves her with a striking bruise on her knee—right where it’ll be on full display during her performance. Bill Williams handles both art and inks for the interior, while Christopher Rule delivers the cover with his distinctive pencils and inks.
In "The Weaker Sex!", Annie Oakley takes on Tex in a spirited bid for sheriff, turning his underestimation into her chance to prove she’s no damsel—just a sharp-witted woman with a steady hand and a sharper tongue. With humor and grit, this 1948 western frontier tale sets up a showdown that’s as much about pride as it is about politics.
When Lana lands her dream role in a new stage show, her excitement takes a tumble—literally—after a playful ping-pong match with Mickey leaves a glaring bruise on her knee, right where it’ll be on full display during her big performance.
In "Is Annie Is... or Is She Ain't?", rodeo star Steve Bronco arrives at the Barr-X ranch eager to meet the legendary Annie Oakley—only to find Sally, a ranch hand with a flair for the dramatic, stepping into the spotlight and pretending to be the sharpshooting icon. With quick wit and a dash of mischief, Sally’s charade sets off a playful game of identity and mistaken romance, all set against the dusty backdrop of the western frontier.
In "The Chow Hound!", Jo and Annie find themselves in a playful rivalry when Sally, fed up with Annie’s cowhand fame, dares her to prove she can cook as well as ride. With the whole camp watching, the stakes rise as Annie takes on the challenge—though her culinary skills may be as untested as her patience with the kitchen.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The series launched in early 1948 under editor Stan Lee as part of Timely's aggressive genre diversification following the decline of the superhero market in the immediate post-war years; Goodman's office was simultaneously releasing westerns, romance titles, teen-humor books, and crime comics. Issue #2 carries a July 1948 cover date and was released in April 1948, drawn from a pool of Timely freelancers that included Harvey Kurtzman — then still building his reputation on short humor fillers — alongside house regulars Ed Winiarski, Mike Sekowsky, and Frank Giacoia, all under Lee's editorial hand. The series ran through eleven issues across two distinct publication windows (1948 and then 1955–1956), with this earliest cluster reflecting Timely's scrappier, humor-inflected approach to the western heroine before the mid-1950s revival adopted a straighter action tone.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date July 1948 (released April 1948, Week 14); published by Timely Comics, the imprint that would evolve into Atlas and then Marvel Comics.
- First appearance of Lana Lane, a Broadway dancer character who debuted as a back-up feature and quickly spun off into her own Timely title, Lana Comics, which debuted in May 1948.
- Lana Lane subsequently appeared across multiple other Timely humor titles in 1948–1950, including Rusty Comics, Tessie the Typist Comics, Hedy De Vine Comics, My Friend Irma, and Nellie the Nurse.
- Harvey Kurtzman — later the creator of MAD magazine — contributed writing and art to this issue, one of numerous Timely freelance assignments he held in 1946–1949 before moving to EC Comics in 1950.
- Additional credited contributors include penciler Mike Sekowsky, inker Frank Giacoia, penciler/inker Ed Winiarski, penciler Pete Riss, inker Vic Dowd, and writer Mickey Marks; the cover is by Christopher Rule.
- Stan Lee served as editor, consistent with his role overseeing all of Timely's output during this period.
- Hedy De Vine (Harriet Devins) appears as a crossover character, linking the western title to Timely's parallel romance-comedy humor line.
- The issue is part of a series that ran 11 total issues across two eras (1948 and 1955–1956), and reflects Timely's post-WWII pivot toward westerns and female-led humor titles as superhero readership waned.
Cast · 12 characters
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Reprinted in Annie Oakley Comics #2 (1948)
Key issues in Annie Oakley
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