Two-Gun Kid #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeTwo-Gun Kid #1 (March 1948) is Timely Comics' foundational Western title — the publisher's first ongoing series devoted entirely to the genre, arriving at precisely the moment postwar readers were turning away from costumed superheroes in favor of frontier adventure. It introduced Clay Harder, a wandering, dual-pistol-packing gunslinger who became the template for the company's entire stable of Western heroes, paving the way for Kid Colt Outlaw, Rawhide Kid, and the Black Rider. The title's remarkable staying power — published in one form or another until April 1977 across 137 issues — makes it one of the longest-running series in Marvel's history, and Clay Harder's DNA runs through every version of the Two-Gun Kid character that followed, including the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby reimagining of 1962.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Timely Comics launched the title in the spring of 1948 as part of a deliberate pivot toward Western material, a genre that was dominating newsstands, B-movie theaters, and radio during the postwar years. The lead story — 'Introducing the Two-Gun Kid' — was illustrated by Syd Shores and inker Vince Alascia, two of the Timely bullpen's most experienced hands, though the writer of that debut story has never been identified in the historical record. Stan Lee served as editor on the title and would contribute scripts to later issues of the Clay Harder run, often without a byline. The first volume ran only ten issues (through late 1949) before the character migrated to the anthology title Wild Western; the series was then revived from issue #11 onward beginning in 1953 under Atlas Comics.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Clay Harder, the original Two-Gun Kid, in the lead story 'Introducing the Two-Gun Kid,' cover-dated March 1948, published by Timely Comics.
- First appearance of Cyclone, Clay Harder's horse, who accompanies him throughout the debut story set in Sundown, Arizona.
- Proto/first appearance of the character later named Blaze Carson, who appears unnamed as 'The Sheriff' in a backup story; the GCD notes the sheriff was subsequently renamed multiple times before becoming Blaze Carson in later issues.
- Two-Gun Kid #1 was Timely's first ongoing Western title — the company's only prior continuing Western character, the Masked Raider, had appeared exclusively in anthology titles.
- Lead story art by Syd Shores (pencils) and Vince Alascia (inks); Stan Lee served as editor; the writer of the debut story remains unidentified.
- Clay Harder is depicted as a blond-haired, black-suited singing cowboy — he was known to perform his own theme song in the opening or closing pages of many adventures.
- The series ran 10 issues in its first volume (1948–1949), then was revived from issue #11 by Atlas Comics in 1953 and published continuously until issue #136 (April 1977), spanning nearly three decades.
- In later reprint issues, editors had artwork in some Clay Harder stories retouched to add a mask, making Harder visually resemble the later Matt Hawk version of the Two-Gun Kid for publication continuity.
Cast · 4 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Two-Gun Kid #1 (1948), Western Riders #15 (1951)
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