Two Gun Kid #34
Two-Gun Kid #34 is an Atlas Comics–era installment of one of Marvel's longest-running Western titles, appearing during the mid-series run that starred Clay Harder — the original, unmasked Two-Gun Kid — before Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 1962 overhaul transformed the title into a masked-hero adventure with a secret-identity structure. The issue is indexed in some collector databases under the character name 'Wade Wilson,' referring to a character in a backup story drawn by Reed Crandall; some fan sources speculatively link this old-West stranger to the name later used for Deadpool, though no editorial or creative intent connecting the two has been established. As a mid-run Atlas western anthology from 1956, it also documents the remarkable artistic breadth of the Atlas line, which regularly deployed EC-trained and freelance talent on what were ostensibly genre filler books.
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By issue #34, the Two-Gun Kid series had been revived under Atlas Comics (Marvel's 1950s publishing arm) since 1953, continuing from issue #11 onward after the original Timely run ended. The Atlas western line of this era operated with Stan Lee as editor — often writing or co-writing stories without prominent credits — and drew on a wide freelance pool that included Reed Crandall, Dick Ayers, Joe Sinnott, and Syd Shores, among others. Issue #34 carries a cover date of October 1956 and was released August 14, 1956, placing it squarely in the final years of Clay Harder's unmasked run, just before Joe Sinnott became the last artist to draw the original Kid on a regular basis ahead of the 1962 relaunch.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by Atlas Comics (Marvel's 1950s predecessor) with a cover date of October 1956; on-sale date August 14, 1956.
- Stars Clay Harder, the original Two-Gun Kid — the first of two distinct characters to bear that name in Marvel history — who wore no mask and had no secret identity.
- The lead story is titled 'Two-Gun Kid'; Reed Crandall is credited with art in this issue by collector sources.
- Clay Harder had been the lead character of this title since his debut in Two-Gun Kid #1 (March 1948, Timely Comics), making issue #34 part of a continuous 14-year run for the character.
- The character 'Wade Wilson' indexed in some databases refers to a character appearing in a backup story illustrated by Reed Crandall; a fan blog has speculatively noted a nominal connection to the name later used for Deadpool, but no editorial intent linking the two was ever established.
- The series would not be reinvented until Two-Gun Kid #60 (November 1962), when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby replaced Clay Harder with lawyer-turned-masked-gunfighter Matt Hawk — retconning Harder as a fictional dime-novel character within the Marvel Universe.
- The Atlas western line at this period featured some of the era's finest freelance illustration talent; Reed Crandall, who contributed to this issue, was a noted EC Comics alumnus whose work elevates many Atlas western backup stories of the period.
- The series ran continuously from issue #11 (1953) through issue #92 (1968) under original stories, after which it became primarily a reprint title through its final issue in 1977.
Cast · 1 character
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Two-Gun Kid faces a bully when he takes a job as ranch foreman.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).