Marvel Masterworks: Rawhide Kid, Vol. 2

Marvel Masterworks: Rawhide Kid #2

by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Jack Davis (Illustrator)

Written by STAN LEE Penciled by JACK KIRBY, JACK DAVIS, DON HECK, DICK AYERS, GENE COLAN, PAUL REINMAN, AL HARTLEY & SOL BRODSKY Cover by JACK KIRBY They're not just the pair that created the world's most-famous super heroes; Stan Lee and Jack Kirby prove they're the kings of all comics, with a one, two-gun second Rawhide Kid Masterworks! The man from the Texas town of Rawhide, Johnny Bart, is the fastest draw in the wild West, but that kind of reputation doesn't come easy, and with the law on his trail it's all for one for the Rawhide Kid. Every no-good varmit west of the Mississippi from Mister Lightning to the Barker Brothers to Jasper Jelko is looking to build his rep over the Kid's dead body, and when you've got friends like Jesse James, who needs enemies?! So do yerself some good book learin', reserve your copy today, and one day you might be just as good as the roughest, toughest, rootin'est, tootin'est cowboy who ever kicked back a glass of milk! Collecting RAWHIDE KID #26-35.

Genres: Comics, Westerns

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Western action the Marvel way. I always enjoyed these stories as a kid. They were a cleaner less gritty view of the western wilderness. You clearly knew who was the White hat and Black hat in the story. I know, and probably knew then, that this was a totally misrepresentation of that world but it was a fun read. These stories are still an good entertaining read that let me go back to a simpler time and place where the good guys always won. Recommended

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rawhide Kid is a mediocre read that, unfortunately, shows its age. While the artwork reflects the style of its time and holds some charm, the story and dialogue are typical, cliché Western fare. The simple script doesn’t offer much beyond what was common in Westerns of that era, making it feel more like a nostalgic piece than a compelling read for modern audiences.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby (with later issues drawn by Jack Davis), the early career of the Rawhide Kid continues to use the standard Western tropes, brought alive by the skill of the artists. The Kid encounters bullies as often as outlaws and usually leaves them begging for mercy when he knocks them down a few pegs.

But he runs into outlaws as well. At one point, he decides that if he's going to be accused of being an outlaw, he'll darn well BE one. He joins Jesse James' gang, but his Chronic Hero Syndrome kicks in when he stops Jesse from killing an innocent man. This story is one of those drawn by Jack Davis, who gives us a superb one-page action scene in which the Kid is fist-fighting the James' gang in a dark room, getting them to punch each other.

It's always nice to see Jack Davis drawing a Western or other adventure story. He became so well known for his work in Mad Magazine that his work on straightforward Westerns or war stories tend to be overlooked.

There are a couple of stories that remind us the Rawhide Kid lives in a comic book universe. There's one in which a villain has booby-traps installed in his mansion and another in which the Kid pursues a masked villain called the Raven. This latter bad guy would not have been out-of-place fighting Spider Man or Daredevil.

One story, in which a lonely old man becomes convinced the Kid is his long-lost son, was undeniably corny, but still managed to be legitimately touching, with a sad but appropriate ending involving self-sacrifice.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great escapade into Marvel Comics' Old West corner, with stories that may be a tad dated, but are a lot more fun and readable than most of the complete crap that Marvel and DC has been publishing for the past fifteen years.

This reprints Rawhide Kid #26-35, and features some great artwork by Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Dick Ayers, and Jack Davis. The book reprints all the text features and the back-up strips that weren't about Rawhide - usually just a quick 5-8 page generic western with a twist.

Definitely recommended!