It's a concept that Marvel has never really explored to it's full potential: Teaming up all of their primary western heroes together.
Yes, Marvel has done stories teaming up their "western trinity" of the Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, and the Two-Gun Kid. They even came close to what I'm talking about with their "Blaze of Glory" limited series of years ago, which was a spin of this very concept.
But Blaze of Glory told the story of these heroes at the end of their careers -- and gave them more of a "spaghetti western" makeover where they were dressed and looked very different than we're used to seeing them. I'm talking about bringing them together IN THEIR PRIME and sporting their CLASSIC LOOKS, in an ongoing series. Now THAT'S a comic I want to read!
But until Marvel feels inspired to do so, it falls upon me to do my own, and that's what I've done here. And to make it happen, I called upon an artist from the UK that's among the most talented I've ever dealt with on either side of the Atlantic: Ian Richardson! I probably have more commissions by Ian than anyone on CAF, and this is a prime example why. He just blows it out of the water, every time!
Here's the line-up, from left to right: Red Wolf, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid, Reno Jones, Ringo Kid, and Outlaw Kid.
And please -- don't bother to at me about the western Ghost Rider. I wanted to keep the number at seven, and he simply didn't make the cut. Nothing against the character, but he strikes me as being less of a team player than the others I chose. If * I * were doing a series like this, I might bring him in as a recurring player that showed up from time to time, sort of like Inspector Luger did on "Barney Miller." Yeah, I'm old.
Special thanks to Ian Richardson for the world-class job he did on this piece. He'll always be a keeper among artists that I commission.
