The thousands of comics dealing with the American West are still a comparatively neglected area in comic studies. Yet the sheer number of these comics, their longevity, and their production in a range of countries, not just the USA, indicate that there is something very significant in their appeal. The main focus of this study is the postwar period when this production reaches its peak. The investigation will use various case studies of comics featuring historical figures , such as Buffalo Bill and Bill the Kid, as well as film and television stars, such as The Lone Ranger and Dale Evans . The majority of these case studies will fall within the main period of consideration, from 1945 to 1962, although the final sections will look at how Western comics began to change after 1962. This book will look in particular at a staple of these comics, the lone hero. This raises a series of issues concerning both the idea of the lone hero and the complications of the term “myth ”. If we separate the idea of the lone hero into its constituent parts, it can be seen as a little more transparent. “Lone” is perhaps the clearest part of this equation. This kind of Western hero must, by definition, to a large extent, “ride alone”. It might be that he will sometimes work with others, and even be accompanied by allies at times, but in the main he or she must rely on their own skills, both physical and mental, to succeed in their tasks. Close analysis of a series of stories will establish which of the comic characters under consideration qualify in this category. Some of the reasons for the appeal of this kind of hero, and the reasons for his isolation, will also be examined. The nomination of a character as a “hero” is more complicated. It should be pointed out, as well, that these definitions are not gender specific and apply equally to heroines as well as heroes. When Western heroines are examined, as we shall see later, there are perhaps some surprises in store. The overall idea of what constitutes a hero or heroine is more complex. J. Isen explains that the concept has changed quite dramatically since the early classical Hellenic version, and in a contemporary setting the hero can be defined as follows:
The qualities inherent within the word ‘hero’ in English are sharply defined. The modern western understanding of heroic characteristics has been shaped by the course of history and literature…In today’s world, a hero is more often than not lauded for heroic qualities due to their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the safety or benefit of others. This lack of concern for personal well-being and safety in sight of a great threat is deemed courageous and the essence of heroism …Another factor in the modern concept of heroism arrives from the medieval concept of chivalry and the knight errant of Arthurian mythology who displays qualities of bravery and magnanimity.1
Starting in 1859, Alfred Tennyson began publishing a highly successful series of poems, Idylls of the King, based on Malory’s Morte d’Arthur , and the idea of the chivalrous hero was a popular trope in the late nineteenth century. Dime novels often lift the idea of the hero’s quest and the saving of the innocent directly from this model. Even the language used reflects this. Fresh from his new-found dime novel fame Buffalo Bill Cody took to the stage in 1872 in Chicago. In 1873 he appeared with Wild Bill Hickok and Texas Jack Omohundro in the play Scouts of the Plains. Part of Hickok’s dialogue (although he had trouble sticking to the script) read, “Fear not, fair maid; by heaven you are safe at last with Wild Bill, who is ever ready to risk his life and die if need be in defense of weak and defenseless womanhood.”2 This line could have been taken straight from an Arthurian story and sits uncomfortably in the dialogue of a Western hero. Nevertheless the general model of this kind of hero is taken up by writers of the Western.
Although these earlier chivalrous definitions call for courage on behalf of the hero, it is worth noting that this does not specifically require bravery in terms of actual physical violence . It could equally mean the kind of bravery where the hero resists evil stoically, through non-violence. As we shall see the Western hero may display that kind of courage, but he is much more likely to use some kind of violence to achieve his aims. Some of the reasons for this and the Western hero’s relationship to violence will be discussed in a series of the case studies of comics featuring Buffalo Bill Cody, Billy the Kid, and film and television Western stars of the 1950s and 1960s. Again, this kind of violence and its association with traditional masculinity is not exclusively the province of the male hero. In discussing the writings of black cowboy Nat Love and adventurer (and later President of the USA) Theodore Roosevelt , Daniel Worden argues, “For Love and Roosevelt , especially in their accounts of Western adventure and military service, masculinity offers a way of constructing the self outside of birth-, class-, race-, even sex-based hierarchies.” Worden further argues that the egalitarian nature of the heroic figure and their “cowboy masculinity ” is part of their strength and appeal. The extent to which “cowboy masculinity ” can be applied to Western heroines will be examined in Chap. 4.
Finally, the concept of myth . This will also be discussed throughout the book, but it is worth setting out some of the issues at stake. The American West and its attendant myths are often seen as being a uniquely American phenomenon, but in reality its appeal has always been more complex and widespread. Although central to ideas of both American nationhood and masculinity , the Western myth has had a wide and continuing appeal in all parts of the Americas, as well as Europe, and indeed, to a lesser or greater degree, most parts of the world. It is perhaps conventional wisdom to see the spread of the myth as being the result of the impact of Hollywood film (and later the so-called spaghetti western, a phenomenon which emphasizes the universality of the myth ). Although these films have been central to the creation and perpetuation of the myth , I want to argue that the vast number of comic books (once again from many countries) have also been crucial in defining and popularizing the Western. Myth is a word that is used in many different ways, perhaps the simplest being myth as an untruth—a myth is simply something that is founded on a lie. Although many different uses of the word draw on this idea of falsehood, here it is used in the popular cultural sense derived from the work of a series of writers, including Andre Bazin and Claude Levi Strauss. David Murdoch comments that, “Why societies generate myths and exactly what purpose they serve has been a matter of no small conflict among anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists and literary analysts.”3 Murdoch continues, “some of them do appear to derive from history, that is to say, myths take bits of history and turn them into legends which illustrate the force of the myths central ideas.”4 Janet Walker also comments on this appeal to history, “the film western (as with other cultural forms) is not historical in and of itself, it draws on historical material. But while history is argumentative and discursive, westerns give narrative form to ideological beliefs and values.”5 Murdoch argues that this is not just true for the tribal myths examined by Levi Strauss , “If this is valid for primitive cultures, it is difficult to see why it should not be so fo...