Apache Kid

"This entry is for the comic-book character. For the unrelated, real-life person, see The Apache Kid (Haskay-bay-nay-natyl). For other usages, see The Apache Kid (disambiguation)."

Superherobox


caption = "Apache Kid" #2 (Feb. 1951), art by Werner Roth
character_name = The Apache Kid
publisher = Atlas Comics / Marvel Comics
debut = "Two Gun Western" #5 (Nov. 1950)
creators = John Buscema (art)
alter_ego = Alan Krandal
full_name =
species =
homeworld =
alliances =
aliases = Aloysius Kare
supports=
powers =

The Apache Kid is a fictional Old West character in the Marvel Comics universe, mostly seen in stories from Marvel's 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. This character was named after, but is totally unrelated to, the real-life Native American man known as The Apache Kid (Haskay-bay-nay-natyl).

Publication history

The Apache Kid debuted as the cover feature, drawn by a young John Buscema, of "Two-Gun Western" #5 (Nov. 1950). He received his own title the following month, premiering as "The Apache Kid" #53 (picking up the numbering from "Reno Browne, Hollywood's Greatest Cowgirl") and then running as "Apache Kid" #2-19. Stories also ran in the omnibus titles "Two-Gun Western" #5-9 and "Wild Western" #15-22. After that initial Buscema story and at least two by Joe Maneely (who would also do many of the later covers), the bulk of the book's run would be penciled and inked by future Silver Age "X-Men" artist Werner Roth.

After "The Apache Kid" ended with #19 (April 1956), its numbering continued as the anthology series "Western Gunfighters", where the character did not appear.

Apache Kid reprints, however, did appear in Marvel's 1970s omnibus series also titled "Western Gunfighters". The Kid shared its pages with new Ghost Rider (also known as Phantom Rider) stories, as well as anthological and Western-hero reprints of a changing lineup that included Atlas' Black Rider (here renamed Black Mask}, the Western Kid, Wyatt Earp, and later Kid Colt. Apache Kid reprints ran from #2-33, the final issue (Oct. 1970 - Nov. 1975).

The character returned in "Apache Skies" (2002), a four-issue miniseries starring the Rawhide Kid and two persons called the Apache Kid: Dazii Aloysius Kare, and his wife, Rosa. This was a sequel to the miniseries "Blaze of Glory" (2000), which specifically retconned that the naively clean-cut Marvel Western stories of years past were merely dime novel fictions of the characters' actual lives.

Unrelated characters called the Apache Kid appeared in Fox Comics' "Western Outlaws" #21 (May 1949), and Youthful Comics' "Indian Fighter" #5 (Jan. 1952).

Fictional character biography

Caucasian child Alan Krandal was raised by Apache chief Red Hawk and his wife after being orphaned. When grown, he took on a "civilian" identity as cowboy Aloysius Kare, changing to his warpaint outfit to fight outlaws both white and Native American, and generally protect both groups of people. Captain Bill Gregory of the nearby fort was his "white brother" who also respected the elder Red Hawk's counsel. Unlike many other Western comics of the 1950s, "Apache Kid" generally presented the indigenous Americans in the same light as Caucasians, and made distinctions among the various tribes.

Bibliography (original stories)

*"Two-Gun Western" #5-9 (Nov. 1950 - Aug. 1951)
*"Wild Western" #15-22 (April 1951 - June 1952)

*"The Apache Kid" #53 (Dec. 1950) continued as
* "Apache Kid" #2-19 (Feb. 1951 - Jan. 1952; Dec. 1954 - April 1956)

References

* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.atlastales.com Atlas Tales]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/apache.html A Guide to Marvel's Pre-FF #1 Heroes: Apache Kid]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/apache.htm Toonopedia page on The Apache Kid]

External links

* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Apache_Kid Apache Kid bio on marvel.com]