Ringo Kid
Encyclopedia
The Ringo Kid is a fictional Western
hero in the Marvel Comics
' universe
, whose comic book
series was originally released by the company's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics
. A lesser-known character than the company's Kid Colt
, Rawhide Kid
, or Two-Gun Kid
, he also appeared in a reprint series in the 1970s.
The character is unrelated to the actor John Wayne
's "Ringo Kid" in the Western film Stagecoach.
' Ringo Kid debuted in the first issue of a series billed on its trademarked cover logo as Ringo Kid for all but two issues (#1 and #3, cover-billed as Ringo Kid Western). Created by an unknown writer and artist Joe Maneely
, it ran 21 issues (cover-dated Aug. 1954 - Sept. 1957), drawn primarily by either Maneely or Fred Kida
. Stories also ran occasionally in Wild Western, beginning with issue #38 (Nov. 1954), initially drawn by Maneely, with artist John Severin
taking the reins in at least issues #46-47 (Nov. 1955 - Jan. 1956). Ringo was the lead feature in the two-issue anthology series Western Trails #1-2 (May & July 1957). He also appears on the cover of Wild Western #39 (Dec. 1954), but not in an interior story.
A five-page story entitled "The Ringo Kid" in Atlas' Western Outlaws & Sheriffs #73 (June 1952) is unrelated, as is the four-page story "Ringo Kid" in Wild Western #26 (Feb. 1953).
Marvel reprinted the series in Ringo Kid vol. 2, #1-30 (Jan. 1970 - Nov. 1976), often with the original Maneely covers. The Ringo Kid made his first appearance in present-day stories in a time travel
tale in the superhero
-team comic The Avengers
#142 (Dec. 1975)
Marvel writer Steve Englehart
planned a revival series at about this time, with art by Dick Ayers
: "Every series I did took off so Marvel kept giving me more. I relaunched this classic Western — always my favorite of Marvel's true cowboy heroes (as opposed to the Two-Gun Kid, whom I also liked but who was more a superhero) — with classic Western artist Dick Ayres [sic]. But after this first issue was drawn and scripted, Marvel decided to do more superheroes and fewer cowboys, so it was set aside before inking".
of the 19th-century American Old West with a Caucasian
father, Cory Rand, and a Native American
mother, Dawn Star, variously referred to as a Comanche
or a Cheyenne "princess of her tribe despite the fact that the very idea of princesses was alien to that culture, imagined by settlers of European extraction, projecting their notions of royalty onto the natives." He was treated as an outcast because of his mixed heritage, and on the run after being falsely accused of a crime. With his sidekick
Dull Knife, of his mother's people, he roamed the frontier atop his horse, Arab. His specific mission or goal appears not to have been stated explicitly, but there is intimation of some law-enforcement function: As many covers note breathlessly, "Ringo!" is "The name that makes killers tremble!"
Western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
hero in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, whose comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series was originally released by the company's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
. A lesser-known character than the company's Kid Colt
Kid Colt
Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western themed comic book series published by Marvel...
, Rawhide Kid
Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
, or Two-Gun Kid
Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is a fictional character, a cowboy gunslinger in the Wild West of Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
, he also appeared in a reprint series in the 1970s.
The character is unrelated to the actor John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's "Ringo Kid" in the Western film Stagecoach.
Publication history
Atlas ComicsAtlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
' Ringo Kid debuted in the first issue of a series billed on its trademarked cover logo as Ringo Kid for all but two issues (#1 and #3, cover-billed as Ringo Kid Western). Created by an unknown writer and artist Joe Maneely
Joe Maneely
Joseph "Joe" Maneely is an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight, the Ringo Kid, the Yellow Claw, and Jimmy Woo.An exquisite draftsman whose delicate yet solid, fine-line...
, it ran 21 issues (cover-dated Aug. 1954 - Sept. 1957), drawn primarily by either Maneely or Fred Kida
Fred Kida
Fred Kida is an American comic book and comic strip artist best known for the characters Airboy and Valkyrie.-Early life and career:...
. Stories also ran occasionally in Wild Western, beginning with issue #38 (Nov. 1954), initially drawn by Maneely, with artist John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
taking the reins in at least issues #46-47 (Nov. 1955 - Jan. 1956). Ringo was the lead feature in the two-issue anthology series Western Trails #1-2 (May & July 1957). He also appears on the cover of Wild Western #39 (Dec. 1954), but not in an interior story.
A five-page story entitled "The Ringo Kid" in Atlas' Western Outlaws & Sheriffs #73 (June 1952) is unrelated, as is the four-page story "Ringo Kid" in Wild Western #26 (Feb. 1953).
Marvel reprinted the series in Ringo Kid vol. 2, #1-30 (Jan. 1970 - Nov. 1976), often with the original Maneely covers. The Ringo Kid made his first appearance in present-day stories in a time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
tale in the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
-team comic The Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
#142 (Dec. 1975)
Marvel writer Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
planned a revival series at about this time, with art by Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
: "Every series I did took off so Marvel kept giving me more. I relaunched this classic Western — always my favorite of Marvel's true cowboy heroes (as opposed to the Two-Gun Kid, whom I also liked but who was more a superhero) — with classic Western artist Dick Ayres [sic]. But after this first issue was drawn and scripted, Marvel decided to do more superheroes and fewer cowboys, so it was set aside before inking".
Fictional character biography
The Ringo Kid, dressed all in black, is a heroic gunslingerGunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
of the 19th-century American Old West with a Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
father, Cory Rand, and a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
mother, Dawn Star, variously referred to as a Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
or a Cheyenne "princess of her tribe despite the fact that the very idea of princesses was alien to that culture, imagined by settlers of European extraction, projecting their notions of royalty onto the natives." He was treated as an outcast because of his mixed heritage, and on the run after being falsely accused of a crime. With his sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
Dull Knife, of his mother's people, he roamed the frontier atop his horse, Arab. His specific mission or goal appears not to have been stated explicitly, but there is intimation of some law-enforcement function: As many covers note breathlessly, "Ringo!" is "The name that makes killers tremble!"
External links
- The Ringo Kid Western at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- Ringo Kid at An International Catalogue of Superheroes. Note: Gives incorrect data on first appearance.