''All-Star Western'' is the name of three American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, each a

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 20th century and ...

omnibus featuring both continuing characters and

anthological In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second from 1970 to 1972 and the third was part of

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

and ran from September 2011 to August 2014.

Publication history

Vol. 1

The original ''All-Star Western'' began with #58 (May 1951), having taken over the number of its predecessor title, ''

All Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All St ...

'' — a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

omnibus that years before had introduced the enduring team the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

. With the postwar decline in the popularity of superheroes, publisher

changed the series format and title. ''All-Star Western'' ran 62 bimonthly issues through #119 (July 1961). The cover logo did not include a hyphen until issue #108 (Sept. 1959), when it was much reduced in size and placed above the much larger logo for what was then the title feature, "

Johnny Thunder Johnny Thunder is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder. The character appeared in the second season of '' Stargirl'' on The CW network played by Ethan E ...

". Johnny Thunder remained on the cover until the final issue, #119, occasionally sharing it with Madame .44, "the masked outlaw queen". The first issue contained the features " The Trigger Twins", created by writer

Robert Kanigher Robert Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over ...

and

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

and running through #116; "Don Caballero", drawn by

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

, and "Roving Ranger", penciled by

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (; June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera through ...

, the writer-creator uncredited; and "Strong Bow", created by writer David Wood and artist Frank Giacoia. Other features that appeared through the years included "

Super-Chief Super-Chief is the name of several fictional characters, including three superheroes and one supervillain, in the DC Comics universe. Created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, the first Super-Chief debuted in ''All-Star Western'' #117 (March ...

", by writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and artist Infantino; and, beginning with #67 (Nov. 1952), "Johnny Thunder", featuring the masked, vigilante persona of a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

in an

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

settlement. The character had been created by writer Kanigher and artist Toth in DC's '' All-American Comics'' in 1948.

Vol. 2

The series was revived in the following decade, and ran 11 bimonthly issues (Sept. 1970 – May 1972) before changing its title and, slightly its format to become '' Weird Western Tales''. ''All-Star Western'' vol. 2, #1 starred Pow-Wow Smith, scripted by John Broome, with art by

. The next four starred the characters Outlaw and El Diablo. With issue #5, the character Outlaw was dropped, with the cover logo "Outlaw" now referring to the replacement-feature star,

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

. The Western "all-stars" now included such historical characters as

Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, reconnaissance, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, s ...

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at the young age ...

and

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

, in a mix of new stories and reprints, as well as DC stalwarts Pow-Wow Smith, El Diablo and

Bat Lash Bartholomew "Bat" Aloysius Lash is a fictional Western superhero character in the DC Universe. A self-professed pacifist, ladies' man, and gambler, Bat Lash's adventures have been published by DC Comics since 1968. Character origin In 1968, C ...

. Issue #10 (February–March 1972) introduced the enduring and popular character

Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...

, created by writer

John Albano John F. Albano (September 12, 1922 – May 23, 2005) was an American writer and WW2 veteran who worked in the comic book industry. He was recognized for his work with the Shazam Award for Best Writer (Humor Division) in 1971, and the Shazam A ...

and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex continued as the star of the comic when it changed its name to '' Weird Western Tales'' with issue #12 (July 1972), and he continued into issue #38 (Feb. 1977) of the 59-issue series.

Vol. 3

The series was revived as part of the line-wide

relaunch in September 2011, written by

Justin Gray Justin Gray is an American comic book writer working mostly for DC Comics. He lives in Ossining, New York. Career Gray has often collaborated with fellow writer Jimmy Palmiotti on series such as ''Hawkman'', '' Jonah Hex'', '' Power Girl'', ...

and

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

with art by Moritat. The series followed the adventures of

and Amadeus Arkham in an Old West-version of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

, with back-up tales featuring other Western characters such as: * El Diablo - issues #2-3 * The Barbary Ghost - issues #4-6 *

Nighthawk The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, which is a grouping of 92 species of medium-sized birds with long wings and short bills specialized for eating insects. The nighthawk's ...

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

- issues #7-9 *

- issue #10 * Doctor Thirteen - issues #11-12, 18, and 20 *

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

- issues #13-16 * Stormwatch - issues #17-21 After issue #21 the backup features stopped. Beginning with issue #21 the comic was about Jonah Hex and his adventures in the present. He meets the heroes of the present. Characters met in the present: *

Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon "Booster" Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in ''Booster Gold (comic book), Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has be ...

- issue #19 before traveling to the present * Batwing - issue #21 *

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

& Jeremiah Arkham - issue #22 *

John Constantine John Constantine (), also known as Hellblazer, is an antihero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben, and first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985). I ...

- issue #24 *

Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...

- issue #25 *

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

- issue #26 The series was discontinued with issue #34 (released in August 2014).

Collected editions

Vol. 2 of ''All-Star Western'' has been collected into ''

Showcase Presents ''Showcase Presents'' is a line (comics), line of black-and-white paperback books that were published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' ''Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually incl ...

Jonah Hex'': * ''Showcase Presents Jonah Hex'' Vol. 1 (Billy the Kid Outlaw stories, "The Night of the Snake" feature and Jonah Hex stories from ''All-Star Western'' Vol. 2 #2-8, 10-12) Vol. 3 of ''All-Star Western'' has been collected into the following trade paperbacks:

References

External links

* * * * {{DC Western Characters Jonah Hex Comics magazines published in the United States 1951 comics debuts 1961 comics endings 1970 comics debuts 1972 comics endings 2011 comics debuts 2014 comics endings Comics by Gardner Fox Comics by Robert Kanigher Defunct American comics Western (genre) comics Magazines established in 1951 Magazines disestablished in 1961 Magazines established in 1970 Magazines disestablished in 1972 Magazines established in 2011 Magazines disestablished in 2014 Defunct magazines published in the United States Bimonthly magazines published in the United States