''Blaze of Glory: The Last Ride of the Western Heroes'' is a four-issue
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
published in 2000 by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. It was written by
John Ostrander
John Ostrander (born April 20, 1949) is an American writer of comic books, including '' Suicide Squad'', ''Grimjack'' and '' Star Wars: Legacy''.
Career
Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes ...
and drawn by
Leonardo Manco
Leonardo Manco (born 16 December 1971) is an Argentine comic book artist.
Career
Manco is best known for his dark and gritty style on such titles as Marvel Comics’ ''Hellstorm'' (1994), '' Blaze of Glory'' (2000, #1-4), '' Apache Skies'' ( ...
.
The series featured a more historically realistic update of Marvel's
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
heroes. In contrast to characters' standard looks until then, ''Blaze of Glory'' depicted them as grizzled, weather-beaten cowboys and gunfighters, wearing less stylized, more historically appropriate outfits than their classic ones. ''Blaze of Glory''
retconned
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
some of the Marvel Western stories of years past as being
dime novel
The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...
fictions of the characters' actual lives.
Series' writer John Ostrander declared:
Publication history
''Blaze of Glory'' was originally intended to be released as two forty-eight page issues, as writer John Ostrander revealed in a 1998 interview:
Sometime between the date of this interview and the date of publication, the decision to split the two issues into four regular sized issues was made. Issues #1 and #2 were dated February 2000, while issues #3 and #4 were dated March 2000.
The series was
collected in 2002 and later that year, a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to the Rawhide Kid's arc was released, ''
Apache Skies
''Apache Skies'' is a four-issue comic book limited series, published in 2002 by Marvel Comics as a part of that company's MAX imprint. The series was written by John Ostrander and drawn by Leonardo Manco.
The series was a sequel to 2000s '' Bla ...
'', also by Ostrander and Manco.
Plot synopsis
Issue #1
The peace in Wonderment, Montana (a town founded by a group of ex-slaves freed after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, the type of group historically known as
Exodusters
Exodusters was a name given to African Americans who migrated from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late nineteenth century, as part of the Exoduster Movement or Exodus of 1879. It was the first general migration of black pe ...
) is broken when a group of riders dressed like
Ku Klux Klan nightriders attack. Among the townsfolk who fight back is
Reno Jones, a man whose adventures have been depicted in more than a few
dime novel
The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...
s.
The raids continue for days and the town makes a decision to hire gunfighters to protect them. A local
Indian tribe
In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, tribal nation, or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Native Americans in the Unit ...
agrees to ask a warrior they know to help. Reno Jones then sets off with a man named Marcel Fournier to contact others for help.
Jones locates the
Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid (real name: Johnny Bart, originally given as Johnny Clay) is a fictional Old West cowboy appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted a ...
who is performing as a part of
Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Jones recruits both the Rawhide Kid and
Kid Colt
Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American 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. The second is a ...
and the three of them leave together. Not long after this, a bounty hunter going by the name Gunhawk arrives and asks about the location of Kid Colt. Gunhawk is told where the three riders are going and rides after them.
Issue #2
In
Anaconda, Montana, Marcel Fournier talks to the
Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is the name of two Western fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first, Clay Harder, was introduced in a 1948 comic from Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. The second, Matt Hawk a ...
. After this conversation, the Two-Gun Kid talks to a Mr. Riley, a man who was once the masked outlaw known as the
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...
. Their conversation reveals Riley to be the man behind the attacks. He wants the land on which Wonderment sits for a smelting plant he plans to build. This conversation also makes it clear that there is no legal avenue to save Wonderment. Later that night in the hills above Wonderment,
Red Wolf agrees to give his aid.
Two days later, Reno Jones recruits the
Outlaw Kid
The Outlaw Kid is a fictional Western hero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character originally appeared in the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. A lesser-known character than the company's Kid Colt, Raw ...
. As Jones' small group is about to leave for Wonderment, they are confronted by three
Pinkerton detectives, one of whom is
Caleb Hammer. They are after Kid Colt. After a short confrontation, Colt shoots all three men. Jones and his allies then ride fast out of town. As the group relaxes around their campfire that night, they are joined by the Two-Gun Kid. He tells them that two of the three Pinkertons were killed, but that Caleb Hammer survived.
Seeking to get into Wonderment by a lesser-known back entrance, the group falls into an ambush. They all make it through except Jones, who falls into a deep ravine after being shot.
Issue #3
The small group rides into Wonderment while it is in the middle of another attack. After fighting off the nightriders, they introduce themselves. The next morning, both Hammer and Gunhawk attempt to pass into Wonderment and are stopped by the nightriders. As they are being questioned the,
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider.
The first s ...
appears. In the chaos, Hammer and Gunhawk escape and make their way to Wonderment.
Issue #4
Caleb Hammer and Gunhawk arrive in Wonderment. After a brief argument, they agree to help and to collect the bounty on Kid Colt's head after the Nightriders are dealt with. At the same time, Fournier is revealed to be a spy for the Nightriders. He is killed by the Two-Gun Kid.
With their eyes in town now lost to them, the Nightriders attack ''en masse'', intending to kill everyone in town. Riley joins in, his hatred for the Ghost Rider (who was his main nemesis when he was the Tarantula) overriding his sense of preservation. In the battle, Reno Jones is revealed to be the man dressed as the Ghost Rider, Jones' ex-partner Kid Cassidy is revealed as the leader of the Nightriders and the Outlaw Kid, Gunhawk, Kid Colt, and the Two-Gun Kid are killed. Riley is shot dead and Cassidy dies in battle with Jones. The battle ends when Red Wolf leads a mass of Indian warriors into Wonderment.
The final issue ends with the Rawhide Kid and Caleb Hammer riding out of town together.
Collected editions
''Blaze of Glory'' was collected in 2002 as a
trade paperback, ''Blaze of Glory: The Last Ride'' ().
Notes
References
*
*
''Blaze of Glory''at the
Big Comic Book Database
The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows, and cartoon shorts.
The BCDB project began in 1997 as a list of Disney animated feat ...
{{Marvel Western Characters
Comics by John Ostrander