''Boys' Ranch'' is a six-issue 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 created by the veteran writer-artist team of

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

for

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...

in 1950. A

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 ...

in the then-prevalent "kid gang" vein popularized by such film series as "

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

" and " The Dead End Kids", the series starred three adolescents—Dandy, Wabash, and Angel—who operate a ranch that was bequeathed to them, under the adult supervision of

frontiersman A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, the ...

Clay Duncan. Supporting characters included Palomino Sue, Wee Willie Weehawken, citizens of the town Four Massacres, and various Native Americans, including a fictional version of the real-life

Geronimo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihen ...

. Noted for its use of single and double-page illustrations, the series has been lauded as one of Simon and Kirby's most significant creations. It was briefly revived through reprints in 1955, and all six issues were reprinted in a hardcover edition by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

in 1991 with introductions by Jim Simon and Kirby.

Publication history

Western-style adventures involving boys in ranch settings were already present in American popular culture with the juvenile fiction of authors such as Frank V. Webster and Dale Wilkins as well as the 1946 MGM film, '' Boys' Ranch''. By the late 1940s, the writer-artist team of

and

was enjoying the commercial success of the duo's ''

Young Romance ''Young Romance'' is a romantic comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint (trade name), imprint Prize Comics in 1947 in comics, 1947. Generally considered the first Romance comics in the United ...

'' and '' Young Love''

romance comics Romance comics are a genre of comic book, comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of World War II when military ...

titles, Evanier, Mark (2008). ''Kirby: King of Comics''. New York: Harry N. Abrams, pp. 72, 80. . and had formed a studio that employed artists such as

Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age. Early li ...

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...

, John Prentice, Marvin Stein,

Bruno Premiani Giordano Bruno Premiani (; January 4, 1907 – August 17, 1984
at the

George Roussos George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000), also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age of comic books, Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early is ...

Bill Draut Bill Draut (August 14, 1921–March 3, 1993) was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Harvey Comics and DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1970s. Biography Bill Draut began his career as an artist in the 1940s by drawing the " ...

, and others. In 1950, Simon & Kirby launched two new titles: ''

Black Magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

'', for the

Crestwood Publications Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title ''Prize Comics'' contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book fea ...

imprint

Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

, and ''Boys' Ranch'' for

(which had previously published two short-lived Simon–Kirby titles, ''Stuntman'' and the ''Boy Explorers'', in 1946). According to a biographical page in one of the issues, Simon and Kirby claimed they had spent ten years researching what became ''Boys Ranch'', traveling to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. They were influenced by the films of early western actor and director

William S. Hart William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integ ...

. They had previously created the successful kid-gang features the '' Newsboy Legion'' and ''

Boy Commandos Boy Commandos is a fictional organization from DC Comics first appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #64 (June 1942) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They are a combination of "kid gang" characters, an international cast of young boys fighting Nazis — ...

'' for

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 ...

. Simon in his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

recounted a casual meeting in September 1950 with

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 ...

co-creator

Jerry Siegel Jerome "Jerry" Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of ...

, who had dropped by Harvey Comics' offices, and showing Siegel art from various upcoming series: Launched in the wave of a western trend in American comic books, the series debuted with an October 1950

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

as a 52-page, bimonthly series. It lasted six issues (Oct. 1950 – Aug. 1951). The original cover title was ''The Kid Cowboys of Boys' Ranch'', shortened to ''Boys' Ranch'' after two issues; the subhead "Featuring Clay Duncan" remained throughout. Each issue featured a single page pinup at the beginning of the book along with a two-page centerspread. Each issue rounded off with various text and Western and Native American information pages such as "Boys' Ranch Club News", "How Cowboys Say It", "How To Ride a Horse", and "Now You Can Make Your Pair of Western Moccasins". According to Harry Mendryk, Boys' Ranch comprises two distinct groups: "The first three issues featured work by Kirby (with one exception), had three stories per issue, and the stories were longer. For the final issues there is much less use of Kirby, only two stories per issue, and shorter stories. Actually each final issue had a single story, but broken into two chapters". The first three issues average around thirty story pages; the last three issues average about twenty. The last three feature special "theme" stories, the US Cavalry Army,''Boys Ranch'' #4 the Pony Express,''Boys Ranch'' #5 and the Great Train Robbery.''Boys Ranch'' #6 At least one of the themes was inspired by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

films; issue #4 was thought to show an influence from Ford's 'Cavalry Trilogy'. Besides Simon and Kirby, Mort Meskin, Marvin Stein, and Charles Nicholas are credited as contributors in the latter issues, with Meskin given pencil and inks credits on "I'll fight you for Lucy!" and inks over Kirby pencils on "The Bugle Blows at Bloody Knife".

Reprints

The title was briefly revived through reprints in 1955. Penrod Shoes issued a giveaway coeval edition of ''Boys' Ranch'' #5 and #6, while issues #4 and #5 were reprinted by Harvey Thriller in '' Witches Western Tales'' (1955) #29–30, with further reprints in '' Western Tales'' #31–33.

published ''Kid Cowboys of Boys Ranch'', a hardcover reprint edition of all six issues in 1991 (). A ''Boys' Ranch'' portfolio of illustrations from the original series' artwork appeared in Joe Simon's ''The Comic Book Makers'' in 2003. Some ''Boys' Ranch'' selections appeared in 2009

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...

anthology, ''The Best of Simon & Kirby'' ().

Characters and story

''Clay Duncan'' is an Indian scout who serves as foreman at the Boys' Ranch. Modelled on frontiersman such as

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

Buffalo Bill Cody 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 o ...

, 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 ...

,Simon & Kirby, ''Boys' Ranch'', #46 he serves as role model to the boy characters. While a young child, Duncan's parents were killed by bandits. He was rescued by a passing band of

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

Indians, and adopted by the Apache Running Bear, alongside his son, Geronimo. On reaching manhood, he left the Apache under the tutelage of Miles Freeman, a frontier scout. Running Bear's parting words were 'The war clouds darken once more over the white man and the Indian nations ... there is much need for warriors who talk peace to both sides! Freeman's words are that the great spirit has given you to us for such a mission'. He occasionally takes on other jobs such as army scout, mail delivery driver, and US Marshal. His horse's name is Ghost. ''Dandy'' is a 'well-liked kid with a ready smile and a confident air'Simon & Kirby, ''Boys' Ranch'', #47 who served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Usually depicted wearing a Union Army uniform, he left his adoptive parents from a small Ohio farm to explore the west. He has a noticeably greater active interest in the opposite sex, as exemplified in "I'll fight you for Lucy".''Boys' Ranch'' #3 ''Wabash'' is an easy-going lad who "springs from the hill-folk" His dubious banjo-accompanied singing skills are a source of comedy relief. His family history is explicated in the

Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originate ...

-style tale "The Legend of Alby Fleezer". ''Angel'' is a long-haired blond youth inspired by

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 ...

. He is a skilled gunfighter, and possesses a fiery temper. Nicknamed 'the fire-eatin', lead-throwin' angel', when first meeting Clay Duncan, he presents himself thus: "Got not peeve! I live alone ... and I want to be left alone! I ain't like other kids! They got mothers and fathers to fuss over 'em! Well, I don't need nobody! Nobody! I kin handle myself against any man!" His horse's name is Paint. ''Wee Willie Weehawken'' is the first arrival at Boys' Ranch. Styled the "oldest boy at Boys' Ranch" due to his advanced years, he cooks the meals at the ranch. "A very dangerous dude!", ''Boys' Ranch'' #1 reveals he had been a lawyer in his youth. ''Happy Boy'' is a young Native American boy who appeared at the ranch one day. Never appearing on the cover, he does appear in one of the pin-up illustrations. He begins to communicate using sign language in ''Boys' Ranch'' #6 and plays a more prominent role in the story "Happy Boy carries the ball". ''Palomino Sue'' hails from

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

. Her father was a wagon master. She arrived at Boys' Ranch after a trip on the wagon her father was driving was intercepted by Indians. She was the only survivor. When expressing a desire to get involved in fighting, Clay Duncan insists that, because it is too dangerous for a woman, she must remain at the ranch. She agrees, but her acquiescence was a pretence, as she later joins the fray, offering opportune assistance. Similar scenes recur in her two subsequent appearances in issues #5 and 6. ''

'' is portrayed as a fierce Apache military leader. As the son of Running Bear, he was a boyhood companion to Clay Duncan. Resentful of Duncan's position in the tribe, they become bitter rivals in "The Clay Duncan Story". Various Native American tribes appear as protagonists throughout. The conflict between Caucasians and American Indians is often the result of manipulation and exploitation by dishonest Caucasians. For example, in issue #2,

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

and

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

tribes are falsely told by white traffickers that their land will be seized so they can sell them rifles. In issue #5, the Apache Indians are blamed for robbing mail wagons, but in reality the perpetrators were white robbers using subterfuge to place blame on the Apaches. The début issue opens with the chance meeting of Dandy and Wabash, who had been on opposite sides of the then recent Civil War, but became friends and decided to head out West together. Meanwhile, Clay Duncan meets up with Angel and the four come together in the defence of a ranch belonging to Jason Harper against an attack by

warriors. The story reveals Geronimo is the leader of that band when he joins the fray to order the band's retreat. As his dying act, he bequeathed the ranch to the youngsters for use as a shelter for homeless boys. They are later joined by Wee Willie Weehawken, because he was a middle-aged man, cited the technicality that the will didn't specify the maximum age to qualify as a "boy". Happy Boy joins the ranch shortly after. The ranch is near a town called Four Massacres.

Critical analysis

Series commentary

''Boys' Ranch'' has become one of Simon and Kirby's most critically acclaimed creations and was held in high esteem by both creators.More Than Your Average Joe
Excerpts from Joe Simon's panels at the 1998

Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

". ''The Jack Kirby Collector'' #Aug 25, 1999.

TwoMorrows Publishing TwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Its products also include books and DVDs. List of maga ...

. . Retrieved August 18, 2009. Simon: "I think that urfavorite book was ''Boys' Ranch''. ... Jack always said it was his favorite and I always said it was mine..." R. J. Vitone qualifies the series as having "much more depth than previous S & K kid-gang strips – the basic elements that had made the romance and crime books so thematically strong were applied here as well".Vitone, R.J.,
Soiled, Sweet, and Sometimes Green! S & K's Women of the Golden Age
, ''The Jack Kirby Collector'' #Jun 20, 1998: p. 9 Mendryk points out a certain drop of quality in later issues: "It was part of the Simon and Kirby ''

modus operandi A (often shortened to M.O. or MO) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as . Term The term is often used in ...

'' to make heavy use of Kirby's talents in the early issues of a new title and afterwards make more frequent use of other artists. For ''Boys' Ranch'' the change seems much more dramatic then in other titles. The last three issues are good, but they are not the masterpieces that the earlier issues were". According to Richard Morrissey, Simon and Kirby's final effort in the "kid gang" genre showed signs of evolving in new directions: "In ''Boys' Ranch'', Kirby seemed to be attempting to be going beyond his previous limitations ... More and more, the team was abandoning adolescent adventure for more adult concerns ... more than one observer has noted the similarities between the kid gangs of the '40s and early '50s with the adult teams of the late '50s and early '60s".Morrissey, Richard,
Down on the Ranch
, ''The Jack Kirby Collector'' #Oct 7, 1995: p. 17

Mother Delilah

The first story from issue #3, "Mother Delilah", has been singled out as one of Simon and Kirby's finest. Kirby has cited it as a personal favorite, and it has received accolades by critics, comic book professionals and fans alike. Hatfield places ''Mother Delilah'' on his list of top 100 comic features or stories of all time. A 20-page tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption referencing the similarly themed biblical story of

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

and

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...

, Harvey, R.C. (1996).
The Art of the Comic Book – An Aesthetic History
'. Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi, pp. 267, 272. . the story features Clay Duncan, Angel, and Delilah Barker, a character influenced by

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

's character from ''

Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Her ...

''. A character named Virgil Underwood provides a

Greek chorus A Greek chorus () in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, is a homogeneous group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the action of the scene they appear in, or provide necessary insight into action which ...

-like background commentary: "Those who find love are indeed fortunate, but woe betide them who demand it"; the story's final panel reads: Analyzing the story, R. C. Harvey concludes with: "From hate springs the desire for vengeance, and that desire, as Angel discovers, is debilitating. And even love can turn to hate unless love's motive is a giving spirit. But a giving love is the ultimate redemption".

References

External links

B & W image of main characters
at Simon Entertainment Properties
Boy's Ranch Checklist
at Simon & Kirby Blog, the Kirby Museum
Cover gallery
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

Original cover art to Penrod ''Boy's Ranch'' #6
at 20th Century Danny Boy {{good article 1950 comics debuts 1951 comics endings American comics Harvey Comics series and characters Characters created by Joe Simon Child characters in comics Comics by Jack Kirby Western (genre) comics