The Atlas version
the Rawhide Child debuted inside a 16-issue series (March 1955-Sept. 1957) from Wonder's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. Virtually all of its covers were by extremely acclaimed creative person, typically either Joe Maneely or John Severin, but likewise Russ Heath and Fred Kida. Interior art for the 1st 5 issues was by Bob Brown, Jack Kirby's future successor in Challengers of the Unknown, with Dick Ayers on the reins thereafter.

The Silver Age of Comics

When a hiatus, the Rawhide Child had revamped for the ramping-higher Wonder by writer Stan Lee, legendary penciler Jack Kirby and inker Ayers. Continuing a Atlas enumeration by using issue #17 (Aug. 1960), the title okay, featured the midget however caring, soft-prunella convenient-gun constantly underestimated by bullying toughs, varmints, owlhoots, polecats, crooked saloon owners & more original squeezed through the prism of Lee & Kirby's anarchic imagination. When in the outsize, exuberantly exaggerated action of the in the future-to-are World War II series Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, The Rawhide Kid was now a freewheeling romp of energetic, almost slapstick action across cattle ranches, horse troughs, corrals, canyons and swinging chandeliers. Strictly moral, the Child nonetheless showed a elated pride around his shooting & his gymnastic fight skills — never picking arguments however constantly forced to surprise gawk far large than he.

Across retcon, bits of & pieces of the Atlas and Silver Age characters' history meshed, then that the unknown child boy of settlers a Clay personal, orphaned by a Cheyenne raid, was raised by Texas Ranger Ben Bart on the cattle ranch touching Rawhide, Texas. Older brother Frank Clay, captured by Indians, one of these days escaped & became the gambler, while firstborn brother Joe Clay became sheriff of the town of Willow Flats; neither were inside the regular cast, & from each one died in the guest appearance. Shortly when Johnny's Eighteenth birthday, Ben Bart was murdered; Johnny, an all but supernaturally convenient & exact gunman, injured a killers & left the two to taken into custody. a afterwards misunderstanding between the Child & the sheriff above a kine cattle thief the Child injured within self-self-defence led to the hero's life as a fugitive.

Kirby continued when penciler through #32 (Feb. 1963) — remarkably, while helping to launch The Fantastic Four, the Hulk and other iconic characters of the "Marvel revolution" — & drew covers across issue #47. Issues #33-35 were drawn by EC Comics great Jack Davis in a uncommon case of his American art & a select few of the super endure colour comedian he would draw prior to gaining fame at MAD Magazine and as one of a 20th century's leading caricaturists. Fallowing many issues by stalwart Ayers, followed by one issue by longtime Child Colt creative person Jack Keller, Stan Lee's brother Larry Lieber — who'd antecedently written a number 1 appearances of "The Mighty Thor", "The Invincible Iron Man" and other superhero features planned by Lee — began his yearn, firm begin when writer-artist of the tremendously-liked albeit minor series.

When superheroes get more & more ascendent and sales of everthing corporations' American titles dropped, A Rawhide Child became primarily the reprint title, though typically bearing fresh covers by such top creative person when Gene Colan, Gil Kane and Paul Gulacy. It eventually ended publication by using issue #148.

the Rawhide Child late appeared as a other middle-aged character inside a 4-issue miniseries (Aug.-Nov. 1985) by writer Bill Mantlo and penciler Herb Trimpe.

Retcon Rawhide
A Rawhide Child reappeared in the 4-issue miniseries Blaze of Glory (2000), by writer John Ostrander and artist Leonardo Manco, and the 2002 four-issue sequel, Apache Skies, by the equivalent originative team.

Within counterpoint to character's standard look till so — the microscopic-statured, do-cut redhead — these latter 2 series witnessed him grizzled, taller, using shoulder-length dark hair, & wearing the slightly less conventionalized, extra historically appropriate outfit than his classic a single. In point of fact, Blaze of Glory specifically retconned that the naively uncontaminating-cut Marvel American stories of years preceding were only dime novel fictions of the characters' actual lives.

The recent controversial miniseries from a Marvel MAX imprint, the 5-issue Rawhide Child (a story itself titled "Slap Leather"), revealed him to exist as gay in this Marvel alternate universe. Although a series was labeled "Parental Advisory Explicit Content", a series, by writer Ron Zimmerman and veteran John Severin, still around top form, was actually quite tame & kitschy.

Note: There is no incarnarnation of the character bears any relation to the 1928 Universal Pictures movie Western The Rawhide Child, starring Hoot Gibson.

Quotes

Larry Lieber on The Rawhide Child [http://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/02lieber.html]: "I don't remember why I wanted to do it, particularly. I think I wanted a little more freedom. I didn't do enough of the superheroes to know whether I'd like them. What I didn't prefer was the style that was developing. It didn't appeal to me.... Maybe there was just too much humor in it, or too much something. ... I remember, at the time, I wanted to make everything serious. I didn't want to give a light tone to it. When I did Rawhide Kid, I wanted people to cry as if they were watching High Noon or something."

"I'm a little unclear about leaving the superheroes and going to Rawhide Kid. I know that at the time I wanted — what's the expression? — a little space for myself or something, and I wanted to do a little drawing again."