In the past, readers could not get enough of stories from the Old West. The best Western comics of all time continue to be compelling today.

Though their popularity has faded somewhat over time, the Western comic was once one of the biggest genres in the comic book industry. With pulse-pounding six-gun action and larger-than-life heroes, the Western comic had everything that a reader could want.

The possibilities for exciting stories were endless, and many legendary Western heroes graced the pages of a comic at one time or another. With classic characters like those in The Lone Ranger and more modern examples like That Texas Blood, the Western genre has proven its versatility over the decades.

Two Moons (2021-Present)

Image Comics is known for their genre-bending alternative books that take the reader to exciting places that they have never been before. Two Moons is set in the American West after the Civil War and follows a Pawnee man named Virgil, who reconnects with his people to fight demonic monsters on the High Plains.

Unlike many Western stories, which are not particularly kind to Indigenous American cultures, Two Moons manages to interweave history and culture in a tasteful and exciting blend. For conventional Western fans, there is a healthy dose of gunslinging action and familiar storylines to keep them invested as well.

Rawhide Kid (1955-1979)

Western comics were so prolific in their heyday that even the bigger publishers like Marvel had several successful characters. Rawhide Kid was a small, soft-spoken gunslinger who roamed from place to place and always found a villain to vanquish in each monthly issue.

Rawhide Kid, as a Marvel property, opted for more flashy and cartoonish action that was common with a lot of their books. Despite this over-the-top atmosphere, the book never failed to deliver exciting Western action in its two-decade run. Rawhide Kid has also appeared periodically in crossover stories, usually time traveling to team up with the heroes of The Avengers.

All-Star Western (1951-1961)

After the end of WWII, superhero comics saw a decline in popularity, and Westerns saw a gigantic increase. DC's All-Star Western was an anthology that told a series of disconnected Western tales and usually featured recurring characters from issue to issue.

The anthology format was incredibly popular with Western comics of the day, and many of the most famous Western characters got their starts as featured characters. All-Star Western proved to be a huge hit for DC, and it has been revived on two separate occasions since the end of its initial run.

Weird Western Tales (1972-1980)

As the decades wore on and tastes changed, so too did readers' tastes in comics begin to evolve. Weird Western Tales marked a change in the comic industry and saw the introduction of a grittier, stranger Western anthology. The new book featured elements of the supernatural and more outlandish violence, as well as anti-hero characters with dark backstories.

Weird Western Tales is most known for introducing Jonah Hex, but it also produced several other notable characters like Cinnamon and Greycrow. Weird helped to revive the Western genre and gave it one last shot of life into the 1980s by ramping up the action and giving them a fair amount of grit.

Two-Gun Kid (1953-1977)

The years immediately following the end of WWII were turbulent times within the comic book industry, and many imprints were formed, folded, and merged with others. Two-Gun Kid was a book that changed hands several times before landing with the fledgling Marvel Comics, where he continues to appear periodically today.

Though the character is somewhat stock-standard for a Western story, the masked Clay Harder/Matt Hawk still managed to deliver exciting action for years. As is the case with a lot of Marvel characters, Two-Gun Kid saw several notable retcons, but the basic premise of masked crimefighting in the Old West has stayed consistent.

The Lone Ranger (1945-1962)

It was very common in the golden age of Western comics to see established stars jumping into the pages of their own comic books. The Lone Ranger comic told the further adventures of the radio and television hero as he, along with his sidekick Tonto, fought crime in the Old West.

Familiarity with the character was one of the big reasons that the Dell Comics book was such a hit; however, the stories themselves also packed an exciting punch. Free from the budgetary constraints of a television show, The Lone Ranger's adventures could get more complex when splashed across the pages of a comic. Though the Dell run eventually ended, The Lone Ranger was reprinted and revived by several other imprints in the ensuing decades.

That Texas Blood (2020-Present)

Soaring as one of Image Comic's best books of 2021, That Texas Blood came on the scene as a fascinating Neo-Western. The story follows a small-town cop in Texas who seems to be continuously haunted by dark events that plague his town.

Though it may not look anything like most other Western comics, That Texas Blood is nevertheless a perfect example of a dark new vision of the genre. Set in the modern-day, the book still exhibits many of the familiar themes of the Western genre, including questions of masculinity, law enforcement, and the persistence of crime in the lawless edges of civilization. Reminiscent of the Coen Brother's classic film No Country for Old Men, That Texas Blood is a startling glimpse of Neo-Westerns to come.

Bat Lash (1968-1969)

Though not as long-running as other successful Western comics, DC's Bat Lash still managed to introduce an interesting and timeless character. The titular Bat Lash was a charming and roguish pacifist who wandered the Old West, inevitably running afoul of the people he came across.

Bat Lash first appeared in DC's Showcase series before jumping to his own short-lived book. Eventually, Lash became a staple guest star of many other comics, and he usually elevated whatever book he appeared in. What set him apart from many other Western characters was his rogue-like attitude and moral code that was symbolized by the flower he usually wore in his hat. Playing off of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s, Bat Lash represented the conflicted morals of the nation.

Kid Colt, Outlaw (1949-1979)

While most Western comics showed characters on the right side of the law, even if their morals were somewhat slanted, Kid Colt, Outlaw was something altogether different. The book followed Kid Colt as he rode from town to town, doing heroic deeds while evading the law who believed he was a murderer.

Though he debuted during the golden age of comics, Kid Colt has changed and grown over time, but the plots have stayed consistent and delivered a fair smattering of traditional Western action. Marvel's art style and penchant for cartoonish action blended well with the Kid Colt character, and the books usually reflected the best of what Marvel had to offer at the time. Interestingly, among a slew of other successful Western comics, Kid Colt, Outlaw managed to be the longest-running Western comic book of all time.

Jonah Hex (1977-1985)

In many ways, Jonah Hex was the last hurrah for the original era of Western comics. The character debuted in Weird Western Tales before DC gave him his own series, which had a respectable run. With a scarred face and a bad attitude, Jonah Hex roamed the plains of the Old West applying his own brand of morality to whatever situation he ran across. Usually, Hex himself was darker than any of the villains he faced.

Hex exhibited traits that were reminiscent of superhero characters, from his almost preternatural ability to shoot to his keen sense of danger. Jonah Hex as a comic book series delivered everything that a great Western comic could be. It told the same moralistic tales that most Westerns did, but it was chock-full with enough comic book tropes and over-the-top action to keep any reader engaged.

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