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Blaze of Glory (comics)
Encyclopedia
Blaze of Glory is a four-issue comic book
limited series
published in 2000 by Marvel Comics
. It was written by John Ostrander
and drawn by Leonardo Manco
.
The series featured a more historically realistic update of Marvel's Western
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 some of the Marvel Western stories of years past as being dime novel
fictions of the characters' actual lives.
Series' writer John Ostrander declared:
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
to the Rawhide Kid's arc was released, Apache Skies
, also by Ostrander and Manco.
freed after the American Civil War
, the type of group historically known as Exodusters
) 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
s.
The raids continue for days and the town makes a decision to hire gunfighters to protect them. A local Indian tribe
agrees to ask a warrior they know to help. Reno Jones then sets of with a man named Marcel Fournier to contact others for help.
Jones locates the Rawhide Kid
who is performing as a part of Buffalo Bill
's Wild West show. Jones recruits both the Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt
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.
, Marcel Fournier talks to the Two-Gun Kid
. After this conversation, the Two-Gun Kid talks to a Mr. Riley, a man who was once the masked outlaw known as the Tarantula. 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 gave his aide.
Two days later, Reno Jones recruits the Outlaw Kid
. 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 confrotation, 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.
appears. In the chaos, Hammer and Gunhawk escape and make their way to Wonderment.
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) overidering 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.
, Blaze of Glory: The Last Ride (ISBN 0-7851-0906-4).
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published in 2000 by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. It was written by John Ostrander
John Ostrander
John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...
and drawn by Leonardo Manco
Leonardo Manco
Leonardo Manco is an Argentine comic book artist and penciller.-Bibliography:Manco is best known for his dark and gritty style on such titles as Hellstorm , Blaze of Glory , Apache Skies , Deathlok Vol.3 and Hellblazer .Other work by Manco has included Archangel #1 , Werewolf By...
.
The series featured a more historically realistic update of Marvel's Western
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 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
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 some of the Marvel Western stories of years past as being dime novel
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
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
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the Rawhide Kid's arc was released, Apache Skies
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 2000's Blaze of Glory....
, also by Ostrander and Manco.
Issue #1
The peace in Wonderment, Montana (a town founded by a group of ex-slavesSlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
freed after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the type of group historically known as Exodusters
Exodusters
Exodusters was a name given to African Americans who fled the Southern United States for Kansas in 1879 and 1880. After the end of Reconstruction, racial oppression and rumors of the reinstitution of slavery led many freedmen to seek a new place to live....
) is broken when a group of riders dressed like Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
nightriders attack. Among the townsfolk who fight back is Reno Jones
Gunhawks
The Gunhawks is the name of a pair of fictional comic book characters in the Western genre who first appeared in a self-titled series published by Marvel Comics.-Original series:The Gunhawks were Kid Cassidy and Reno Jones...
, a man whose adventures have been depicted in more than a few dime novel
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
s.
The raids continue for days and the town makes a decision to hire gunfighters to protect them. A local Indian tribe
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
agrees to ask a warrior they know to help. Reno Jones then sets of with a man named Marcel Fournier to contact others for help.
Jones locates the Rawhide Kid
Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
who is performing as a part of Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
's Wild West show. Jones recruits both the Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt
Kid Colt
Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in 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...
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, MontanaAnaconda, Montana
Anaconda, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet...
, Marcel Fournier talks to the Two-Gun Kid
Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is a fictional character, a cowboy gunslinger in the Wild West of Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
. After this conversation, the Two-Gun Kid talks to a Mr. Riley, a man who was once the masked outlaw known as the Tarantula. 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 gave his aide.
Two days later, Reno Jones recruits the Outlaw Kid
Outlaw Kid
The Outlaw Kid is a fictional Western hero in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe, whose comic book series was originally released by the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics...
. As Jones' small group is about to leave for Wonderment, they are confronted by three Pinkerton detectives
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
, one of whom is Caleb Hammer
Caleb Hammer
Caleb Hammer is a fictional comic book character owned by Marvel Comics. He is an Old West Pinkerton detective.-Publication history:Caleb Hammer first appeared in 1980's Marvel Premiere #54. He remained in obscurity until 2000 when he was one of the characters featured in Blaze of Glory...
. They are after Kid Colt. After a short confrotation, 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 RiderPhantom Rider
The Phantom Rider is the name of several fictional characters, Old West heroic gunfighters appearing in comic books in the Marvel Comics universe...
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) overidering 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 paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
, Blaze of Glory: The Last Ride (ISBN 0-7851-0906-4).