I was a huge fan of the comic westerns back in the 70s; Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, et al. In fact, as a kid I always wanted a cowhide vest just like the one Kid Colt wears. When I saw this was coming out, I decided to go for it, if only out of nostalgia. Ultimately I found it pretty disappointing.

I know “realism” isn’t necessarily a target in comics, but for westerns I think what the characters are capable of should be played a little closer to the vest (except maybe when it comes to gunplay or instances of exceptionally good luck!). In this case, seeing scrawny 16yo Kid Colt — with one arm in a sling, mind you — square off in a “trial by combat” with some huge, musclebound brute of a guy and come up victorious was a bit hard to swallow. Kid has just started his career as a wrongfully accused outlaw, he should make some mistakes and take some real damage. And what essentially amounts to the climactic event/square-off that ends the book happens off camera, which is always lame.

The artwork is okay, but loses a full point in a transition about mid-book. Colt and his accomplice, Hawk, dress up a couple corpses to sucker the enemies who are tracking them; one corpse has Colt’s cowhide vest, the other Hawk’s fringe jacket. The trackers come, Colt and Hawk get the jump on them, and fighting ensues. Turn the page . . . and suddenly Colt and Hawk are re-clothed in vest and jacket, even though the fight hasn’t paused! That’s a gaffe on the art side that tells me the thing was rushed, or just not approached with a whole lotta love.

Overall, I’m happy to see these westerns being done, I just wish they were being done better. I think too much was attempted in one story in Kid Colt’s case, and I don’t see this book generating much enthusiasm for future issues.