Billy Buckskin

First Appearance: Frontier Western #3 (June 1956).
Appearances: Frontier Western #3, Gunsmoke Western #32-34, Wild Western #48-49, Western Gunfighters #3.
Years Active: 1840s-?

Billy Buckskin, who dresses (yes, you guessed it) all in buckskin, is active along the Western frontier at an earlier time than most of Atlas' cowboy characters. The stories I've read with him show him in action in the 1840s, fighting against the Mexicans during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Buckskin is rather generic, though; aside from the interesting backdrop to his actions and his soldier sidekick Soapy, there's really not much to say about him. Buckskin is brave and a good fighter in a generic way, with no origin I've ever read for him. He tries very hard to get along with the Native Americans he encounters, siding with them against evil honkie cracker rednecks when Whitey tries to push them off their land. (That's Billy, talking with Soapy, having successfully defended a stagecoach against a bunch of bad guys.)