Tex Morgan
First Appearance: Tex Morgan #1 (August 1948).
Appearances: Kid Colt #3, Tex Morgan #1-9,
Wild
Western #3-4, 6, 7, 9, 11.
Years Active: 1870s.
With
black hair, a blue hat, a yellow shirt (with black shoulders), blue jeans,
a red bandana, and an Indian (of an undefined tribe) sidekick named Lobo,
Tex Morgan wanders the plains of the Old West, doing good and fighting
evil. Tex is a "fast-drawing, straight-shooting range rider," and gets
involved in a number of adventures which are more horror-tinged than was
the norm for Atlas books. In Tex Morgan #8, for example, he fights
the undead, who have been raised from the graves by a "brilliant scientist"
who goes mad after "a successful attempt to resurrect the dead." In another
story he fights against a super-powered ne'er-do-well cowpoke using an
"Indian spell."
Tex rides his "golden stallion" Lightning and Lobo rides "the fast Indian
mare" Cloud. Lobo is from the wolf tribe; in his own words, "We are blood
brothers to the wolf! It is an Indian secret, but...well, the wolves and
I understand each other!"
Tex Morgan actually had an origin, of sorts. In Mesquite, Texas, Tex
Morgan Sr. used to keep the order, but after his death the bullies, braggarts,
polecats and owlhoots have taken over, pushing around good, honest men
like Bill Brady, Tex Morgan Sr.'s best friend and the de facto uncle of
Tex Jr. (Junior, hereafter.) Junior arrives back in Mesquite after a long
time away; his mother sent him away up north
to get me away from the influence of GUNS! She didn't want
me to become a notorious gunman, LIKE DAD! Before Mother died, last month,
she made me promise NEVER to WEAR GUNS!
But, of course, that promise is tested by conditions in Mesquite. Junior
is pushed around, forced to dance, and shocked by the news that his father
was killed, rather than dying of natural causes. Junior continues to avoid
trouble until the lead bully insults Tex, Sr., at which point Junior slugs
the bully. Junior's promise not to wear guns is finally broken when he
discovers that the lead bully shot Tex, Senior in the back; Junior calls
the bully out and guns him and two of his henchman down. Junior is jailed
but is sprung free with the help of Lobo, "ol' time Indian pal!" (The tie
between them is never fully explained.) Junior settles accounts (the Mesquite
lawyer and sheriff are both crooked) with his guns and rides out of town,
beginning his life on the run with Lobo. That life ends soon after when
the Governor of Texas issues him a pardon and makes him a "Government marshal."
Notes: Although the issues of Tex Morgan recapitulate
some of the traditional stereotypes of Native Americans, they do treat
Lobo with somewhat more respect than was usual; Tex treats him as an equal,
for the most part, and the text calls Lobo one of "the two greatest gunmen
of the West."
