Marvel Digital: DeFalco on Kid Colt

Marvel Comics, in an attempt to bring the Wild West genre back to comics, published a series of Marvel Westerns one-shots in 2006.

With the recent announcement of five new exclusive digital comics, which includes a four-part western adventure featuring Kid Colt, could the world wide web be the new Wild West?

Kid Colt’s venture into the digital comics realm is being handled by veteran writer Tom DeFalco. For those who’ve been keeping up with the latest comics news, DeFalco recently confirmed that Spider-Girl’s long run is coming to an end in early 2009. But that’s probably another interview for another day.

In the meantime, saddle up, readers, as we present a brief chat with DeFalco about the classic Marvel western hero.

Newsarama: Hi, Tom. How did your four-part western tale featuring Kid Colt come about?

Tom DeFalco: Thanks to the success of titles like Jonah Hex and The Man With No Name, editor Steve Wacker and I have been discussing the possibility of reintroducing westerns to Marvel and launching a new Kid Colt series. We want to do something that has the excitement of a 3:10 to Yuma combined with the grit of Deadwood, and Marvel’s Digital Comics initiative provided a great outlet for this kind of product. We wanted to give our readers a taste of the new series right now, so they can get a hint of what we’ve got planned. The idea of presenting a limited series on Marvel.com seemed like the perfect solution.

NRAMA: Do you think westerns as a genre is still a viable storytelling approach in comics these days? Why or why not?

TD: I think comic book readers want entertaining stories with well defined characters and intriguing themes. If you can produce that kind of material, the genre really doesn't matter. That market will support superheroes, sword & sorcery, westerns, mysteries, monsters, teenage humor and anything else we can come up with.

NRAMA: How do you think the current net-savvy fans will respond to a tale from Marvel's Wild West?

TD: I'm hoping they'll like our story enough to demand more Kid Colt.

NRAMA: In Kid Colt's most recent appearance in one of the Marvel Westerns one-shots in 2006, he and his trusted companion took on the shape-shifting Skrulls. What's your story about?

TD: The Kid is trying to prove that he is innocent of murder, but the victim was the Sheriff's brother. Aside from escape a lynching, our hero also has to deal with a professional bounty hunter, a gang of gunmen and a band of renegades.

NRAMA: Will he be joined by Arizona Annie aka the Arizona Girl this time around?

TD: Not this time, but anything's possible in the future.

NRAMA: Any plans for Kid Colt to team-up with the Avengers again anytime soon?

TD: Not this time, but anything's possible in the future.

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