Outlaw Kid

The Outlaw Kid
A Doug Wildey panel from The Outlaw Kid #11 (May 1956)
Publication information
Publisher	Atlas Comics / Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Outlaw Kid #1 (September 1954)
Created by	Doug Wildey (art)
In-story information
Alter ego	Lance Temple
The Outlaw Kid
Series publication information
Publisher	Atlas Comics / Marvel Comics
Schedule	Bimonthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Western
Publication date	(vol. 1) Sept. 1954 – Sept. 1957 (vol. 2 – mostly reprints) Aug. 1970 – Oct. 1975
Number of issues	(vol. 1) 19 (vol 2.) 30
Main character(s)	Outlaw Kid
Creative team
Artist(s)	Doug Wildey

The Outlaw Kid is a fictional Western hero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character originally appeared in the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. A lesser-known character than the company's Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid or Two-Gun Kid, he also starred in a reprint series in the 1970s and a short-lived revival.

The Outlaw Kid was Lance Temple, an Old West lawyer and Civil War veteran living with his blinded father on a ranch. Though promising his father he would never take up a gun, he'd nonetheless felt the need to right wrongs expediently on the near-lawless frontier, and created a masked identity in order to keep his gunslinging secret.

Comic-book artist Doug Wildey, later a noted animation designer, illustrated three to four stories per issue of the 19-issue series The Outlaw Kid (cover dated Sept. 1954-Sept. 1957). Joe Maneely provided most of the covers. Backup features were usually "The Black Rider," drawn by Syd Shores, or an anthological Western tale. An additional Outlaw Kid story appeared in Wild Western #43 (May 1955). Well over a year after the original series ended, two other Outlaw Kid stories by Wildey, presumably from inventory, saw print, in Kid Colt, Outlaw #82 (Jan. 1959) and Wyatt Earp #24 (Aug. 1959).

Comics historian Ken Quattro called the series Wildey's most "noteworthy" Western work:

In concept, it was typical of all the Stan Lee-created Kids (Colt, Rawhide, Two-Gun, Ringo, etc.). What set it apart was Wildey's art. ... The Outlaw Kid was a monthly opportunity for Wildey to hone and develop his burgeoning art skills. Using Outlaw Kid #11 (May, 1956) as an example of his work well into the series, the influence of cinema on his work is evident. Though he may have had this influence all along, now it is readily apparent, with panels staged like film scenes. The characters have a realistic, illustrative look to them. ... Most significantly, his artwork finally had the consistent luster of professionalism. Wildey varied his inking from the fine stroke of an etching to the bold use of solid blacks to attain dramatic chiaroscuro effects.