Red Ryder

Red Ryder
A page from Dell Comics' Red Ryder #25 (May–June 1945) reprinting 1943 comic strips by Fred Harman.
Author(s)	Stephen Slesinger and Fred Harman
Current status / schedule	Ended
Launch date	November 6, 1938
End date	1964
Syndicate(s)	Newspaper Enterprise Association
Genre(s)	Western

Red Ryder was a Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman, which served as the basis for a wide array of character merchandising. syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, the strip ran from Sunday, November 6, 1938, through 1964.

Harman was on a Colorado ranch when he decided to draw a comic strip. He headed for Hollywood in the early 1930s, borrowed some money and began Bronc Peeler, which he syndicated himself. Bronc Peeler was a rough cowboy who fought bandits and rustlers with the help of his pal, Coyote Pete. Harman's rough-hewn art style had a dramatic appeal, but his characters, who killed animals and people, coupled with the affected use of slang and thin storylines, were not in keeping with the content standards needed for wide syndication.

In 1938, when Harman met publisher/comic syndicator Slesinger, who brought Harman to New York and worked with him for a year before Red Ryder was ready to be syndicated. Slesinger then embarked on a successful campaign of merchandising and licensing, with comic books, Big Little Books, novels, serial chapters, radio programs, events, rodeos, powwows, commercial tie-ins, and licensed products such as the Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun. The appeal of the Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun to youngsters was depicted in the Christmas film A Christmas Story, adapted from the autobiographical fiction of Jean Shepherd, by permission of Red Ryder Enterprises, Inc., which owns the Red Ryder trademarks and copyrights.

Astride his mighty steed Thunder, Red was a tough cowpoke who lived on Painted Valley Ranch in the Blanco Basin of the San Juan Mountain Range with his aunt, the Duchess, and his juvenile Native-American sidekick, Little Beaver, who rode his horse, Papoose, when they took off to deal with the bad guys. Little Beaver spoke in the pidgin English now considered an offensive caricature. (Example: "Spinach heap good. Me like'm!") Other notable characters were ranch hand Buckskin Blodgett, Red's gal pal Beth, and bad guy Ace Hanlon.