It became one of the hallmarks of the new Marvel line of super heroes to have characters from different series casually crossing over and encountering one another. But that wasn’t a new thing for editor Stan Lee, who had been using such stories to cross-promote other titles in the proto-Marvel line. This story from PATSY WALKER #77 wasn’t the first, but it was among them. It isn’t cover-blurbed in any way, but in this issue Centerville’s most popular teen-ager met the western hero Kid Colt, Outlaw. Both Colt and Patsy were among the longest running regular characters Atlas had, so this point of intersection held some significance.
The story was written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Al Hartley, who were PATSY’s regular creative team for many years. Because Kid Colt was set in the old west, the story cheats a little bit, in that it’s actually a television series based on the historic Kid Colt that Patsy and company visit. But it still counts.
The name of teh actor playing Kid Colt is never given–he’s treated as though he was the genuine Kid Colt. And he comes across as something of a jerk here. Not sure how this might make anybody want to check out an issue of his comic book, but whatever.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 