The Rawhide Kid was there first

I wonder if the cowboys on “Brokeback Mountain” ever peeked at the adventures of the Rawhide Kid? Mike Coco, over at Bargain Comics, points out that Marvel Comics was all over the gay-cowboy scene years before director Ang Lee and “Brokeback Mountain.” The Rawhide Kid, first introduced in the ‘50s, came out of the closet in a 2003 miniseries, “Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather.” Newsarama reports that Marvel will have a “Western event” in June, but says the books will be in a more traditional vein. In other words, no gay cowboys.