Cover:Rick Veitch (signed)
1:2 Hawk's father Tom Haukins (better known as Tomahawk) had his own series titled TOMAHAWK which changed to HAWK, SON OF TOMAHAWK as of issue #129 (1970). Tomahawk stars in next issue.
2:3 Firehair was a white man raised by the Blackfoot tribe. He first appeared in SHOWCASE#85 (1969) and appeared in a few backup stories beginning in HAWK, SON OF TOMAHAWK #131.
There was another western character named Firehair by a different publisher in the 1950's. She was a white woman raised by Sioux indians.
3:1 Jonah Woodson Hex, bounty hunter and former Confederate soldier, first appeared in 1972's ALL-STAR WESTERN TALES #10. Hex was revived in a trio of 1990's mini-series written by Joe R. Lansdale and drawn by Tim Truman.
In a short-lived mid-80's series titled HEX, he was teleported from the year 1875 into 2050 A.D. by a mad scientist of the future. This concept didn't go over well with readers and Hex was returned to the Old West. Hex was killed in 1904 and his stuffed corpse is supposedly still on display in a travelling fair. Hex had a cameo appearance in ST issue #46.
4:2 The gambler Bat Lash (Bartholomew Aloysius Lash) first appeared in SHOWCASE #76 and had his own short-lived series (1968). Batton Lash is the name of a real life comic book writer, inspired by the character.
Madame .44 (Jeanne Walker) first appeared in ALL-STAR WESTERN #117.
4:4 Johnny Thunder (John Tane) first appeared in 1948's ALL-AMERICAN WESTERN #103, drawn by Alex Toth, and is now married to Madame .44. Another character named Johhny Thunder premiered in 1939 who controlled a genie "Thunderbolt", but is apparently unrelated.
5:2 Super Chief first appeared in ALL-STAR WESTERN #117 (1961). He was Saganowahna, Flying Stag of the Wolf Clan in the 16th Century. In addition to granting super-strnegth, his meteorite-amulet apparently allowed him to live for centuries, but now has caused long-term mental deterioration. (He is no relation to the Texaco gasoline, nor the Santa Fe train system of the same name.)
5:5 Black Bison (a.k.a. Bison-Black-As-Midnight-Sky) was an extremely powerful shaman, who was first seen in FURY OF FIRESTORM #1 (1982) which depicts the battle Bat Lash mentions here.
7:4 This is El Diablo. See info on Wise Owl and him, below.
11:5 Wise Owl first appeared in ALL-STAR WESTERN #2 when he was responsible for giving the paralyzed Lazarus Lane the ability to turn into the athletic hero El Diablo. I believe that this is a new revelation that his motives are evil.
13:6 Despite Hawk's advice, Black Bison's great grandson John Ravenhair (Created by Gerry Conway & Pat Broderick) had to be stopped by the hero Firestorm in FURY OF FIRESTORM #1 (1982) when he went on a rampage to avenge social injustices against Native Americans. The original Black Bison's spirit possessed John through the talisman of the Bison Cult .
15:5 Hawk and Firehair are offended because both are "half-breeds".
"Happy Trails" was the signature song of 1930's-40's TV cowboy Roy Rogers.
16:6 Hmm. What "treachery" was Wise Owl about to reveal? Why does Madame .44 choose this moment to stop Wise Owl rather than to continue to listen and assess the situation? Although it's natural for her to be worried for her husband's safety, she's shown to be specifically worried when Wise Owl says he can reveal "treachery". Could she be hiding some "treachery"? Is she thnking of the fact that, when Bat Lash propositioned her on page 4 panel 3, she said later they'd "discuss it"? I'm just wondering....
20:2 Otto Von Hammer is obviously the ancestor of Hans Von Hammer (a.k.a. Enamy Ace) who guest-starred in #83.
20:3 Jason Blood is the Demon Etrigan, whom we'll see more of in the next few issues.
22:2 Madame .44 and Johnny Thunder indeed will have two children, according to 1980's DC COMICS PRESENTS #28.
24:3 Abby's comatose husband Matt disconnected his own life support system in last issue.
24:5 The book Liz was reading shows up again in next issue.
COMMENT: This story's title is the same as a 1974 revisionist western comedy film starring Henry Fonda.
Comment: Issues #82 and beyond have not yet been reprinted in a trade paperback.