All-Star Western (1970) 10

His star may have faded over the decades, but America is still defined by the rugged, jeans wearing, dusty booted, low-slung gun belted image of the cowboy.

Today we celebrate with National Day of the Cowboy.

Putting a face to the day is DC’s pale rider, Jonah Hex.

All-Star Western (1970) 10

Hex first appeared in a full-page house advertisement in several of National Periodicals (soon to be rechristened DC Comics) November/December 1971 cover-dated war comics and a half-page spread in Batman (1940) issue 237.

His debut came in February/March of 1971 in the aforementioned All-Star Western issue 10. It would be retitled Weird Western Tales two issues later where Hex would reside as the headliner through issue 38.

Hex’s self-titled series began in 1977, running a total of 92 issues. It met its doom with the rest of the DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1984.

He would be resurrected the following year in the simply titled Hex. The book ran a total of 18 issues with the title character molded more in the Mad Max vein as he trekked through a post-apocalyptic 21^st century.

Hex would appear in three mini-series during the 1990s under the Vertigo imprint. He would earn a second series in 2005 running 70 issues. The book would be cancelled and Hex moved to All-Star Western (2011).

Beyond the comic book field, Hex has appeared in animated form in Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Action.

A feature film was released in 2010 to lackluster response. The commercial failure grossed $11 million on a $47-million budget.

National Day of the Cowboy began in 2005 when the organization sponsored a bill in the Wyoming House and Senate to commemorate cowboy culture and history in the state. To date, 15 states have passed the same bill.

The plan is to have a bill passed in all 50 states.

To celebrate, attend a rodeo, study cowboy culture or simply dig out some of those dogeared four-colored westerns, open a can of beans and dust off the cap gun.