the original artist, John Severin, now 86, with Ron Zimmerman, a television writer. Making the Rawhide Kid gay was Zimmerman's idea." The character's homosexuality is conveyed indirectly, through euphemisms and puns, and the comic's style is campy. Conservative groups protested the homosexual take on the character, which they claimed would corrupt children, though the covers carried an "Adults only" label.

Since 2012, the new works under the MAX imprint have