BLAZE CARSON

Real Name: Dave Carson

Identity/Class: Human (Old West era)

Occupation: Sheriff;
    former cowboy and marshal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Ben Adams, Al, Johnny Baxter, Ben, Dan Brewster, Johnny Butler, Doc Carson, Jack Carstairs, Silas Carvell, Ellamay Cribble, Pete Davis, Viola Dayton, Diamond Gamer, John Hankin, Mary Hankin, Dean Hart, Jem Hartley, Johnny Hartley, Tod Haskell, Dave Jensen, Johnson, Josh, Buck Masters, Old Ben, Sam Randel, Richards, Rusty, Steve, Lydia Talbot, Tiny Telson, Joey Thompson, Tumbleweed, Jed Wilson, Sarah Wilson, Zeb

Enemies: Franco Aldex, Bardello, Handy Bartlett, Jim Blake, Cactus Joe, Ace Cassell, Pete Conners, Bull Clanton, John Dabney, Dawson, Ace Dorman, Durango, Mr. Emerson, Fargo Kid, Gus, Hank Forbes, Wolf Garson, Jake Hanson, Nate Hawkins, Hobe, Jed, Blackjack Jepson, Jesse, Jesse Jessup, Lars Johnson, Kansas, Red Lannigan, Hoot Larrabee, Mr. Lathrop, Ross Leggett, Tom Lockridge, Lusto, Joe Mackey, Guy Mahler, Snip Marra, Luke Matson, Hank McCoy, Killer McCray, Alonzo Miles, Bat Miller, Morton, Oakhurst, Jesse Olins, One-Eye, Pete, Rance, Rip, Rosa, Shorty Sammins, Jeff Saunders, the Shuffler, Ira Stone, Rick Walton

Known Relatives: Jane (sister), Durango (brother-in-law), Peter (cousin's son), Letty (cousin), Frank (cousin's husband)

Aliases: The Sheriff, "Al," "Dave"

Base of Operations: Red Dog, western USA;
    formerly Dodge City, Kansas, USA; Texas, USA

First Appearance: (as the Sheriff) Two-Gun Kid I#1 (1948);
    (as Blaze Carson) Blaze Carson I#1 (September, 1948)

Powers/Abilities: Blaze was an exceptional marksman with his gun and could shoot guns from the hands of his opponents. Blaze was an able horse rider and tracker. He was also a sharp-witted crime investigator.

    Perhaps his greatest skill was his ability to reason with adversaries and resolve conflicts non-violently. In his gun collection, Blaze owned a Colt muzzle loading .44 caliber cap and ball dragoon pistol, a Colt frontier model .45 caliber single-action breech loader, a 30-30 Winchester carbine and a Colt single shot derringer pistol.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 170 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown (or reddish-brown)

History:
(Blaze Carson I#1 (fb)) - Blaze Carson grew up in Texas. As a young cowboy, he was working for rancher Dean Hart on a cattle drive along the Chisholm Trail. After a long and dangerous trip, he arrived at Dodge City and saw the gunfighter Killer McCray murder the town marshal. Another townsperson told him McCray was carrying the gun which had belonged to Billy the Kid and legend claimed whoever used the Kid's gun couldn't be beaten in a gunfight. Dean Hart informed Blaze that someone had killed two of the other cattle hands and stampeded their cattle. Dean suggested they find the marshal but Blaze informed him the marshal had just been killed. Dean identified McCray as the one who killed his men. McCray opened fire on both of them, killing Dean and creasing Blaze's skull with a bullet. When Blaze recovered, he learned one of his bullets had killed McCray. The people of Dodge City asked him to be their new marshal and offered him the legendary Billy the Kid gun as his weapon. For weeks, Blaze served as marshal and bested everyone he faced in a gunfight but he continued to suffer headaches from the head injury he'd suffered. When he heard a Texas syndicate was bringing $100,000 in gold through Dodge City, he began to scheme how he could steal the gold for himself. However, when he came to steal the gold from its safe, he found a gang of men already robbing it. Angrily, Blaze attacked them and in the fight, he suffered another bullet to the head. When Blaze awoke, he had forgotten everything that had happened since the previous head injury. Once he was back on his feet, Blaze decided it wasn't Billy the Kid's gun that altered his personality but his own sick mind being influenced by the sight of the gun. He hurled the gun into an arroyo then rode away from Dodge City.

(Wild Western I#3/5 (fb)) - Blaze's sister Jane married Durango. When Jane became deathly ill, Durango ran out on her. Blaze visited Jane on her deathbed and she made him promise that, although he hated Durango, he would never harm him because she had loved him. Blaze promised this and Jane died moments later.

(Two-Gun Kid I#1/2) - Bat Miller was always beating his horse, which upset Blaze Carson. When Bat robbed a bank, the horse flung him from the saddle and trampled him, leaving him for Blaze to arrest.

(Two-Gun Kid I#2/3) - A masked rustler shot the cattle rancher Ralph Thompson dead and Dwight Emerson, son of the town banker, was the top suspect. After the town reporter Cunningham wrote a story suggesting Dwight was responsible, the gang raided his office nearly killed him. Finally, Blaze brought a posse to catch the gang in the midst of rustling. Blaze shot the leader of the rustlers, unmasking him as Emerson's father.

(Kid Colt I#1/4) - Rancher Buck Masters accused Dan Brewster of killing his cattle but Carson repeatedly prevented Masters from using violence against Buck. Ultimately, it proved to be a mountain lion that had been killing the cattle. After Dan killed the animal, he finally won Buck's approval.

(Tex Morgan I#1/3) - Blaze's friend Jed Hawkins thought his son Nate was a coward when his stagecoach was robbed but he was actually in league with the robbers. When Jed took Nate's place on the stage, Nate betrayed his friends to save his father and the other bandits killed him. Dying, Nate confessed everything to Blaze, who promised not to tell Jed.

(Two-Gun Kid I#3/3) - Lars Johnson claimed his stagecoach had been robbed but Blaze realized Lars was himself the thief. Blaze offered to ride shotgun with Lars and secretly emptied Lars' gun. When the stagecoach reached a secluded spot, Lars tried to kill Blaze, only to find his gun empty. Blaze arrested him.

(Wild Western I#3/5) - Cactus Joe started making trouble in the Lone Eagle saloon and the townsfolk summoned the sheriff. Although Cactus Joe was armed, Blaze defeated him with his fists. When the onlookers called him brave, he demurred, claiming what he'd done wasn't brave. Days later, Durango came to town and started trouble in the Lone Eagle. When the sheriff recognized him, he refused to fight back because of the promise he'd made to his sister. No matter how Durango escalated his misbehavior, Blaze refused to break his promise to his sister. However, when Durango took Blaze's photograph of Jane and shot it with his pistol, Blaze finally lost his temper and attacked Durango, shooting him in the right hand then ordering him to leave town and never return. Blaze explained his history with Durango to the townsfolk and noted that as he had wrecked Durango's hand, he'd learn what it truly meant to have "faith in the gun."

(Blaze Carson I#1) - After the young gunfighter Jeff Saunders killed a man with Billy the Kid's gun, Blaze told Jeff about how "Dave" obtained that gun and it altered his personality, making him vicious until he threw it away. Unknown to Jeff, the "Dave" in Carson's story was himself. Impressed by Blaze's story, Jeff gave up the gun. Blaze was left facing the same gun he had thrown away 10 years earlier. Once again, he hurled it into an arroyo and hoped this time it would remain buried.

(Blaze Carson I#1/2) - The gambler Ace Cassell and gunfighter Snip Marra tried to steal Johnny Butler's horse Midnight by disguising its appearance but Blaze recognized the horse and returned it to Butler.

(Blaze Carson I#1/4) - Ellamay Cribble asked Blaze to find her missing pig. Blaze agreed, as he'd vowed to fight all kinds of outlaws. The culprit was Alonzo Miles, an outlaw in hiding who was desperate for food. Blaze caught Miles and even got to eat the pig when Ellamay served it up as a roast pork dinner.

(Blaze Carson I#1/5) - When Blaze tried to prevent Hobe from robbing a stagecoach, Hobe shot Blaze, seemingly hitting him in the heart. However, the bullet bounced off Blaze's sheriff badge, saving his life. Hobe was frightened by Blaze's survival, making it easy for Blaze to outfight and arrest him.

(Tex Taylor I#1/3) - After seeing gunman Hank Forbes hassle the prospector Old Ben for his gold, Blaze followed Ben from a distance as he went to his gold strike. Hank Forbes followed Ben into the desert to find Ben's gold strike and rob him but Hank's men turned on each other and killed one another until the last man, Jesse, came begging to Old Ben for water. When he tried to kill Ben, Blaze swiftly killed Jesse.

(Blaze Carson I#2) - John and Mary Hankin's cattle were rustled in the night but Blaze followed the tracks of the rustlers to Hoot Larrabee's ranch and brought along a calf, which recognized its mother in Hoot's stall. Blaze roughed up Hoot until he let the stolen cattle go free.

(Blaze Carson I#2/2) - Blaze caught Joe Mackey as he escaped from a bank holdup. To set Joe straight, Blaze told the story of how Joe's uncle Al became a stage robber and murdered Connie, the woman Joe's father loved. Joe decided to give up being an outlaw.

(Blaze Carson I#2/4) - Ross Leggett announced that he had taken over Sam Randel's job as town banker and he began forcing people to pay their mortgages or be killed. Blaze discovered Sam Randel was actually being held prisoner in his own bank and freed him, killing Ross.

(Tex Taylor I#2/3) - After Jesse Jessup was broken out of prison, Blaze went looking for him but found Jesse dead in the desert. Returning to town, Blaze found the town banker Lathrop riling up the townsfolk against him due to a spate of robberies. When Lathrop identified Jesse as the killer, Blaze surmised Lathrop set Jesse free to cover up robberies he had been performing. When Blaze confronted Lathrop, Lathrop drew a gun and Blaze shot him.

(Two-Gun Kid I#4/4) - Tod Haskell was wanted for robbery and Blaze fought him when he drew his gun during a game of poker. After besting him in a fist fight, Blaze ordered Tod stay out of town. When Tod's fiancee Lydia Talbot came to town and Blaze heard about their romance, he helped clear Tod's name by proving he was no longer wanted for robbery and insisted the two get married.

(Blaze Carson I#3) - While being challenged in the sheriff's election by John Dabney, Blaze had to tend to his cousin Letty's bratty son Peter, who was determined to be an artist when he grew up instead of "a no-good lazy sheriff!" Peter defaced one of Dabney's posters by drawing a beard on him and Blaze recognized Dabney as the outlaw Jesse Douglas. Dabney drew a gun on Blaze but Blaze shot him in the shoulder. Blaze ordered a big box of crayons, paints and pencils for Peter.

(Blaze Carson I#3/2) - Blaze had his own posse chase him into the outlaw town Owl Hoot Gap so he could masquerade as an outlaw. When the town boss Oakhurst learned Blaze's true identity, he ordered he be executed but Blaze's posse rescued him. During a gunfight in the hills, Oakhurst ran out of bullets and jumped to his death rather than be killed by Blaze, not knowing Blaze had likewise run out of ammunition.

(Blaze Carson I#3/4) - While Blaze was out of town, Red Lannigan and Shorty Sammins played tricks on his elderly deputy Tumbleweed, claiming the bank was being robbed. The third time, they actually were robbing the bank but it took Tumbleweed time to realize it wasn't a trick. Fortunately, Blaze returned in time to help Tumbleweed catch the crooks.

(Wild Western I#5/5) - Tired of being laughed at, Pete Davis finally snapped and fired off his guns, wounding the dancer Carmen. Fleeing into the wild, Pete met up with Jake Hanson and joined his gang. When Blaze went to the wild in search of Pete, Pete tried to ambush and kill him but Blaze feigned injury. When Pete came closer, Blaze revealed he was alive then told Pete that Carmen was only lightly wounded. Pete helped Blaze capture Jake Hanson's gang but Pete died heroically killing Jake, proving he wasn't a coward.

(Blaze Carson I#4) - While Blaze was suffering from a toothache, Hoab Halliday of the Sure-Shot saloon made a deal with the outlaw Blackjack Jepson to rob a stage but Blackjack turned on Hoab after the robbery and killed him for all of the money. Blackjack mistook Blaze's toothache medicine for liquor and drank it prior to a gunfight with Blaze then died because the medicine was too potent.

(Blaze Carson I#4/2) - When sailor Jack Carstairs was attacked by Hank McCoy, Hank's gun went off and Hank seemingly killed himself. Jack wound up hiding out in Red Dog when he discovered Hank was alive and posing as Chet Bradley. Jack told his story to Blaze and Tumbleweed. Hank murdered his business partner Asher Hobart and tried to pin that death on Jack but Blaze wasn't fooled and, in a gunfight, killed Hank.

(Blaze Carson I#4/text) - After Red Dog's bank was robbed by the Wolf Garson gang, Blaze and Tumbleweed formed a posse to pursue them. They found the gang hiding inside a hay wagon. When Blaze threatened to throw lit torches on the hay, Wolf Garson drew his gun on him but Blaze shot him. The rest of the gang surrendered.

(Blaze Carson I#4/4) - Rick Walton was constantly cheating customers at his casino, ignoring Blaze's warning that if he caught him cheating, he'd shut down the casino. One of Walton's gunmen drew his gun on Blaze, forcing Blaze to shoot him. Another of Walton's men drew on Blaze just as Tiny Telson entered the casino looking for a drink. Sizing up the situation, Tiny broke the gunman's hand, ending the violence. When Walton cheated Tiny Telson in a poker game, Tiny threw a giant fit and wrecked most of the building. Blaze was so impressed by Tiny that he swore him in as a deputy.

(Tex Taylor I#4/3) - Men tried to frighten Jed Wilson off his land with threatening messages so they could get at the oil hidden there but Blaze caught the irritants.

(Tex Morgan I#5/3) - Trying to impress his girlfriend Smoky, Kansas killed the prospector Luke for his money, only to discover Luke had none. Kansas told Blaze that Luke must have been killed by the Fargo Kid but after Blaze killed the Fargo Kid and compared the Kid's bullets to those which killed Luke, he realized Kansas had killed Luke and arrested him.

(Two-Gun Kid I#7/3) - After prospector Jake Miller was killed, Carson hunted for the murderers and determined that another prospector, Guy Mahler, was the killer because he had paid for flowers for Miller's funeral using gold dust which definitely came from Miller's claim. Mahler and his confederate Pete Conners were arrested.

(Wild Western I#6/2) - Luke Matson committed robberies in Red Dog then hid at Silas Carvell's farm, having convinced poor people that he was a "Robin Hood" thief. After Luke derailed a train for one robbery, Blaze invaded the farm to get Luke. After Luke threatened Silas' wife, he finally realized Blaze was right about Matson. Luke and his entire gang were killed in a shootout with Blaze and Silas.

(Tex Taylor I#5/2) - Ace Dorman framed Blaze for the murder of Harry Grayson and visiting government marshal Jay Kenton was forced to arrest Blaze. Blaze escaped jail and forced Ace's cohort Bull Glanton to confess that Ace was the killer. Blaze confronted Ace and killed him.

(Kid Colt Outlaw I#5/2) - The town bank was robbed but Blaze figured out the banker Morton had engineered the robbery himself to disguise how he'd been stealing from his own bank. Morton was arrested.

(Wild Western I#7/4) - The philandering Shad Dayton was killed while seeing Millie McQuade. Blaze realized the Mexican gambler Franco Aldex killed him because Shad had paid a gambling debt with a brooch of Viola Dayton's without realizing what it was worth. Franco died in a gunfight with Blaze.

(Blaze Carson I#5) - When reports of cattle rustling reached Red Dog, Tumbleweed suspected the former rustler Dave Jensen was the culprit but Blaze discovered rancher Tom Lockridge was the leader of the rustlers and had counted on using Jensen's reputation to throw suspicion off him. Fleeing from Blaze, Tom fell before a herd of cattle and was trampled to death.

(Blaze Carson I#5/text) - The outlaw Jim Blake kidnapped Tumbleweed and held him hostage at Nate's Gambling Hall in order to ambush Blaze Carson there. Blaze rescued Tumbleweed and killed Blake in a gunfight.

(Blaze Carson I#5/3) - Teenager Johnny Baxter held horses for two men who proved to be bank robbers and were killed. To ensure Johnny stayed away from crime, Blaze told a story about himself as a young man and how he turned against his partner Keno Forbes during a bank robbery. Once Johnny was convinced by the story, Blaze admitted to Tumbleweed that he had made up the entire tale.

(Two-Gun Kid I#8/3) - While Bardello the magician entertained the town with tricks, Lusto the strongman robbed the Wells Fargo wagon. Blaze grew suspicious and confronted the entertainers before they could leave town. When the performers attacked him, Blaze fought them and arrested them.

(Tex Taylor I#6/3) - Ira Stone the banker killed Will Stebbins and tried to frame Diamond Gamer the gambling house owner to avoid detection of his own crimes but Blaze surmised Stone was the killer and shot him dead when Stone drew on him.

(Two-Gun Kid I#9/5) - When the gambler Shuffler heard Ace and Jem Hartley didn't get along, he had his gunman Dawson kill Ace so the murder would be pinned on Jem but Blaze suspected the truth and investigated further, arresting Jem but preventing the town from lynching him. The town doctor couldn't tell what kind of gun killed Ace, which was suspicious, as Dawson insisted Ace had been killed by someone with a .44. Blaze set Jem free and he angrily fought with Dawson, who finally confessed that he had killed Ace on the Shuffler's behalf. Blaze arrested the Shuffler then relaxed with the town doctor as they mused over the good work they had done.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and unidentified artist.

    His first several appearances are as "the Sheriff," only using his name Blaze Carson from Blaze Carson I#1 forward. The two do appear to be the same man, as they were sheriff of the same town and wore the same distinctive outfit (although Speed Larson also wore the same clothing as Blaze in his sole appearance, Whip Wilson I#11-- published a year after Blaze's final appearance).

    It's unusual for a Marvel western hero - especially a 1940s one - to solve problems non-violently. Did you notice how many times he resolved matters by telling someone a story (particularly the stories published in his own book)? For that reason, Blaze really stands out from his contemporaries.

    In Wild Western I#3/5, his sister Jane called him "Al" in a flashback. This was before he'd been identified by name as Blaze.

    The text story in Blaze Carson I#5 is inspired by the scene depicted on that issue's cover.

    Blaze Carson was also featured in a mini-comic giveaway in 1950; the story inside was a reprint of the story from Tex Taylor I#4.

    This profile was completed on 11/20/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Blaze Carson should not be confused with:

Tiny Telson

Tiny Telson was a very large man. One night, he wandered into Rick Walton's casino for a drink just as Blaze Carson was in the midst of a gun battle with Walton's hired men. Tiny grabbed one of the gunmen and broke his hand so he wouldn't fire his gun. Tiny asked for a root beer and to join in a poker game at the casino, ignoring Blaze's warning that many other men had been cheated in the casino. When Tiny caught Walton cheating at the game, he launched into a rampage, smashing up the casino with his bare hands. Impressed by Tiny's strength, Blaze asked him to be his deputy until his usual deputy Tumbleweed returned.





--Blaze Carson I#4/4

Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed was an elderly man in Red Dog who used to be the target of pranks by other townspeople. He tended to tell long, rambling stories about his exploits, claiming to have met famous outlaws such as Billy the Kid. Soon after Blaze Carson made him his deputy, Blaze left Red Dog to investigate a robbery in Sagebrush. The robbers, Red Lannigan and Shorty Sammins, targeted the bank in Red Dog while Blaze was absent but started by tricking Tumbleweed, repeatedly spreading word the bank was being robbed so that when they actually did rob it, they thought Tumbleweed would think it was another prank. However, Blaze returned by the time of the actual robbery and with Tumbleweed's help prevented the robbery. Tumbleweed assisted Blaze in many other cases.

Tumbleweed was exceptionally clumsy and tended to drop his pistol when he drew it from his holster.





--Blaze Carson I#3/4 (#4, #4/2, #4/text, Tex Morgan I#5/3, Blaze Carson I#5, #5/text, #5/3,

images: (without ads)
Blaze Carson I#4, pin-up (Blaze, main)
Blaze Carson I#1, page 1, panel 1 (Blaze, face)
Blaze Carson I#5, cover (Blaze in action)
Blaze Carson I#4/4, page 2, panel 6 (Tiny)
Tex Morgan I#5/3, page 1, panel 2 (Tumbleweed)

Appearances:
Two-Gun Kid I#1/2 (1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Two-Gun Kid I#2/3 (June, 1948) - unidentified writer, Mike Becker (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Kid Colt I#1/4 (August, 1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Tex Morgan I#1/3 (August, 1948) - unidentified writer, Mike Becker (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Two-Gun Kid I#3/3 (August, 1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#3/5 (September, 1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Blaze Carson I#1-2 (September-November, 1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Tex Taylor I#1-2 (September-November, 1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Two-Gun Kid I#4/4 (October, 1948) - unidentified writer, unidentified penciler, Chu F. Hing (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Blaze Carson I#3 (January, 1949) - unidentified writer, Pierce Rice (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#5/5 (January, 1949) - unidentified writer, Dick Rockwell (artist), Pierce Rice (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Blaze Carson I#4-5 (March-June, 1949) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Tex Taylor I#4-5 (March-May, 1949) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#6/2 (March, 1949) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)
Tex Morgan I#5/3 (April, 1949) - unidentified writer, Pierce Rice (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Two-Gun Kid I#7/3 (April, 1949) - unidentified writer, King Ward (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Kid Colt Outlaw I#5/2 (May, 1949) - unidentified writer, Gene Colan (penciler), Mike Becker (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#7/4 (May, 1949) - unidentified writer, Martin Nodell (penciler), Stan Lee (editor)
Two-Gun Kid I#8/3 (June, 1949) - unidentified writer, Pierce Rice (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Tex Taylor I#6/3 (July, 1949) - unidentified writer, Mike Becker (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Two-Gun Kid I#9/5 (August, 1949) - unidentified writer, unidentified artist, Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 09/13/2026
Last updated: 04/21/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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