The Masked Raider is an alias of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The original character went by the name of Jim Gardley and appeared in comic books published during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books , he was created by writer and artist Al Anders . Jim Gardley was a gunslinger and former rancher active during the American frontier . He was one of the few individuals that held the Eternity Mask for a short period, and succeeded by Dirk Mehler . In Marvel Comics #1000, it was revealed how the Golden Age Masked Raider died and a new character, initially unnamed but later unidentified as Carlo Zota , had taken up the name, also in possession of the Eternity Mask.
24-522: Created by writer-artist Al Anders , Jim Gardley first appeared in the Timely Comics ' anthology series Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), and ran through issue #12 (Oct. 1940) of the by-then retitled Marvel Mystery Comics . The first Western character published by Timely, the predecessor of Marvel Comics , the Masked Raider is Jim Gardley, who with his horse Lightning dedicates his life to fighting
48-406: A 2022 storyline, his name was revealed to be Carlo Zota , a known mad scientist and supervillain that was involved in the creation of Adam Warlock . In American Comic Book Chronicles , Kurt Mitchell and Roy Thomas write that the Masked Raider is "a lifeless Lone Ranger imitation." First appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to
72-484: A new series titled Masked Raider would be published in 2020 with the new hero. However, no series was ever published. In 2022, his name was revealed to be "Carlo Zota", a long-time supervilain. Jim Gardley was a cattle rancher in Arizona who in 1849 was falsely accused of cattle rustling, forcing him to go on the run. He took up the mantle of the Masked Raider to clear his name. Under undisclosed circumstances, Gardley found
96-431: A newly introduced character mysterious until a "secret origin" issue. Some fans consider this a gimmick and prefer the older method. The artistic merit of many first appearances is debatable. The events portrayed in most famous first appearances are continuously retconed , rebooted and/or expanded upon by subsequent writers. Like many golden and silver age comics, first appearances often become dated and do not fit
120-504: Is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out" from its competitors. Product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties , and tangential to the product's functioning. Gimmicks are occasionally viewed negatively, but some seemingly trivial gimmicks of the past have evolved into useful, permanent features. In video games , the term is also sometimes used to describe unusual features or playstyles, especially if they are unnecessary or obnoxious. The origin of
144-402: Is often done in an attempt to appeal to children , who are often more interested in the gimmick than the product. Musicians often adopt visual gimmicks that do not affect their music. Slash 's top hat , Angus Young 's schoolboy uniform , makeup used by KISS , and deadmau5 's mouse helmet are examples of such gimmicks. Gimmicks within a musical context are also a central characteristic of
168-402: Is widely considered to have solidified, if not created, the superhero archetype; therefore, his first appearance is not only important to fans of the character but to fans of superheroes and comic books as a whole. Well-preserved copies of Action Comics #1 have been sold at auction for record-breaking prices. A copy graded at 8.0 ("very fine") on the 10-point scale typically used by collectors
192-494: The Certified Collectibles Group (see below): While seemingly a simple concept, determining the first appearance may be complex. The following are instances in which a character's first appearance may be difficult to determine: Gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing , it
216-505: The Golden Age Human Torch but is more noteworthy as the first comic book published by industry giant Marvel Comics . It can take many years for a character to attain sufficient popularity after their first appearance to be considered "iconic." By the point a character reaches that level of popularity, it is common for few copies of their first appearance issues to remain. Furthermore, even fewer of those remaining copies will be in
240-465: The novelty song . The McDonald's 1984 Olympics promotion offered free McDonald's food to U.S. customers if the United States won medals in specific events at the 1984 Summer Olympics . Due to the boycott by many nations that had won many medals in prior Olympiads, the U.S. teams won significantly more medals than McDonald's had expected them to, causing shortages at some restaurants. In 1992,
264-554: The British division of The Hoover Company launched a disastrous promotional campaign which promised free airline tickets to purchasers of its appliances. The division lost £50 million as a result and was eventually sold. In 1997, certain Polish tobacco companies were using young sales representatives , traveling around in flashy company branded vehicles, to work clubs and venues where they gave away free cigarettes to patrons as part of
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#1732849142839288-487: The Eternity Mask, a fragment of the cosmic entity Eternity which grants those who wear it powers equal to whomever they face. In 1880, Gardley is attacked and mortally wounded by unknown assailants. He is found by Dr. Matt Masters, who is also the masked hero Black Rider , and dies in front of him, when he retired the mask from his face, trying to assist him medically. Masters takes the Eternity Mask and decides to search for
312-520: The Masked Raider mantle and was in the possession of Eternity Mask, a powerful mask that various characters over the course of history have worn (Jim Gardley wearing the Eternity Mask instead of a normal mask was a retcon in Marvel Comics #1000, to tie various disparate parts of Marvel continuity together). The yet-unnamed superhero reappeared in the Incoming! one-shot. Marvel Comics announced in 2019 that
336-402: The character. Marvel Comics ' "Essential" line has become popular by giving readers an affordable glimpse into characters' early history. Historically, first appearances tell the origin story for the character, although some, such as Batman and Green Goblin , remained dubious figures for several issues. Modern writers prefer to tell a character's origin across an entire story arc or keep
360-474: The first issue to feature a fictional character . These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Collectors value first appearances for their rarity and historical value, while many regular readers are interested in viewing how their favorite characters were originally portrayed. Reprints of first appearances are often published, both as single comic books and in trade paperbacks , usually with other early appearances of
384-500: The killers. In the modern day, an unidentified individual finds the Eternity Mask. Operating anonymously, he approached and interacted with several superheroes, while investigating the activities of the mysterious Enclave, such as their efforts to revive Korvac. In his investigation, the Masked Raider finds a mysterious murder case, but determining it to not be the Enclave's work he instead draw New York's superheroes attention to it. In
408-511: The lawless and bringing justice to the oppressed. He is unrelated to the Charlton Comics series Billy the Kid , which for its first eight issues was titled Masked Raider . In the milestone issue Marvel Comics #1000, the comic aimed to celebrate the long history of Marvel Comics, in which it was shown that the long-forgotten original character had died and a new legacy character had taken up
432-510: The modern portrayal of the character. However, some first appearances are considered classics. 1990s-era Spider-Man writer Howard Mackie said that his favorite story featuring the character was his first appearance and origin story in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), stating that writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko "gave us everything we needed, I wanted or could ask for in the least possible space. Every single person who retells
456-408: The origin never improves on the original, they simply expand it." First appearances of popular characters are among the most valuable comic books in existence. Of the "ten most valuable comic books" listed in the spring 2002 issue of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide , seven are first appearances of popular superheroes . Another, Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939), is the first appearance of
480-785: The pristine condition prized by collectors. What few remain can be worth thousands of dollars to interested collectors. For example, in 2004, a copy of Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), the first appearance of The Flash , was auctioned for $ 42,000 and a copy of Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), the first appearance of Captain America sold for $ 64,400. In 2010, another copy of Flash Comics #1 sold privately for $ 450,000. The first appearance of Superman , Action Comics #1 (June 1938), has been regarded as " holy grail " of comic books, due to its cultural significance and rarity (fewer than one hundred copies are thought to exist). Superman
504-446: The term "gimmick" is uncertain. Etymologists suggest that the term emerged in the United States in the early 20th century. The Oxford Dictionary suggests that it may have originally been a slang term for something that a con artist or magician manipulated to make appearances different from reality, and which gradually changed its meaning to refer to any ‘piece of magicians' apparatus’. The word itself may be an approximate anagram of
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#1732849142839528-593: The use of gimmicks can be an important part of the sales promotions effort. However, finding a successful gimmick for an otherwise mundane product can be challenging, as it requires some effort to match the promotional objectives with the gimmick, and select items which will ideally contribute to enduring brand recall. Many different types of gimmicks are used in sales promotion and product design. For example, toothbrushes are often given certain gimmicks, such as bright colors, easy-grip handles, or color-changing bristles, in order to appear more interesting to consumers . This
552-455: The word magic . The term gimmick may also have resulted from alteration to the word gimcrack , which refers to a showy object of little use or value. Another possible origin is that it may have come into use among gaming tables , where it came to refer to "a device used for making a fair game crooked". The term first appeared in American newspapers in the 1910s and 1920s. In marketing,
576-493: Was sold at auction for $ 1,000,000 in 2010. Even a copy graded at a much lower 5.5 ("fine minus") sold for $ 956,000 in 2016. Shortly after the record-breaking million-dollar sale of Action Comics #1 in 2010, a copy of Detective Comics #27 featuring the first appearance of Batman was sold for $ 1,075,000 in a Heritage auction. Several factors determine the value of a first appearance. Note: All values are according to ComicsPriceGuide.com and are for editions certified by
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