[Monsai52]

Last week I was going through a file of old paperwork and came upon a Rick O'Shay comic strip that I'd cut out of the paper back in 1975. I hadn't seen it or thought about the strip in years; I set it aside thinking that it might make an interesting post on the forum. Then earlier this week I was listening to NPR and there was a report that Stan Lynde had died, and they had a short story about him and his strip. Then I see that Colt Forum started a new Single Action Army forum, and thought what a perfect match; it happened that the one comic that I cut out was the one where Hipshot Percussion, the local gunfighter, traded his pair of '51 Navies for a new pair of SAAs.

Anyway, it was one of my favorites growing up, and I imagine also for some of the other "mature" members of the forum. Enjoy.

Best regards,

 

[WIL TERRY]

THIS is interesting. I never heard of Stan Lynde nor his comic strip "Rick O'Shay". That is a very clever name too. Just asked Judy and she has never heard of them either.
I have read newspapers since I was six years old and none of 'em had that comic strip. I should now go sue somebody !!!
And so it goes...

 

[Monsai52]

The strip ran from the mid late '50s through around '78. Rick O'Shay was the sheriff and his pal the "notorious" Hipshot Percussion, the local gunsmith was Cap'n. Ball.

Stan Lynde and the strip were at least well enough known nationally for NPR to spend a few minutes covering them. I grew up with the LA Times around the house and it was a staple on the comics page for years.

Best regards,

 

[ralph7]

Here's an old guy that remembers the strip. It was probably among my top five favorite strips from back in the day.
Bet I read every one of them!
RIP, Stan.

 

[BigG]

I remember the Rick O'Shay strip. Great memories. Thanks for posting it for us!

 

[carbone131]

Thank you for posting.
"Rick O'Shay" Was the nick name of a fellow shooter that passed last November.
Memories
The best to you.
Jim

 

[MtnSpur]

THIS is interesting. I never heard of Stan Lynde nor his comic strip "Rick O'Shay". That is a very clever name too. Just asked Judy and she has never heard of them either.
I have read newspapers since I was six years old and none of 'em had that comic strip. I should now go sue somebody !!!
And so it goes...

Unless you lived under a rock, in a bunker or some Third World nation I can't believe you'd never read the funny papers with "Rick O'Shay" usually but one or 2 strips down from "Dennis The Menice" and "Dick Tracy". Nationally syndicated it was a coast to coast deal. My grandpa's favorite part of the paper was "the funny pages" as he called them because it made him smile.

 

[Frank V]

I used to read it too!!!

 

[Colt-SL]

So glad you resurrected that memory for me!

I religiously read the strip every day; it was my favorite until I moved and the local paper did not carry it.

Speaking of religion; I always enjoyed Hipshot's Sunday routine. While Rick would attend church with the other townspeople, Hipshot sat on his horse overlooking the Sunday sunrise and gave his thanks to the man upstairs without the benefit of a clergical middleman.

 

[Colt-SL]

Just unearthed this sad, related news: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/a...f-rick-oshay-comic-strip-dies-at-81.html?_r=0

 

[BigG]

I just realized Rick O'Shay is not even in the strip posted. He was a blond guy with a white hat.

 

[Javichin1991]

Unless you lived under a rock, in a bunker or some Third World nation I can't believe you'd never read the funny papers with "Rick O'Shay" usually but one or 2 strips down from "Dennis The Menice" and "Dick Tracy". Nationally syndicated it was a coast to coast deal. My grandpa's favorite part of the paper was "the funny pages" as he called them because it made him smile.

I have not been living under a rock, nor in a bunker and to my knowledge, Europe (Where I came from) is not a third world continent, and I can asure you that I have never read "Rick O'Shay" .

Said that, "Rick O'Shay" looks really cool! Monsai52, thanks for sharing!

 

[MtnSpur]

Perhaps I should have included Europe/SE Asia/Australia etc etc. My apologies. Coast to Coast has typically meant Atlantic Ocean coastline to Pacific Ocean coastline United States landmass.

 

[rayb]

All I know is I enjoyed the Rick O'Shay strip very much and missed it when it was not available and/or no longer published.

rayb

 

[Colt-SL]

I have not been living under a rock, nor in a bunker and to my knowledge, Europe (Where I came from) is not a third world continent, and I can asure you that I have never read "Rick O'Shay" .

Said that, "Rick O'Shay" looks really cool! Monsai52, thanks for sharing!

It wasn't syndicated in very many papers. You can find books of the comic strip but they aren't cheap. The characters are well thought out and imaginative with flaws, faults and positive qualities. It's timeless entertainment fodder.

 

[David13]

Interesting.
I had seen this strip along with many others in the papers. But I never read more than one strip. And I never got around to Rick O'Shay.
I figured if I read more than one, I had to read them all. And I seldom had that much time.
dc

I do remember I used to read "Urge to Kill". That ended long long ago. It was one of my mother's favorites. Oh, Wimpy a few times. Popeye, maybe once or twice.
I don't remember any of them.
dc

 

[Thos]

Sorry to be showing up after the party is long over (been away from the electronic world), but want to share what was my favorite part of the Rick O'Shay episodes: each fall one of the Sunday strips would feature an elk hunt. The adult (Rick or Hipshot) would be carrying a Sharps rifle and the kid always had a trapdoor Springfield carbine. Made good sense, and the slick fork saddles, other tack, packs, clothing, cook gear, horses, and elk also looked just right. That episode often devoted a double-panel space to a panoramic mountain-park-stream-aspen-pine-scrub oak-elk-hunters scene: a salute to the call of the high country. That artist knew his stuff, and it always gave me the urge to gather my own gear.

 

[Colt-SL]

While this thread is back in discussion and since we're in the Single Action Army sub-forum, here's a question.

Is Hipshot Percussion, the strip's most revered character, toting Colt's? And are the stocks ivories?

 

[Monsai52]

IIRC, Hipshot always carried '51 Navies with ivory grips, until he switched over to the the SAAs after having gotten shot in a gunfight due to a misfire/malfunction with his percussion Navies.

Best regards,

 

[BobWright]

Like many others, I never heard of Rick O'Shay either. The cowboy comic strip in our paper was always Red Ryder. There was another for awhile, think it was Casey Ruggles?

And around our house the comic section was always known as "The Googles." this from Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.

Bob Wright