It ran 46 issues, taking over the numbering of a previous series, Western Tales of Black Rider, beginning with #32 (cover-dated Dec.

With the change to Gunsmoke Western, the series began starring Kid Colt, drawn by its longtime artist Jack Keller.

The lesser-known Atlas frontiersman character Billy Bucksin served as a backup feature for three issues, with anthological Western stories in-between.

A wide range of artists drew the interior stories, with multiples drawn by artists including Keller, Kirby, Severin, Dick Ayers, Gene Colan, Don Heck, and Al Williamson, and at least two each by Matt Baker, Mort Drucker, Angelo Torres, George Tuska, and Doug Wildey, among others.

Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, outside his normal realm of superhero and fantasy tales, drew one Gunsmoke Western story, "The Escape of Yancy Younger", written by Lee, in issue #66 (Sept.