Red Ryder is a Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman which served as the basis for a wide array of character merchandising.

At the time, Slesinger had scripted a new comic strip called Red Ryder and was seeking an outstanding Western artist with knowledge of authentic period details and who had a natural gift for drawing scenes from dramatic perspectives.

[2] Astride his mighty steed Thunder, Red was a tough cowpoke who lived on Painted Valley Ranch during the 1890s [3] in the Blanco Basin of the San Juan Mountain Range, with his aunt, the Duchess, and his juvenile Native-American sidekick, Little Beaver, who rode his horse, Papoose, when they took off to deal with the bad guys.

Other notable characters were Red's girlfriend, Beth Wilder, arch enemy Ace Hanlon, and ranch hand Buckskin Blodgett.

Contributing artists and writers worked in Stephen Slesinger, Inc's New York studio and contributed to Red Ryder over the years, including Jim Gary, Edmund Good, John Wade ("Johnnie") Hampton, Robert MacLeod, and Bill Lignanti (of The Palm restaurant fame), Gaylord Du Bois (wrote scripts, circa 1939-1940), and Stephen Slesinger who drew detailed storyboards and scripted and approved all of the stories until he died in 1953, when Shirley Slesinger stepped into her husband's shoes, working closely with Bill Lignanti and Jay Rowland.

Charlie Dye, Johnnie Hampton, Joe Beeler, and George Phippen were co-founders of the Cowboy Artists of America, of which Harman was also a charter member.

From 1954 to 1984, under an exclusive licensing agreement with Red Ryder Enterprises, Inc., Novaro distributed 474 regular editions plus extras and specials in 21 countries and territories.

Mutual and Langendorf continued the series on the West Coast Don Lee Network through the 1940s at 7:30 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, always with the familiar organ theme, "The Dying Cowboy" ("Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie").

The continuing characters of the comic strip were also found in the radio series, produced by Brad Brown with writer-director Paul Franklin and writer Albert Van Antwerp.

Subsequently, Wild Bill Elliott and Allan "Rocky" Lane portrayed Red Ryder in several films, both working with Robert Blake as Little Beaver.

Both Bannon and Lane filmed pilots for a Red Ryder television series, created by Stephen Slesinger, but neither version was picked up by a network.

Red Ryder toys; novelties; gifts; accessories; sporting goods; and rugged outdoor, work, and play clothing were sold nationwide and exported by leading North American manufacturers to Europe, Latin America, and as far as Egypt, India, and Japan.

In addition to educational and sportsmanship contests, special events, and personal appearances, they supplied Red Ryder brand rugged clothing for men and boys.

The story revolves around the author's childhood memories and a boy trying to get a "Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle BB gun with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time" for Christmas.