HAPPY HICKS
Real Name: Hicks (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human (Old West Era)
Occupation: Cook, occasional law enforcement officer (Texas Ranger);
formerly a full-time law enforcement official
Group Membership: Texas Rangers
Affiliations: Arizona Kid (Davy Laramee), Chief Cochise, Ham Coley, Major Cullen, Sheriff Heeney, Captain Cliff Macklin, Nan Macklin, Red Rand, Mr. Vanderpool, Mr. Whitney, Roy Wing, Senator Talley Wing
Enemies: Big Bear, Carl Butler, Bull Corbin, Creech Gang (Chili Charlie, Ox Creech, Crooked Wolf), Pete Fallon and his gang (Hank Bellew, Corby, Deuce), Marshal Sam Forbes, Frank Giles, the Hawk (Carl Sandstrom), Weasel Labrot, Slade, Clay Sobey
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Fort Houston, Prairie City, southern Texas, USA (late 1800s)
First Appearance: Arizona Kid I#1 (March, 1951)
Powers/Abilities: Although his principal job was to cook meals for the Texas Rangers, Happy was a decent tracker, horse rider and gunfighter.
Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 170 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Arizona Kid I#1) - Happy was a Texas Ranger who chose to retire from
action because he believed "He who lives by the gun, dies by the gun."
Instead, he became cook to the Texas Rangers at Fort Houston. When the
Arizona Kid joined the Texas Rangers, Happy welcomed him. After the
Rangers' successful mission against Bart Trager and his rustlers, Happy
prepared a meal for them; the hungry Rangers knocked Happy to the floor
in their haste to eat.
(Arizona Kid I#1/2) - After reports came of an Apache massacre at Apache Wells near Butler City, Major Cullen asked for volunteers to investigate. Happy volunteered to go on the assignment, saying that since the Arizona Kid joined, he had become interested in returning to active duty. Joining the Kid and Captain Macklin, the three Texas Rangers met Carl Butler, the founder of Butler City, and investigated his report but the Kid quickly found holes in Butler's story. The Kid led Macklin and Hicks to a meeting with Chief Cochise of the Apache. The Apaches thought the Rangers had come to cause trouble and tortured them by tying them up and firing arrows near to their bodies. The Arizona Kid challenged Chief Cochise to show he could fire better than he and finally impressed the chief into letting all three men go free. From conferring with the Apaches, the Kid determined Butler had his own men disguised as Apaches to perform the massacre. Hicks and Macklin fired their guns to make Butler's cattle stampede and trample Butler's men to death. The Kid turned Butler over to the Apaches to face their justice.
(Arizona Kid I#1/4) - Happy rode down to Juarez, Mexico to find the Arizona Kid and ride back to Fort Houston with him. Happy noted that the Kid was just parting from the lovely Juanita Corrida.
(Arizona Kid I#2) - The Kid, Macklin and Hicks were summoned by the Texas-Pacific Railroad Company to investigate the Comanche, who were killing their Chinese laborers. The Kid discovered that the man hiring the Chinese laborers, Frank Giles, was selling firearms and liquor to the Comanches, urging them to kill his Chinese laborers because he was paid according to the number of laborers he brought to the railroad. When Giles' duplicity was revealed, the Chinese men murdered him.
(Arizona Kid I#2/2) - Captain Macklin assigned Happy and the Arizona Kid to go to Hangtown and see that the recently-released convict Red Rand did no harm to Mayor Sobey. Happy had difficulty riding to Hangtown because his horse kept bucking him; he concluded he must have chosen the wrong horse. Arriving in Hangtown, the duo learned Mayor Sobey was dead and the townsfolk were about to lynch Red Rand. The Kid set Rand free and had Happy hide him while he investigated the murder. The Kid proved to Sheriff Heeney that the killer of Mayor Sobey was a left-handed man and that Rand was right-handed. Believing the mayor's nephew Clay Sobey was the killer, the Kid had Happy assist him in proving his theory. As the Kid confronted Clay and accused him, riling up his temper, Happy suddenly threw a gun to Clay. When Clay grasped it in his left hand, it proved he was left-handed. Clay admitted his crimes but the Kid told him the gun Happy threw was empty. The Kid pinned Clay to a door with his Bowie knife and left him for Sheriff Heeney to arrest. As the Kid and Happy rode back to Fort Houston, Happy confessed he had made another mistake: he threw the wrong gun to Clay - it actually was loaded!
(Arizona Kid I#3) - Happy went with the Kid and Cliff to Fort Lauderdale and saw Jim Bernard, the heavyweight champion of the world, as he disembarked from a boat. They watched as Bernard lost in a wrestling match against Big Bear, an Apache. When Big Bear then became the chief of his tribe and declared a warpath, Major Cullen sent the Kid, Cliff and Happy to defend the local homesteads. Davy attempted to stalk the Apache war party but the Rangers were discovered and taken prisoner. The Kid challenged Big Bear to a fight but when he began to win, Big Bear's white ally Weasel threw a knife at the Kid but the Kid ducked and the knife hit Big Bear, injuring him. The other Apaches killed Weasel and Big Bear realized he had been duped by Weasel all along and called off the warpath.
(Arizona Kid I#4) - Happy Hicks accompanied the other Texas Rangers as they went to Klamath Wells to make peace between the townsfolk and the nearby Apaches.
(Arizona Kid I#4/2) - Happy accompanied the Texas Rangers as they made camp near Cactus City. As Captain Macklin and the Arizona Kid went to meet Macklin's brother Kent, Happy was sent to escort Nan to a hotel in Cactus City. When Kent was then murdered and Macklin and the Kid framed for the crime by Marshal Sam Forbes, Happy went to the town jail and spoke to the two men through the window, promising that he would return to the camp and rouse Major Cullen and the others. Unfortunately, Happy was immediately caught and put in the jail by the marshal's men. Fortunately, the Kid broke the men out of the jail and they began to fight the marshal's men. During the fight, Happy's left arm was nicked and he complained they had hit his "frying pan arm." Major Cullen arrived to help rescue the Rangers and the Kid killed Marshal Forbes in a gunfight. Back at the camp, Happy was emptying out a bucket of water when he accidentally poured it over the Arizona Kid while he was talking to Nan. The sopping wet Arizona Kid began chasing Happy, ignoring Happy's reminders that he had an injured arm.
(Arizona Kid I#4/5) - After Cliff was badly wounded by the outlaw el Chivuto in San Antone, Major Cullen refused to let the Arizona Kid risk his life as part of the Rangers who would pursue the outlaw. When Happy saw that the Kid intended to disobey Cullen's orders, he suggested that, as cook, he needed more flour and the Kid should ride to San Antone to pick some up. Happy later rode to San Antone with Major Cullen and saw that the Kid had killed el Chivuto.
(Arizona Kid I#5/5) - While camped with the Rangers at Chapaqua Springs, Happy recognized Senator Talley Wing as he came to meet with Major Cullen and identified the senator to Cliff and the Arizona Kid. Major Cullen ordered Happy to join Cliff and the Kid to help guard a team of buffalo hunters led by Senator Talley Wing, against the Kid's objections. When buffalo hunter Bull Corbin inflicted a mass slaughter of buffalo, it outraged the Sioux and Corbin made matters worse by murdering Chief Tomacha when he confronted the hunters. Next, Corbin attempted to massacre a Sioux village and Cliff and the Kid intervened to stop him, during which Corbin killed Senator Wing's son, Roy. The Kid killed Corbin and Senator Wing revealed he was really half-Native and his anti-Sioux policies had come from his own self-loathing.
(Arizona Kid I#6) - When the Texas Rangers went to Sioux Falls to battle the Creech Gang, Major Cullen ordered Happy to remain with their camp and guard Nan. However, after the Rangers took Job Creech prisoner, Ox Creech attacked the campsite and easily overpowered Happy then took Nan prisoner. Ox had Happy deliver his demands that the Rangers release his brother in exchange for Nan. The Arizona Kid and Captain Macklin ultimately rescued Nan.
(Arizona Kid I#6/4) - Happy rode with the Arizona Kid to Bearpaw Basin to collect cattle for the Rangers when they found rancher Carl Sandstrom was about to lynch cowboy Ham Coley. The Kid set Ham free and learned Ham was believed to be a masked cattle rustler called the Hawk but Ham claimed he was innocent. The Kid offered to investigate and see if the stolen cattle could be found. Happy and the Kid followed the tracks through the basin but the trail suddenly seemed to stop. The two Rangers made camp for the night but the Hawk himself came riding through to ambush them, thinking twice when he saw the men were awake. The Kid lost sight of the Hawk but a lost horse came riding by and went through a waterfall. The Kid realized the waterfall was concealing the entrance to where the stolen cattle were hid. Entering, the Rangers fought the Hawk's gang and the Kid revealed Sandstrom was the Hawk and arrested him.
(Arizona Kid I#6/5) - When Captain Macklin gently ribbed the Arizona Kid for not being chosen for the pursuit of Twist Reeves, Happy remarked that Cliff was trying to get the Kid's goat. This prompted the Kid to go hunting for wild goats, although he teased Happy, saying it would taste terrible when he was done cooking it.
(Wild Western I#21/4) - Happy stood by as the Arizona Kid went out to investigate disappearing men at the Crossy Ranch.
(Texas Kid I#9/3) - Happy observed the news from Cliff about Nan seemingly being kidnapped by the Ute medicine man White Elk but the Kid rode out alone and rescued Nan, exposing the false White Elk as trader Jules DuBois.
(Wild Western I#23/4) - Happy, Cliff and the Kid found a wrecked wagon which had been carrying gold but was raided by a gang. They tried to bring the lone survivor of the attack to nearby Sand City but one of the gang, Hank Bellew, had lingered behind. Bellew killed the surviving man but the Kid and Cliff killed Bellew. Realizing Bellew looked just like the Arizona Kid, Cliff convinced him to dress up as him and discover where the gang and the stolen gold were. The Kid found the gang led by Pete Fallon in Sand City and Cliff and Happy helped the Kid round up the gang while the Kid recovered the gold.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Russ Heath.
This profile was completed 6/25/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Happy Hicks should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Arizona Kid I#1/2, page 1, panel 1 (main)
Arizona Kid I#1/2, page 2, panel 2 (headshot)
Appearances:
Arizona Kid I#1 (March, 1951) - unknown writer, Russ Heath (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#2 (May, 1951) - unknown writer, Russ Heath (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#3 (July, 1951) - unknown writer, Russ Heath (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#4 (September, 1951) - unknown writer, Russ Heath (artist,
story 1 and 2), Pete Morisi (artist, story 5), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#5 (November, 1951) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Arizona Kid I#6 (January, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#21/4 (April, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Texas Kid I#9/3 (May, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Wild Western I#23/4 (August, 1952) - unknown writer, Pete Morisi (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/10/2021
Last updated: 09/07/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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