Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) (whose "supposed" origins figured in the very first episode of the radio series), and he often referred to Wild Bill Hickok as being a close personal friend. In the television version (which ran from 1955 until 1975), and subsequent TV-movies (1987 to 1994), Matt was portrayed by James Arness. Since most of the early television episodes were based on stories and scripts from the radio version, Arness's initial interpretation and portrayal was similar to William Conrad's. However, as the television version continued, Arness's Marshal Matt Dillon evolved in a number of ways. In the television version, Dillon became more resigned
Gunsmoke Western Clay Harder, introduced in 1948 as the first of Marvel's two Western heroes called the Two-Gun Kid, was re-imainged and reintroduced in "Gunsmoke Western" #57 (March 1960), in a feature by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist John Severin. The feature ran through #63 (March 1961). The second Two-Gun Kid, Matt Hawk, would be introduced in "Two-Gun Kid" #60 (Nov. 1962), which retconned that Clay Harder was merely a dime novel fictional character who inspired Hawk to become a masked Western crimefighter. Occasional stories starred the Ringo Kid, the Gunsmoke Kid, and others. All cover art through issue #50 (Jan. 1959)