The Cisco Kid has gone through many incarnations since O. Henry penned his first adventure, 'The Cabellaro's Way' in 1904, and Moonstone Books will see that he has at least one more.  Cisco Kid is a three-issue noir western mini-series -- issue #1 to be released on January 30, 2004 -- written by The Discovery Channel's Jim Duffy and inked with greytone art by Wolverine artist Jerry DeCaire.  The format will be a departure for Moonstone -- a 32 page black and white comic for $2.95.

The Cisco Kid began his film career in 1929 and ended it in 1945, the Kid played by Warner Baxter, Cesar Romero, Gilbert Roland, and finally Duncan Renaldo, who returned to play Cisco on TV for 156 episodes between 1950 and 1956.  The Cisco Kid's adventures were also on radio from 1942 until the mid '50s.  Most recently, the character was featured in a 1994 for a made-for-cable movie starring Jimmie Smits and Cheech Marin.

Though the Cisco Kid is no stranger to comics, having had his own comic strip in the '50s as well as 41 issues of the Cisco comic book published by Dell between 1950 and 1958, this run will presumably be quite different.  Based on O. Henry's short story originally published in McClure magazine, Moonstone's version of The Cisco Kid has him killing out of pure bad temper rather than the often comic, Robin Hood-type antics of Hollywood and TV.  A quote from O. Henry's  'Cabellaro's Way' tells that 'the Cisco Kid had killed six men in more or less fair scrimmages, had murdered twice as many (mostly Mexicans), and had winged a larger number whom he modestly forebore to count.  Therefore a woman loved him.'