This is the 20th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 20th post covers May 1948 to August 1948.

Police Comics #80.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on May 12, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Penetro, Master of Solids,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: July 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #6.

Published on May 14, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 8, No. 9 [#93].

Published on May 14, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen [Cobb]. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Rocket Race to the Moon,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #25.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on May 21, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Discontents!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: July 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #4.

Published on June 1, 1948. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “The Practical Jokers,” “A Feathered Friend in Need,” “The Timid Ghost,” and “Tubby Makes a Bet,” all by John Stanley. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #81.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 11, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Gargantua, the Phi Beta Gorilla,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #7.

Published on June 15, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 8, No. 10 [#94].

Published on June 15, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen [Cobb]. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Donald of the Coast Guard,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #13.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 18, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes these stories: “Mister Hazard,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk, with Alex Kotzky; “The Man Called Jets,” by Jack Cole; “The Evil Art School,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard, with Bart Tumey; and “Artifice,” by Jack Cole, With Bart Tumey. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: September 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #88.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 30, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the stories “Captain Marvel Vs. the World’s Wildest Man,” and “The Radio Plague,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: September 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Jingle Jangle Comics #33.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “Princess Goldie-Sox and the Three Spares,” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Dave Tendlar. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: June 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Li’l Abner Comics #64.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the United Feature Syndicate, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Steve Canyon Comics #3.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #10.

To read the issue online, click here.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Police Comics #82.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on July 9, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “A Three-Way Stretch for Plastic Man,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: September 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #8.

Published on July 13, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 8, No. 11 [#95].

Published on July 13, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen [Cobb]. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Gladstone Returns,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #5.

Published on July 29, 1948. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “The Rocking Horse,” “The Dancing Bear,” “The Robbery,” and “The Gourmet,” all by John Stanley. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #89.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on July 30, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the stories “The Pride of Mr. Morris,” and “Captain Marvel Fights Silent Sound,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #83.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 6, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “The King of Crime,” by Jack Cole & Gwen Hansen. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #9.

Published on August 13, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 8, No. 12 [#96].

Published on August 13, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen [Cobb]. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Links Hijinks,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #14.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 18, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes these stories: “Words,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk, with Andre LeBlanc; “A Hard Guy Called Concrete,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard, with Alex Kotzky; and “Bloodhound Bud Bickram,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: November 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #28.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 20, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Vulcan’s Visitation” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by Pete Costanza. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Detective Comics #140.

Published on August 23, 1948. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the first Batman story featuring the Riddler, by Bill Finger & Dick Sprang, with Charlie Paris. Cover illustration by Winslow Mortimer. St. Louis: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #90.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 27, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the stories “Mr. Tawny’s New Home,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: November 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Sheriff of Bullet Valley”.

Published on August 31, 1948. Edited by Eleanor Packer, Alice Nielsen [Cobb], and Tom McKimson. The comic includes the story “Sheriff of Bullet Valley,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Note: Also known as Four Color #199.

Jingle Jangle Comics #34.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Well-Mannered Mandarin and His Candied Camera,” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Larz Bourne. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Li’l Abner Comics #65.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the United Feature Syndicate, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Steve Canyon Comics #4.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #11.

To read the issue online, click here.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Next: September 1948 to December 1948.

This is the 21st entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 21st post covers September 1948 to December 1948.

Police Comics #84.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on September 10, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Lucky Seven,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: November 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #10.

Published on September 14, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 1 [#97].

Published on September 14, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen [Cobb]. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Pearls of Wisdom,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #6.

Published on September 28, 1948. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “Little Lulu Goes Shopping,” “The Bad Boy,” “Lost Dog,” and “The Ugly Duckling,” all by John Stanley. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #91.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on September 29, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the stories “Man’s Worst Enemy,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #85.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 13, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “The Baker,” by Jack Cole & Gwen Hansen. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #11.

Published on October 15, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 2 [#98].

Published on October 15, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen [Cobb]. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Foxy Relations,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #15.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 20, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes these stories: “Romany Rita and Beau Crummel” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk, with John Spranger; “The Amazing Romanov,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard, with Alex Kotzky; and “The World Againsters” by Jack Cole, with Alex Kotzky. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #30.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 22, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Curse of the Golden Touch!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by Kurt Schaffenberger. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #92.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 29, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the stories “The Lionizing of Mr. Tawny” and “The Land of Limbo,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the story “The Curse of the Evil Eye,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “The Golden Christmas Tree”.

Published on October 29, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “The Golden Christmas Tree,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Note: Also known as Four Color #203.<br

Jingle Jangle Comics #35.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Sultan’s High-Class Plumber and the Very Little Leek,” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Allen Ulmer. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Li’l Abner Comics #66.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the United Feature Syndicate, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Steve Canyon Comics #5.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon daily newpaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to Field Enterprises, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #12.

To read the issue online, click here.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Police Comics #86.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on November 10, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Phffffttt,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #12.

Published on November 16, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 3 [#99].

Published on November 16, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Crazy Quiz Show,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #31.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on November 24, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Battles the Flame Fiend!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Life and Times of the Shmoo, Al Capp.

Published on November 26, 1948. This 90-page paperback book collects the celebrated 1948 “Shmoo” storyline in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner newspaper strip. The book was a bestseller; according to Denis Kitchen, it sold 700,000 copies in its first year of publication. New York: Simon & Schuster [Pocket]. Cover/indicia date: 1948. Cover price: $1.00.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 4 [#100].

Published on December 7, 1948. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Truant Officer Donald,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #87.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 10, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “The Horn of Plenty of Trouble,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #13.

Published on December 14, 1948. The comic features color versions of stories from Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. There is no credited editor for the issue. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #7.

Published on December 14, 1948. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes “Detective Story,” “Lulu! Time to Get Up!,” “The Snowball War,” “Alvin! Oh, Alvin!”, and “Tubby Takes Care of Things,” all by John Stanley & Charles Hedinger with Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #16.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 22, 1948. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes these stories: “Gazelle Van Gonder” by Jack Cole, with John Spranger; and “Say It Ain’t So, Plas,” “The Tomb of Tut-da-Mutt,” and “Ali Babass and the Four Thieves,” all by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. New York: Quality. Cover/indicia date: March 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #94.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 29, 1948. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the story “The Battle of Electricity,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: March 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Jingle Jangle Comics #36.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Pickle-Boat Pirate and the Red-Hot Ruby,” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Dave Tendlar. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Li’l Abner Comics #67.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the United Feature Syndicate, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Steve Canyon Comics #6.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to Field Enterprises, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #13.

To read the issue online, click here.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1948. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Next: January 1949 to April 1949.

This is the 22nd entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 22nd post covers January 1949 to April 1949.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 5 [#101].

Published on January 4, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Donald Duck’s Worst Nightmare,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #14.

Published on January 11, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #8.

Published on January 11, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “Happy Birthday,” “43-44-45-”, “Beautiful Lulu,” “Pleasant Dreams”, and “Tough Guy,” all by John Stanley & Charles Hedinger with Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #88.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on January 12, 1949. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “The Seer,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: March 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #95.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on January 28, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the stories “The Man Who Wanted to Be Poor” and “History Goes Wild,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Li’l Abner Comics #68. [#8]

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: January 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the United Feature Syndicate, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 6 [#102].

Published on February 8, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Pizen Spring Dude Ranch,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #89.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 11, 1949. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “No One Can Stop the Vanishers,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #15.

Published on February 15, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #9.

Published on February 15, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “A Wrong Move,” “The Cloud That Ran Away,” “Pot of Gold,” and “Tubby Meets a Ghost,” all by John Stanley & Charles Hedinger with Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #17.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 18, 1949. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes these stories: “Uno, the Last Man on Earth,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk; “Salteen’s Art Gallery,” by Jack Cole; and “Plastic Man Products,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Lost in the Andes”.

Published on February 22, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Lost in the Andes,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note: Also known as Four Color #223.

The Marvel Family #34.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 25, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Duel of Inventions,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Jingle Jangle Comics #37.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Extra Snappy Musketeer and the Brave Little Gingersnap” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Dave Tendlar. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Li’l Abner Comics, Vol. 2, No. 9 [#69].

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the United Feature Syndicate, no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #14.

To read the issue online, click here.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Captain Marvel Adventures #96.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on March 2, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the story “Mr. Tawny Loses Faith in Mankind,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 7 [#103].

Published on March 8, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Rival Beachcombers,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #90.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on March 11, 1949. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Captain Rivers,” by Jack Cole & Gwen Hansen. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #16.

Published on March 15, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #10.

Published on March 15, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “Snowmen,” “Bank Robbery,” “Story in a Barrel,” and “The Musician,” all by John Stanley & Charles Hedinger with Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #70.

Published on March 18, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #35.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on March 25, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Will Lieberson, and Ralph Daigh. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Captain Marvel Trains Another Captain Marvel,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #97.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 1, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The World Without Water,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the stories “The Ownerless Diamond” and “Captain Marvel Is Wiped Out,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 8 [#104].

Published on April 5, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Sunken Yacht,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #17.

Published on April 12, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #11.

Published on April 12, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “Housekeeper Wanted,” “A Clothes Call,” “The Prince in the Pool,” and “Tubby’s Uncle,” all by John Stanley & Charles Hedinger with Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #18.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 20, 1949. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes these stories: “Down on the Farm,” by Jack Cole & Gwen Hansen; and “The Hot Dog Caper” and “Z. Newgate Popskull,” both by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Jingle Jangle Comics #38.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Half-Champion Archer and the Double-Dipped Arrow” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Allen Ulmer. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #15.

To read the issue online, click here.

Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown [see notes]. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication. The GCD credits Milton Caniff with the cover art. But there is no signature, and to my eye, this looks like an artist imitating Caniff rather than Caniff himself.

Next: May 1949 to August 1949.

This is the 23rd entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 23rd post covers May 1949 to August 1949.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #16.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in April or May 1949. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Milton Caniff. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication. Harvey Comics generally cover-dated comics approximately two months ahead of the month of publication.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 9 [#105].

Published on May 3, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Managing the Echo System,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Monthly #18.

Published on May 10, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note: This is the last issue with stories from the newspaper strip. New stories, not by Chester Gould, begin with the 19th issue.

Marge’s Little Lulu #12.

Published on May 10, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “The Sea Dogs,” “Fifty-Fifty Proposition,” “The Green Girl”, and “Tubby’s Revenge,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #92.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on May 11, 1949. Edited by George E. Brenner. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Closets Kennedy’s House Racket,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #71.

Published on May 20, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #37.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on May 27, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Captain Marvel Battles the World’s Greatest Lies,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 10 [#106].

Published on May 31, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Plenty of Pets,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Boys’ and Girls’ March of Comics Featuring Donald Duck.

Published on June 2, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Race to the South Seas!”, by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Racine: Western. Cover/indicia date: 1949. Cover price: Free. Note: Also known as March of Comics #41.

Comic Cavalcade #28.

Published on June 9, 1948. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the Wonder Woman story “The Sinister Countess Hatra,” by William Moulton Marston & Harry G. Peter. Cover illustration by Irwin Hasen, with Bob Oksner. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1948. Cover price: 15¢. Note: This is the last original Wonder Woman story with scripting by William Moulton Marston.

Police Comics #93.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 10, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Twinning Terror,” by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comc Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: August 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #13.

Published on June 14, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the story “Ladies’ Man” and three untitled multi-pagers, all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Girls’ Love Stories #1.

To read an online scan of the Alex Toth-illustrated story referenced below, click here.

Published on June 15, 1949. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth & Robert Kanigher. The comic includes the story “Unlucky Heart,” by Robert Kanigher & Alex Toth, with Bernie Sachs. The cover photographer and actress are unknown. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #19.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 17, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes these stories: “The Prehistoric Plunderer,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard; “The Fortune Teller,” by Jack Cole & Gwen Hansen; and “Murder in the Ring,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: July 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Voodoo Hoodoo”.

Published on June 21, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Voodoo Hoodoo,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note: Also known as Four Color #238.

The Marvel Family #38.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 24, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Battles the Tycoon of Darkness,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: August 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Jingle Jangle Comics #39.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Colly-Flowered Walrus and the Woggle-Eyed Carpenter,” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Allen Ulmer. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: June 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #17.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in June 1949. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication. Harvey Comics generally cover-dated books two months ahead of the month of publication.

Captain Marvel Adventures #100.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on July 1, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The Plot Against the Universe,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 11 [#107].

Published on July 1, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Super Snooper,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Al Taliaferro. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #94.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on July 8, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Plastic Man Turns Killer,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. The The Spirit story “Olga Bustle in ‘Outcast’,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on September 1, 1946, is also featured. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #14.

Published on July 12, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the story “Outdoor Man” and three untitled multi-pagers, all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #72.

Published on July 19, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from cartoonist Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Secret Hearts #1.

Published on July 20, 1949. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “Make-Believe Sweetheart,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photograph is a tinted still from the film Happy Times. The actors are Barbara Bates and Ray Montgomery. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #39.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on July 22, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Fights the Mightiest Meteor Shower,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #101.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 3, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “Captain Marvel Reaches the Age of Perfection,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the stories “The Miniature Giants” and “The Invisibility Trap,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: October 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 9, No. 12 [#108].

Published on August 9, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Great Duckburg Frog-Jumping Contest,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #95.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 10, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Wanted Dead, Not Alive: Plastic Man,” by Jack Cole. The The Spirit story “Smuggler’s Cove,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on August 25, 1946, is also featured. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: October 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note to those who click to read the online scan: the Eisner & Spranger story features offensive racial caricatures.

Girls’ Love Stories #2.

To read an online scan of the Alex Toth-illustrated story referenced below, click here.

Published on August 15, 1949. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth & Robert Kanigher. The comic includes the story “Girl in the Shadows,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photograph is a tinted still from an unknown MGM film. The actresses are Mary Jane Smith and Bridget Carr. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: October-November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #15.

Published on August 16, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the story “The Case of the Missing Wig” and four untitled multi-pagers, all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #20.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 19, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes these stories: “Sadly-Sadly,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard; and “Is Yours a Captivating Personality?” and “Come to the Oriental Quarter,” both by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Spirit #18.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 24, 1949. The comic features select stories from Will Eisner’s The Spirit Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert series. The stories included here are: “Who? (generally known as “Dolan’s Origin of the Spirit”), by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on January 13, 1946; “The Bucket of Blood,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on June 16, 1946; and “The Return of Satin” (generally known as “Satin Returns”), by Will Eisner, originally published on January 20, 1946. Cover illustration by Will Eisner. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: To those who click to read the issue online, be aware the stories feature offensive racial caricatures. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Pogo Possum and the Swampland Band, Walt Kelly.

Published on August 30, 1949. The comic includes the Pogo stories “The Great Two-Gun Fiasco,” “How Come That Showboat?” and “The End of the Rainbow.” New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October-December 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Also known as Pogo Possum #1. The feature’s title is now Pogo Possum instead of Pogo Possum and Albert the Alligator, although the Albert character remains in the cast.

Jingle Jangle Comics #40.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Zheckered Zhultan and His Three Little Zulteens,” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Woody Gelman. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: August 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #18.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in August 1949. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication. Harvey Comics generally cover-dated comics two months ahead of the month of publication.

Next: September 1949 to December 1949.

This is the 24th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the E. C. “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link for copyrighted material if an online scan is available, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 24th post covers September 1949 to December 1949.

Captain Marvel Adventures #102.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on September 2, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The Adventure Within an Adventure…,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the stories “The Earth Destroyer,” “The Man Who Didn’t Exist,” and “The Magic Mix-Up,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 1 [#109].

Published on September 2, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Dowsing Ducks,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #96.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on September 9, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “The Black Widow,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. The The Spirit story “Beagle’s Second Chance,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on November 3, 1946, is also featured. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note to those who click to read the online scan: the Eisner & Spranger story includes offensive racial caricatures.

Marge’s Little Lulu #16.

Published on September 13, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes five untitled multi-page stories by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #73.

Published on September 15, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Casper, the Friendly Ghost #1.

This publication is the first comic-book appearance of Casper, the Friendly Ghost. The character made his debut in the 1939 children’s book The Friendly Ghost, written by Seymour Reit and illustrated by Joe Oriolo. The book was the basis for a 1945 animated short film directed by Isadore Sparber for Paramount Pictures. After two additional films, the character was licensed to St. John Publications for the comic-book market. Harvey Comics took over the license in 1952, and bought the property outright in 1959. The creative personnel on this first comic’s cover and interiors is unknown. Holyoke, MA: St. John. Cover/indicia date: September 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note: The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration was filed for this publication.

Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade.

Published on October 4, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Letter to Santa,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly with Carl Buettner. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: This unnumbered publication is generally referred to as Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade #1. It is the first in an annual series of Christmas Parade issues.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 2 [#110].

Published on October 4, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Goldilocks Gambit,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #17.

Published on October 11, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the story “The Deep Black River” and four untitled multi-pagers, all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #97.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 12, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Mime, Master of Makeup,” by Jack Cole & Gwen Hansen. The The Spirit story “Who Killed Cox Robin?” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on August 4, 1946, is also featured. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. New York: Quality. Cover/indicia date: December 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note to those who click to read the online scan: the Eisner & Spranger story includes offensive racial caricatures.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Luck of the North”.

Published on October 18, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Luck of the North,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note: Also known as Four Color #256.

Plastic Man #21.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 19, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein, Elaine Allen, and Gloria Bley. The comic include these stories: “Kra Vashnu,” and “Where Is Amorpho?” both by Jack Cole & William Willfolk; and “Professor Putter’s Potion,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #42.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 21, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Captain Marvel Rescues Billy Batson!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: December 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

The Spirit #19.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 28, 1949. The comic features stories first published in Will Eisner’s The Spirit Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert series. The stories included here are: “The Man Who Killed the Spirit [generally known as ‘The Last Trolley’],” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on March 24, 1946; “The Case of the Balky Buzzard [generally known as ‘Introducing Mr. Carrion’],” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on April 21, 1946; and “Carrion’s Rock,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on May 19, 1946. Cover illustration by Will Eisner. Buffalo: Everett M. Arnold [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢. Note to those who click to read the online scan: the stories feature offensive racial caricatures.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #19.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in October 1949. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newpaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures. The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration was filed for this publication. Harvey Comics generally cover-dated comics two months ahead of publication.

Jingle Jangle Comics #41.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Three Young Jimcracks and Their Parsley-Plated Steam-Roller” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Allen Ulmer. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: October 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 3 [#111].

Published on November 1, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Donald’s Love Letters,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #104.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on November 2, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “Mr. Tawny’s Masquerade,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #98.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on November 14, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Mystery Manor,” by Jack Cole & Alex Kotzky. The The Spirit story “Nylon Rose,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on August 4, 1946, is reprinted. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: February 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #18.

Published on November 15, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “The Big Snow,” “Double Trouble,” and three untitled multi-pagers, all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Story Book #4.

Published on November 16, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The issue includes the story “The Gargoyle Men,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Secret Hearts #3.

Published on November 16, 1949. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “Sing Me a Love Song,” illustrated by Alex Toth, with Joe Giella. Cover photograph by Theda Hall & Emerson Hall; the actors are unknown. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: January/February 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #74.

Published on November 22, 1949. The comic features color versions of stories from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #43.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on November 23, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Great Speed-Up!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #105.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 2, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “Captain Marvel, Dogcatcher,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the stories “The Prehistoric Peril” and “The Threat of the Giant Tree,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: November 1949. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 4 [#112].

Published on December 6, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Rip Van Donald,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #19.

Published on December 13, 1949. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “The Hairbrush Mystery,” “Little Lulu Discovers America,” “Toothache,” and one untitled multi-pager, all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

.

Girls’ Love Stories #4.

Published on December 14, 1949. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “Where There Is Love,” illustrated by Alex Toth, with Joe Giella. Cover photograph by Carlyle Blackwell, Jr. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: February-March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Crypt of Terror #17.

Published on December 20, 1949. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Death Must Come,” by Al Feldstein; “The Man Who Was Death,” by Gardner Fox & Bill Fraccio; “The Corpse Nobody Knew,” by Al Feldstein & George Roussos; and “Curse of the Full Moon!” by Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1950. Cover price: 10¢. Note: This is the first publication in E. C. Comics’ “New Trend” pulp-suspense line.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Land of the Totem Poles”.

Published on December 20, 1949. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the stories “Land of the Totem Poles” and “Trail of the Unicorn,” both by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Note: Also known as Four Color #263.

The Marvel Family #44.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 23, 1949. Edited by Wendell Crowley & Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Marvel Family story “The Marvel Family Fights the Rust That Threatens the World,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: February 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #22.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 23, 1949. Edited by Harry Stein, Elaine Allen, Gloria Bley, and Alfred Grenet. The comic includes these stories: “Plague of Plastic People,” “On Dopi Island,” and “The City Was Starving on a Full Stomach,” all by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Terry and the Pirates #25.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in December 1949 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 195o. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. Harvey Comics generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

.

Jingle Jangle Comics #42.

To read the issue online, click here.

The comic includes the Jingle Jangle Tales story “The Steam-Heated Yule-Log and The Trusty Varlet” and an untitled episode of “The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg,” both by George Carlson. Cover illustration by Allen Ulmer with Roy Willner. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: December 1949. Cover price: 10¢. Notes: The exact publication date is unknown. A copyright registration does not appear to have been filed. There is no credited editor for the issue. This is the final issue in the series.

Next: January 1950 to February 1950.

This is the 25th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the E. C. “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link for copyrighted material if an online scan is available, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

Beginning with this post, I’ll be including the format and page count of each listed publication.

I’ll also be giving attention to worthwhile cover illustration work. This is even when a publication lacks story material of interest.

This 25th post covers January 1950 to February 1950.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Vol. 10, No. 5 [#113].

Published on January 3, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #106.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on January 4, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “Captain Marvel Fights the Menace of the Moon,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, and “The Laughing Peril,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #12.

Published on January 9, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Portrait in Wax,” by Johnny Craig; “The Werewolf Legend,” by Harry Harrison & Wallace Wood; “Horror in the Night,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman; and “Terror Train,” by Albert B. Feldstein. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #20.

Published on January 10, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Hooky Player,” “Little Girl With No Name,” “Then I Said, ‘Listen Gloria’,” “Homework,” and “Fresh Eggs,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #25.

Published on January 11, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. New York: Harvey. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

Harvey Comics takes over the Dell Comics series with this issue. The series once again features material from the newspaper strip. The last few Dell issues presented new stories. Those stories were not by Chester Gould.

Secret Hearts #4.

To read the Alex Toth-illustrated story referred to below, click here.

Published on January 18, 1950. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “You Only Love Once,” illustrated by Alex Toth. Cover photograph by Carlyle Blackwell, Jr. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: March-April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #45.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by January 20, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “Captain Marvel Discovers the Wooden Age!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #75.

Published on January 24, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #15 [#1].

Published by January 24, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Wall,” by Johnny Craig; “House of Horror,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman; “The Mad Magician,” by Gardner Fox & Harry Harrison, with Wallace Wood; and “The Thing in the Swamp!” by Albert B. Feldstein. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Girls’ Romances #2.

To read the Alex Toth-illustrated story referred to below, click here.

Published on January 30, 1950. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “Tragic Choice,” illustrated by Alex Toth. Cover photograph by Carlyle Blackwell, Jr. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #107.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 3, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The World’s Mightiest Fight,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 6 [#114].

Published on February 7, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Serum to Codfish Cove,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #12 [#1].

Published on February 7, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Lost in the Microcosm,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman; “Dream of Doom,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “Experiment in Death,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Things from Outer Space,” by Albert B. Feldstein. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #99.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 8, 1950. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes The Spirit story “Distingushed Men Prefer Borshtbelt’s Buttermilk,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on August 18, 1946. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

To those who click to read the online scan, be aware the Eisner & Spranger story features racist caricatures.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #26.

Published on February 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #21.

Published on February 14, 1950. Includes: “The Ventriloquist,” “Froglegs,” “The Little Girl Who Always Laughed,” “The Man Hunter,” and “The Gambler,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley or Irving Tripp (sources differ). Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #46.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by February 17, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The People Who Turned to Stone,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Crypt of Terror #18.

Published on February 21, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Maestro’s Hand,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Living Corpse,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “Madness at Manderville,” by Irving Klapp & Harvey Kurtzman; and “Mute Witness to Murder!” by Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: June-July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #23.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 22, 1950. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the stories “The Fountain of Age,” “Tomorrow’s Newspaper,” “Nevermore,” and “The Figure,” all by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.



The Spirit #20.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in February 1950 [see notes]. The comic features stories first published in Will Eisner’s The Spirit Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert. The stories included here are: “The Vortex,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on September 8, 1946; “The Siberian Dagger,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on January 27, 1946; and “Magnifying Glasses,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on May 26, 1946. Cover illustration by Will Eisner. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed. However, most Quality Comics titles with an April 1950 cover date were published in February.

To those who click to read the online scan, be aware the stories feature racist caricatures.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #21.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in February 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. While the strips are under copyright to the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (now Tribune Media Services), no copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. Harvey Comics generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Next: March 1950 to April 1950.

This is the 26th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the E. C. “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link for copyrighted material if an online scan is available, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 26th post covers March 1950 to April 1950.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 7 [#115].

Published on March 7, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Huey, Dewey and Louie Haunt the McWaddle Estate,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #13 [#1].

Published on March 7, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines & Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Am I Man or Machine?” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Only Time Will Tell,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harry Harrison, with William M. Gaines and Wallace Wood; “The Men of Tomorrow,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Trip into the Unknown,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #13

Published on March 9, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Dead Will Return!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Curse of Harkley Heath,” by Harry Harrison & Wallace Wood; “Doctor of Horror,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; and “Island of Death,” by Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: June-July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #27.

Published on March 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #22.

Published on March 14, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Alvinsitting,” “Haunted Delivery,” “Lulu’s Umbrella Service,” “The Unseen Enemy,” and “North Pole,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum.

Published on March 14, 1950. The comic includes the stories “Fire Bugs,” “The Gingerbread Cure, “Never Give a Diving Board an Even Break,” “Ol’ Willow the Whips,” and “Mother Goosery Rinds,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April-June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Pogo Possum #2.

The Haunt of Fear #16 [#2].

Published on March 20, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Vampire!” by Johnny Craig; “Horror-Ahead!” by Albert B. Feldstein, Harry Harrison, and Wallace Wood; “The Killer in the Coffin!” by Gardner Fox & Graham Ingels; and “The Mummy’s Return!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #76.

Published on March 21, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Ancient Persia”.

Published on March 21, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Donald Duck in Ancient Persia,” by Cark Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #275.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Vol. 10, No. 8 [#116].

Published on April 4, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #109.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 5, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, B. J. Heyman, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Invention Inventor Machine” and “The Mystery of the Model Crimes,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #100.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 5, 1950. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “Thrilla, the Electrifying Crime Queen,” by Jack Cole. The The Spirit story “Dig a Hole,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on April 28, 1946, is also featured. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Color interiors. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #13 [#2].

Published on April 5, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Flying Saucer Invasion,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Meteor Monster,” by Albert B. Feldstein, Harry Harrison, and Wallace Wood; “The Micro-Race,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Man Who Raced Time,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #28.

.Published on April 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #23.

Published on April 11, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Junior Detective Tubby,” “The Picnic Pirates,” “Popular Girl,” “Great Day,” and “The Rock Candy Mine,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Crypt of Terror #19.

Published on April 18, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Ghost Ship,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Hungry Grave,” by Gardner Fox & Graham Ingels; “Cave Man,” by Johnny Craig; and “Zombie!” by Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #24.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 19, 1950. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the stories “The Black Box of Terror,” “Woozy Gets Psychoanalyzed,” “The Electronic Gun,” and “The Alarming Case of the Dwindling Victuals,” all by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #14 [#2].

Published on April 25, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines & Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Cosmic Ray Bomb Machine,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Black Arts,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “The Trap of Time,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Atom Bomb Thief,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Spirit #21.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in April 1950 [see notes]. The comic features stories first published in Will Eisner’s The Spirit Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert. The stories included here are: “P’Gell of Paris [generally known as ‘Meet P’Gell’],” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on October 6, 1946; “The Grumley Murder [generally known as ‘The Rubber Band’],” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on June 23, 1946; and “Love Comes to the Spirit [generally known as ‘Poole’s Toadstool Facial Cream’],” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on June 9, 1946. Cover illustration by Will Eisner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed. However, most Quality Comics titles with a June 1950 cover date were published in April.

To those who click to read the online scan, be aware the stories contain racist caricatures.

Next: May 1950 to June 1950.

This is the 27th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 27th post covers May 1950 to June 1950.

Captain Marvel Adventures #110.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on May 3, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, B. J. Heyman, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The American Century,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 10, No. 9 [#117].

Published on May 5, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Wild About Flowers,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #77.

Published on May 9, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #14.

Published on May 9, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Voodoo Vengeance!” by Johnny Craig; “Werewolf,” by Harry Harrison & Wallace Wood; “Rats Have Sharp Teeth!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; and “The Strange Couple!” by Albert B. Feldstein. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #29.

Published on May 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Secret Hearts #6.

To read the Alex Toth-illustrated story referred to below, click here.

Published on May 15, 1950. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “Dreamer’s Return,” illustrated by Alex Toth, with Bernard Sachs. Cover photograph by Carlyle Blackwell, Jr. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #24.

Published on May 16, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “I’m Just a Slave,” “Rainy Day,” “The Little Girl Who Never Heard of Ghosts,” “The Daredevil,” and “The Old Master,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #49.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by May 19, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, B. J. Heyman, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Million Dollar Tasks,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck and the Pixilated Parrot.

Published on May 23, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Donald Duck and the Pixilated Parrot,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #282.

The Haunt of Fear #17 [#3].

Published on May 25, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Nightmare!” by Johnny Craig; “A Television Terror!” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Monster Maker!” by Gardner Fox & Graham Ingels; and “Horror Beneath the Streets!” by Albert B. Feldstein. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: September-October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #111.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 2, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, B. J. Heyman, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The Menace of Greed,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #14 [#3].

Published on June 5, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Destruction of the Earth,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Sounds from Another World,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman; “Machine from Nowhere,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harry Harrison; and “The Eternal Man,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Vol. 10, No. 10 [#118].

Published on June 6, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Police Comics #101.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 7, 1950. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes the Plastic Man story “The Strangest Mistake Ever Recorded in Time,” by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. The The Spirit story “Artemus Peap,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published in newspapers on October 20, 1946, is also featured. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #30.

Published on June 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #25.

Published on June 13, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Dragon Tamer,” “The Fuzzythingus Poopi,” “At the Beach,” “The Savage Seven,” and “The Date,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Vacation Parade.

Published on June 13, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Vacation Time,” by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 132 pages. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 25¢.

Note

This unnumbered publication is also known as Walt Disney’s Vacation Parade #1.

Tales from the Crypt #20.

Published on June 15, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes the stories: “The Thing from the Sea,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “A Fatal Caper,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Rx… Death,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; and “Impending Doom,” by Al Feldstein & Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: October-November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The numbering takes over from that of The Crypt of Terror.

Plastic Man #25.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 21, 1950. Edited by Harry Stein. The comic includes these stories: “Hoot Moon,” “Life Story of Woozy Winks,” “The Magic Cup,” and “The Menace of Mr. Aqua,” all by Jack Cole & William Woolfolk. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #15 [#3].

Published on June 25, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines & Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Martian Infiltration,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Henry and His… Goon-Child,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “I Died Tomorrow,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Dark Side of the Moon,” by Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #78.

Published on June 27, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Spirit #22.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in June 1950 [see note]. The comic features stories first published in Will Eisner’s The Spirit Sunday newspaper comic-book insert series. The stories included here are: “A Legend,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on July 21, 1946; “Dulcet Tone,” originally published on July 7, 1946; and “The Postage Stamp,” by Will Eisner & John Spranger, originally published on July 14, 1946. Cover illustration by Will Eisner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration for the issue appears to have been filed. However, most Quality Comics titles with an August 1950 cover date were published in June.

This is the Quality/Comic Magazines series’ final issue.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #22.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in June 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Next: July 1950 to August 1950.

This is the 28th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 28th post covers July 1950 to August 1950.

Pogo Possum #3.

Published on July 3, 1950. The comic includes the stories “The Deep Freeze,” “The Grasshopper and the Ant,” “School for Mice,” and “Feelin’ Mighty Hale, and Farewell,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August-October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The first two issues were unnumbered stand-alone publications. This is the series’ first issue as a numbered periodical.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #31.

Published on July 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #1.

Published on July 11, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Murder May Boomerang,” by Johnny Craig; “Death’s Double Cross,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “A Snapshot of Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; and “High Tide!” by Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: October-November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #26.

Published on July 11, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Piggy Bank Blues,” “Friends and Enemies,” “Lulu in Distress: A Tragedy,” and “The Guard,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #15.

Published on July 13, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Horror House!” by Johnny Craig; “Terror in the Swamp!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Report from the Grave,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Buried Alive!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: October-November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #51.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by July 21, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Mystery of the Square World,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Superboy #10.

Published on July 24, 1950. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth & Jack Schiff. The comic includes the story “The Girl in Superboy’s Life!” by Bill Finger & John Sikela. Cover illustration by Al Plastino. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: National [DC]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The story “The Girl in Superboy’s Life” is the first appearance of Lana Lang.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “The Magic Hourglass”.

Published on July 25, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “The Magic Hourglass,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #291.

Two-Fisted Tales #18.

Published on July 27, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Conquest,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Hong Kong Intrigue!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Revolution!” by Wallace Wood; and “Mutiny,” by Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #113.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 2, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Imperfect Perfection” and “His Feud With Mr. Tawny,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the story “The Throwback Terror,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Cover/indicia date: October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #79.

Published on August 3, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #15 [#4].

Published on August 8, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Panic!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Radioactive Child,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “House, in Time!” by Al Feldstein & Graham Ingels; and “I Created a… Gargantua!” by Al Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #32.

Published on August 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Flash Gordon Comics #1.

Published on August 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from the Alex Raymond run on the Flash Gordon Sunday newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #27.

Published on August 15, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Gilbert the Gorilla,” “The Case of the Missing Vanishing Cream,” “Evangeline,” “The Magic Flute,” and “The Good Deed,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt# 21.

Published on August 15, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “A Shocking Way to Die,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Terror Ride,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “House of Horror,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Harvey Kurtzman; and “Death Suited Him,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Albert Feldsein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: December 1950-January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Plastic Man #26.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on August 18, 1950. Edited by Al Grenet. The comic includes these stories: “The Second Plastic Man,” “Kug the Caveman,” “The Kingdom of Oldstown,” “Bladdo the Hypnotist,” and “The Menace of Mr. Aqua,” all by Jack Cole & Joe Millard. Cover illustration by Jack Cole. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Buffalo: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #2.

Published on August 22, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Dead-Ringer,” and “The Corpse in the Crematorium,” both by Johnny Craig; “A Moment of Madness!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; and “Contract for Death,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: December 1950-January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Boys’ Ranch #1.

Published in August 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic includes the stories “The Man Who Hated Boys” and “Meet Wee Willie Weehawken,” both by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Cover illustration by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #23.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in August 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Next: September 1950 to October 1950.

This is the 29th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 29th post covers September 1950 to October 1950.

Captain Marvel Adventures #114.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on September 1, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Curse of the Endless Wishes” and “The World’s Worst Villain,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #16 [#4].

Published on September 6, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Last City,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Mysterious Ray from Another Dimension,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Second Childhood,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “A Trip to a Star,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #33.

Published on September 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #28.

Published on September 12, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Hey, Lulu, Listen! I Got Some Big News!” “I Can’t Stand It!” “Gosh!” “Gazo the Hypnotist,” “Shirley the Shadow,” and “The Hat,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror# 16.

Published on September 19, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Werewolf Concerto!” by Johnny Craig; “Fitting Punishment!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Grave Wager,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Escape!” by Albert B. Feldstein. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: December 1950-January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Big-Top Bedlam”.

Published on September 19, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Big-Top Bedlam,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #300.

The Marvel Family #53.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by September 22, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The World Hater,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Kurt Schaffenberger. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #19.

Published on September 26, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “War Story!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “Jivaro Death!” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Flight from Danger!” by Johnny Craig; and “Brutal Captain Bull,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: January-February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Gasoline Alley #1.

The comic features material first published in Frank King’s Gasoline Alley daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Frank King. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. St. Louis: Star. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration was filed for the issue.

There is no credited editor for the issue.

Weird Science #5.

Published on October 2, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Made of the Future,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Return,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “The Last War on Earth,” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “The Man Who Was Killed in Time!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: January-February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Vol. 11, No. 2 [#122].

Published on October 3, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #115.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on October 4, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “Mr. Tawny’s Personality Peril,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #80.

Published on October 5, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #34.

Published on October 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Flash Gordon Comics #2.

Published on October 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from the Alex Raymond run on the Flash Gordon Sunday newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #4.

Published on October 10, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Hunchback,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Tunnel of Terror!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Living Mummy,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Man from the Grave!” by Gardner Fox & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: November-December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #29.

Published on October 13, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Lucky Lulu,” “George! Look at Those Leaves Outside!” “In Nothingland,” and “Cousin Pete,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #22.

Published on October 13, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Thing from the Grave!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Blood Type ‘V’,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “Death’s Turn,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Curse of the Arnold Clan!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: February-March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #3.

Published on October 24, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Poison!” by Johnny Craig; “The Giggling Killer,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Faced With Horror!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; and “Blood Red Wine!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: February-March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade.

Published on October 31, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “You Can’t Guess,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Jim Pabian. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 132 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 25¢.

Note

Also known as Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade #2.

Boys’ Ranch #2.

Published in October 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic includes the stories “Lead Will Fly at Sunset,” “Apache Justice,” and “The Clay Duncan Story,” all by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Cover illustration by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages.New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Terry and the Pirates Comics #24.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in October 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Next: November 1950 through December 1950.

This is the 30th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 30th post covers November 1950 to December 1950.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Vol. 11, No. 3 [#123].

Published on November 7, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

This issue features Walt Kelly’s final published cover for Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories.

Weird Fantasy #17 [#5].

Published on November 8, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Child of Tomorrow,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Time Machine and the Schmoe,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Deadlock,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; and “Prediction of Disaster,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: January/February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #35.

Published on November 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #30.

Published on November 14, 1950. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “She Flies Through the Air,” “The Case of the Hairless Shaving Brush,” “That Was Lulu!” “The Snow Giant,” and “The Christmas Tree,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #17

Published on November 17, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Terror on the Moors!” by Johnny Craig; “Baby, It’s Cold Outside!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Beast of the Full Moon,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Voodoo Horror!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: February-March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Dangerous Disguise”.

Published on November 21, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Dangerous Disguise,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #308.

The Marvel Family #55.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by November 22, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Governor of Space,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by Kurt Schaffenberger. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #20.

.Published on November 29, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Massacred!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “Devils in Baggy Pants,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Colt Single Action Revolver,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; and “Pirate Gold,” by Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: March-April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #117.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on December 1, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Quicksand Quandry” and “Mr. Tawny Seeks Happiness,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 4 [#124].

Published on December 5, 1950. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Billions to Sneeze At,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #6.

Published on December 6, 1950. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Spawn of Venus,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Man and Superman!” by Harvey Kurtzman; “Sinking of the Titanic,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; and “Divide and Conquer!” by Al Feldstein & Jack Kamen. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: March-April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #36.

Published on December 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Flash Gordon Comics #3.

Published on December 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from the Alex Raymond run on the Flash Gordon Sunday newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #81.

Published on December 12, 1950. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #31.

Published on December 12, 1950. The comic includes these stories: “Adventures in Africa,” “Cry Baby,” “Ten Pennies,” “The Big Fish,” and two untitled multi-page stories, all by John Stanley. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #5.

Published on December 13, 1950. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “A Biting Finish,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “Horror in the Freak Tent!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “A Tasty Morsel!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Seeds of Death!” by Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: January-February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #56.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by December 20, 1950. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Marvel Family story “The World’s Mightiest Project,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Boys’ Ranch #3.

Published in December 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic includes the stories “Mother Delilah” and “I’ll Fight You for Lucy,” both by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Cover illustration by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Gasoline Alley #2.

The comic features material first published in Frank King’s Gasoline Alley daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Frank King. St. Louis: Star. Cover/indicia date: December 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration was filed for the issue.

There is no credited editor.

Terry and the Pirates #25.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published in December 1950 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

It Rhymes With Lust.

By Drake Waller [Arnold Drake & Leslie Waller] & Matt Baker, with Roy Osrin. This book, featuring a single stand-alone story, is possibly the first North American “graphic novel.” Digest-format paperback book. Black-and-white interiors. 132 pages. New York: St. John. Cover/indicia date: 1950. Cover price: 25¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed.

Next: January 1951 to February 1951.

This is the 31st entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 31st post covers January 1951 to February 1951.

Crime SuspenStories #4.

Published on January 2, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Backlash!” by Johnny Craig; “Premium Overdue!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Conniver!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Heads-Up!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 5 [#125].

Published on January 2, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Operation St. Bernard,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #23.

Published on January 3, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Reflections of Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Last Respects!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “Séance!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Voodoo Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: April-May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #37.

Published on January 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #6.

Published on January 10, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines & Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Space-Warp,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Dimension Translator,” by Harvey Kurtzman; “… And Then There Were Two!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Rescued,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: March-April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #32.

Published on January 16, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Day After Tomorrow Is St. Valentine’s Day,” “Lulu! Look at Me,” “The Haunted Dollhouse,” “Gosh, I Wish We Could Think of Something to Do,” “The Magic Fudge,” and “Abraham Lincoln’s Hat,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum #4.

Published on January 16, 1951. The comic includes the stories “The Big Hink-Cup,” “Kiddin’ on the Keys,” “Beware of the Wash Dog,” “His Hand Has Never Lost Its Kill,” and “Planter’s Punchy,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February-April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #18.

Published on January 16, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Sink-Hole!” by Johnny Craig; “Lend Me a Hand!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “The Mask of Horror,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “”Dying to Lose Weight!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: April-May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “No Such Varmint”.

Published on January 23, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “No Such Varmint,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #318.

Two-Fisted Tales #21.

Published on January 25, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Ambush!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Pigs of the Roman Empire,” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Will Elder; “The Murmansk Run!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; and “Search!” by Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: May-June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #82.

Published on February 1, 1951. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #119.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by February 2, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “Captain Marvel Battles Invisibility,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder; and “The Man Who Thought Aloud” and “The Ghost Town Mystery,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #7.

Published on February 2, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “It Was a Monster from the Fourth Dimension,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Something Missing,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “… Gregory Had a Model T,” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “The Aliens,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #6.

Published on February 9, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “A Strange Undertaking…,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels, an uncredited adaptation of the Ray Bradbury short story “The Handler”; “So They Finally Pinned You Down!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “A Grave Gag!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Cheese, That’s Horrible!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: March-April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #38.

Published on February 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Flash Gordon Comics #4.

Published on February 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from the Alex Raymond run on the Flash Gordon Sunday newspaper strip. The cover illustrator is unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

This the final issue of the Harvey Comics series.

Marge’s Little Lulu #33.

Published on February 13, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Treasure Hunt,” “Late for School,” “There’s That Fresh Rich Kid, Wilbur Van Snobb,” “Very Little Lulu,” and “The Best Man in the Club,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 6 [#126].

Published on February 19, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “A Financial Fable,” by Carl Barks. The story co-stars Uncle Scrooge. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #5.

Published on February 21, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Sewer!” by Johnny Craig; “Mr. Biddy… Killer!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “The Gullible One,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Partially Dissolved!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: June-July 1950. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #58.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 21, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieverson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Blackness Plague,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Boys’ Ranch #4.

Published in February 1951 [see notes]. The comic includes the stories “The Bugle Blows at Bloody Knife” and “Fight to the Finish,” both by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, with Mort Meskin. Cover illustration by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

There is no credited editor for the issue.

Terry and the Pirates #26.

Published in February 1951 [see notes]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material from Milton Caniff’s run on the Terry and the Pirates daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Lee Elias. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

This is the Harvey Comics series’ final issue.

Next: March 1951 to April 1951.

This is the 32nd entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 32nd post covers March 1951 to April 1951.

Captain Marvel Adventures #120.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by March 2, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “The Pain Maker,” “The Voice Heard Round the World,” and “The Machine Monster,” all by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder; and “The Marauding Meteors,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Frontline Combat #1.

Published on March 2, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Marines Retreat!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; “Enemy Assault!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “O. P.!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Russ Heath; and “Unterseeboot 113,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: July-August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 7 [#127].

Published on March 6, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The April Foolers,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #39.

Published on March 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #34.

Published on March 13, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Spook Tree,” “Gosh, I Wish the Fellers Would Let Me Join Their Club,” “Lulu Van Winkle,” and “Lovesick,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #24.

Published on March 13, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Bats in My Belfry!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “The Living Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels, an uncredited adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”; “Midnight Snack!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Johnny Craig; and “Scared to Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: June-July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #7.

Published on March 16, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “7 Year Old Genius,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “Come into My Parlor,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Across the Sun,” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; and “Breakdown,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck in “Old California”.

Published on March 20, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Donald Duck in Old California!” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #328.

The Marvel Family #59.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on March 21, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Marvel Family story “The Marvel Family Battles the Sneaking Doom!” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #19.

Published on March 21, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Southern Hospitality!” by Johnny Craig; “The Jellyfish!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis, an uncredited adaptation of the Ray Bradbury short story; “Daddy Lost His Head!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Reunion!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: June-July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #22.

Published on March 28, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Enemy Contact,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Dying City!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Alex Toth; “Massacre at Agincourt,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; and “Chicken!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Will Elder. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: July-August 1951.

Plastic Man #30.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on March 30, 1951. Edited by Alfred Grenet & Richard Arnold. The comic includes the story “Dazzla, Daughter of Darkness,” by Jack Cole. Cover illustration by Andre LeBlanc. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Meridien, CT: Comic Magazines [Quality]. Cover/indicia date: July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

“Dazzla, Daughter of Darkness” is Jack Cole’s last published Plastic Man story. His final work on the feature was the pencils for the cover of Plastic Man #33, cover-dated January 1952.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 8 [#128].

Published on April 3, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Knightly Rivals,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #121.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by April 4, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “The Perilous Key,” “The Mysterious Glass-Fogger,” and “Mr. Tawny’s Diet Dangers,” all by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck & Kurt Schaffenberger. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #7.

Published on April 4, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Room for One More!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Basket!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Horror in the School Room,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Howling Banshee!” by Johnny Craig. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #40.

Published on April 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #35.

Published on April 13, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Dollnappers,” “Hi, Iggy!” “Bye-Bye, Mother! I’m Going to the Library!” “The Case of the Careless Cat,” “The Gentle Giant,” and “The Monster,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum #5.

Published on April 13, 1951. The comic includes the stories “The Big Comickal Book Business,” “The Impartial Post,” and “The Flatboat Flukey,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover-indicia date: May-July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #8.

Published on April 13, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Seeds of Jupiter,” by Albert B. Feldstein; “The Escape,” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; “Beyond Repair,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Probers,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #60.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 20, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Captain Marvel story “The Worldwide Hatred,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #6.

Published on April 25, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “A Toast… to Death!” by Johnny Craig; “Out of My Mind!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Switch” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; “Jury Duty” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Frontline Combat #2.

Published on April 27, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Bouncing Bertha,” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Zero Hour!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “Gettysburg!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; and “Contact!” by Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Boys’ Ranch #5.

Published in April 1951 [see note]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic includes the story “Last Mail to Red Fork!” by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, with Mort Meskin, Bruno Premiani, George Roussos, and Marvin Stein. Cover illustration by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

Next: May 1951 to June 1951.

This is the 33rd entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 33rd post covers May 1951 to June 1951.

Captain Marvel Adventures #122.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by May 4, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The Atomic Fire,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 9 [#129].

Published on May 8, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Pool Sharks,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Buettner. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #25.

Published on May 9, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Trophy!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Judy, You’re Not Yourself Today!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “Loved to Death,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Works… in Wax!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: August-September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #41.

Published on May 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #83.

Published on May 11, 1951. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #8.

Published on May 14, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Origin of the Species!” by Albert B. Feldstein; “It Didn’t Matter!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Slave Ship,” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; and “The Enemies of the Colony,” by Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: July-August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #36.

Published on May 15, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Pieces of Eight,” “Baw! Gosh, What’s the Matter, Annie?” “Thirsty Children,” and “Tub’s Big Moment,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: June 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #20.

Published on May 23, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “About Face!” by Johnny Craig; “The Reluctant Vampire!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Grandma’s Ghost!” illustrated by Jack Kamen; and “Reunion!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels, with William M. Gaines. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #23.

Published on May 29, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Death Stand!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Old Soldiers Never Die!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Kill!” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “Dog Fight!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: September-October 1951.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 10 [#130].

Published on June 5, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Trouble with Dimes,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #123.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by June 6, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Dinosaur Dilemma” and “Mr. Tawny, Fighting Mayor,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #8.

Published on June 8, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Hounded to Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Very Strange Mummy!” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; “Diminishing Returns!” by Albert B. Feldstein; and “The Irony of Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: July-August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Romantic Marriage #5.

Published on June 8, 1951. The comic includes the story “Doctor’s Wife,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photographer and actors are unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Chicago: Ziff-Davis. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #42.

Published on June 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #37.

Published on June 12, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “A Hot Time,” “Bam! Bam! Will You Cut That Out, Alvin?” and “We’re Going on a Picnic,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: July 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #9.

Published on June 15, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Gray Cloud of Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “The Martian Monster,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Invaders,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; and “The Slave of Evil!” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Olesen. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #62.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on June 20, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the Marvel Family story “The Marvel Family Battles Sivana’s Undersea Kingdom,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #7.

Published on June 26, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Hatchet-Killer!” by Johnny Craig; “Revenge!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Phonies” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Horror Under the Big-Top!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: October-November 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Boys’ Ranch #6.

Published in June 1951 [see notes]. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic includes the story “Teeth for the Iron Horse” and “Happy Boy Carries the Ball,” by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Cover illustration by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration appears to have been filed for the issue. However, during the 1950s, Harvey generally cover-dated books two months ahead of publication.

This is the final issue of the series.

Next: July 1951 to August 1951.

This is the 34th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 34th post covers July 1951 to August 1951.

Frontline Combat #3.

Published on July 2, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Tin Can!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Desert Fox!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Prisoner of War!” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “How They Die!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 11 [#131].

Published on July 3, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Gladstone’s Luck,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #124.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by July 6, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “The Unknown Danger,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder; and “The Discarded Instincts,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #26.

Published on July 9, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Drawn and Quartered!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “The Borrowed Body!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Howard Larsen; “Indian Burial Mound,” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; and “Political Pull!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: October-November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #43.

Published on July 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #38.

Published on July 10, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Five Little Babies,” “Business Girl,” “The Door Game,” and “The Watchdog,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by John Stanley. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: August 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum #6.

Published on July 10, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “The Puzzle Master,” “The Howl and the Pussycat,” “How to Be Prepared (Delicious-Like),” and “The Spin of the Yarn,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover-indicia date: July-September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #9.

Published on July 11, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Spawn of Mars,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “The Duplicates,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Connection,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Max Elkin; and “A Mistake in Multiplication,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: September-October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #84.

Published on July 12, 1951. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: The Crocodile Collector.

Published on July 17, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “The Crocodile Collector,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Also known as Four Color #348.

The Vault of Horror #21.

Published on July 19, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “One Last Fling!” by Johnny Craig; “That’s a ‘Croc’!” illustrated by Howard Larsen; “Child’s Play,” illustrated by Jack Kamen; and “Trapped!” illustrated by Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: October-November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #24.

Published on July 26, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Hill 203!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Bug Out!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Rubble!” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “Weak Link!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Will Elder. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: November-December 1951.

Captain Marvel Adventures #125.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by August 3, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “The Dilemma of the Double Identity” and “The Mechanical Man Mystery,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder; and “The Return of the Ancient Villain,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #9.

Published on August 3, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Warts So Horrible?” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “Forbidden Fruit,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando; “The Age-Old Story!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Gorilla’s Paw!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages.New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: September-October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 11, No. 12 [#132].

Published on August 7, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Ten-Star Generals,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #10.

Published on August 7, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Maidens Cried,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “Reducing… Costs,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Transformation Completed,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; and “The Planetoid,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #44.

Published on August 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #39.

Published on August 14, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Dance,” “The Case of the Green Hanky,” “Hi, Tub! Shhhh!” “The Mouse, “That Awful Witch Hazel,” and “Election Day,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #8.

Published on August 22, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Out of the Frying Pan…” by Johnny Craig; “A Trace of Murder!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Escaped Maniac!” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; and “Partnership Dissolved!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: December 1952-January 1953. Cover price: 10¢.

Romantic Marriage #6.

Published on August 27, 1951. The comic includes the story “Green Eyes of Jealousy,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photographer and actors are unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. Chicago: Ziff-Davis. Cover/indicia date: October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Frontline Combat #4.

Published on August 30, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Combat Medic!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Light Brigade!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Air Burst!” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “Bomb Run!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: January-February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Next: September 1951 to October 1951.

The great value of prizes in the arts is not that they honor the best. Even the most prestigious are fairly hit or miss. Awards are at their most worthwhile when they direct the public to work it otherwise hasn’t considered. For English-language readers, the Nobel Prize for Literature has been a godsend. The world of English-language readers is overwhelmingly dominated by English-language writers. A non-English writer, such as Elena Ferrante or Roberto Bolaño, will occasionally break through, but it’s very unusual. The Nobel takes contemporary literature in all languages into consideration. It gives us glimpses of the world beyond our linguistic borders. Without it, the treasures of such writers as Gao Xingjian, Orhan Pamuk, and Herta Müller might never have become part of our reading lives.

Patrick Modiano, the latest fiction writer to earn the Nobel, was little known outside his native France when he received the honor in 2014. To the extent he was familiar at all to English-language audiences, it was for his screenwriting work, most notably his co-authorship of the script for the 1974 film Lacombe, Lucien, directed and co-written by Louis Malle. Since the Nobel announcement, publishers have been falling all over themselves to make his work available. At least eight editions of his books–two of them collections of trilogies–have been published in translation over the last year or so.

Modiano’s most recent work is the 2014 novel So You Don’t Get Lost in the Neigborhood, translated into English by Euan Cameron. This story about an aging writer’s efforts to reclaim lost memories from childhood is a small masterpiece of both form and content. The rigor and precision of its construction is remarkable. Every word seems to contribute to one’s understanding of the climactic epiphany; the book is like a jigsaw puzzle that cannot be comprehended until the final piece is in place. One also can’t help but marvel at how Modiano develops the narrative poetically; metonymy builds into metonymy to move the story along. The book provides food for thought about life’s relationship to memory as well. After one finishes, one may feel eager to read it again.

The protagonist is Jean Daragane, a Parisian novelist in his sixties. He has become a recluse. When the story begins, he has not spoken to another person in three months. He constantly looks for reasons to stay indoors, and he has so little use for the telephone that he can barely remember how to use it. His memories are slipping away, too. When asked about his first novel, he doesn’t recall its title or contents. However, as Modiano makes clear, Daragane isn’t suffering from senility. His isolation and failings of memory are borne of profound alienation. He is incapable of trust towards others, and he experiences isolation as an escape from what he regards as the oppression of dealing with the everyday world.

The peace of Daragane’s solitude is disrupted with a telephone call. A journalist named Gilles Ottolini has found his address book and wishes to meet with him to return it. Ottolini, though, has more on his mind. He claims that while going through the address book, he noticed a name that relates to a matter he is researching. He queries Daragane for more information, but Daragane doesn’t remember anything. In the days that follow, Ottolini’s girlfriend contacts Daragane and, in hopes that he can help, acquaints him further with Ottolini’s investigation. Bits and pieces of the information Ottolini has gathered–names, addresses, a child’s photograph–prove achingly familiar to Daragane, but he cannot at first recall why, much less how they are connected. In short order it obsesses him. The book follows Daragane as he becomes a detective searching through his own memories, coming ever closer to unraveling the mystery of these people and places and what ties them together. The story ends when everything is revealed, specifically the buried memory of what may have been the defining moment of Daragane’s life.

The story is developed across three timelines: the present day; the late 1960s, when Daragane was an aspiring writer in his early twenties; and the early 1950s, when the character was seven. Associations from the present day lead to recollections of incidents and people from the 1960s, and the associations from those recollections uncover Daragane’s childhood memories. Modiano is at his most dazzling when he uses an object or the like as a springboard for articulating Daragane’s emotions in a recalled scene, and then uses new associations from those emotions as a springboard into the next uncovered memory. For example, an old suitcase eventually figures into a memory of a childhood train ride, and the accompanying anxiety of losing that suitcase then ties into an anxiety that’s the key to the next memory to be unlocked. Daragane’s life is explored and understood in terms of metonymy. The onion of the book’s mystery is peeled through poetic means.

While the book is certainly a mystery–describing it as a psychological thriller is accurate as well–most would not consider it an airport read. There’s nothing pop or pulpy about it; it is structured as a series of epiphanies, and it is not framed as a melodrama. The story is certainly suspenseful, but that suspense relies on the reader’s curiosity, rather than on building dread. Following how the associations build into one another requires a good deal of concentration; a break in one’s attention can lead to the entire story falling away. One must also be mindful of any details about character relationships, no matter how insignificant they at first seem. Modiano does not belabor story points, and if one doesn’t keep the details continually in mind, things may stop making sense. If the book has a failing, it may be that Modiano respects the reader’s intelligence too much.

In the announcement of Modiano’s Nobel, he was praised “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the Occupation [the German occupation of France during World War II].” One notes that So You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighborhood has little, if any, resonance with regard to the Occupation. (There appear to be tangential references to it in a few spots, but one would have to be pretty knowledgeable about the history to say for sure. Modiano’s Occupation material, such as the script for Lacombe, Lucien, is elsewhere.) But with a striking command of narrative craft, Modiano presents a compelling dramatization of how memory shapes one’s life, and how one cannot know oneself without coming to terms with it. The book seems a worthy introduction to his work.

This is the 35th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 35th post covers September 1951 to October 1951.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 1 [#133].

Published on September 4, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Truant Nephews,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #126.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by September 5, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “The Great Heat Age” and “Mr. Tawny’s Fight for Fame,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder; and “The Creeping Horror,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #27.

Published on September 6, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Well-Cooked Hams!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Madame Bluebeard,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando; “Return!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Horror! Head… It Off!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: December 1951-January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #45.

Published on September 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #40.

Published on September 11, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Pet Duck,” “That Awful Mr. Googins,” “The Little Rich Boy,” and “The Salesman,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: October 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum #7.

Published on September 11, 1951. Edited by Chase Craig. The comic includes the stories “The Return of the Fiasco Kid,” “Hickory Dickory Parlory Phoo!” “150 Watts Cookin’?” and “A New Jag on the Old Bean Stalk,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover-indicia date: October-December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #10.

Published on September 13, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Secret of Saturn’s Ring!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “A Timely Shock!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen, an unattributed adaptation of the short story by Fritz Lieber; “The Mutants!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; and “Not on the Menu,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: November-December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #85.

Published on September 14, 1951. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #22.

Published on September 21, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Fountains of Youth!” by Johnny Craig; “The Monster in the Ice!” illustrated by Graham Ingels; “Gone… Fishing!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “What the Dog Dragged In!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen, an unattributed adaptation of the short story “The Emissary,” by Ray Bradbury. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: December 1951-January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #25.

Published on September 28, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Mud!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Bunker Hill!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Corpse on the Imjin!” by Harvey Kurtzman; and “Buzz Bomb!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: January-February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Personal Love #11.

To read the Alex Toth-illustrated story referenced below, click here.

The comic includes the story “I Struck It Rich,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photograph is a publicity still for the film The Secret of Convict Lake. The actors are Gene Tierney and Glenn Ford. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Famous Funnies [Eastern Color]. Cover/indicia date: September 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

The exact publication date is unknown. No copyright registration was filed.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 2 [#134].

Published on October 2, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Terror of the Beagle Boys,” by Carl Barks. The story is the first appearance of the Beagle Boys. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #127.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by October 3, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Mystery of the Expanding Island” and “The Man Who Grew Young,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #10.

Published on October 4, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Grave Business!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Vamp!” by Johnny Craig & Jack Davis; “My Uncle Ekar!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Bum Steer!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: November-December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #46.

Published on October 10, 1950. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #41.

Published on October 12, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “Gertie Greenbean,” “All Dressed Up,” and “Million Dollar Note,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: November 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo, Walt Kelly.

Published on October 17, 1951. The book collects material from Walt Kelly’s Pogo daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Trade paperback book. Black-and-white interiors. 196 pages. New York: Simon & Schuster. Cover/indicia date: 1951. Cover price: $1.00.

Note

This is the first book collection of Pogo newspaper strips.

Weird Science #11.

Published on October 24, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “The Conqueror of the Moon!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “Only Human!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Why Papa Left Home,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando; and “The Worm Turns,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: January-February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #9.

Published on October 25, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Understudy to a Corpse!” by Johnny Craig; “Medicine!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Cut!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “A Tree Grows in Borneo!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: February-March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Frontline Combat #5.

Published on October 31, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “442nd Combat Team” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “Stonewall Jackson!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “War Machines!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; and “The Big ‘If’!” by Harvey Kurtzman. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: March-April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Next: November 1951 to December 1951.

This is the 36th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 36th post covers November 1951 to December 1951.

Captain Marvel Adventures #128.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by November 2, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “Mr. Tawny’s Pleasure Peril,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 3 [#135].

Published on November 6, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Big Bin on Killmotor Hill,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: December 1951. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #28.

Published on November 7, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Bargain in Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Ants in Her Trance!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando; “A-Corny Story,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: February-March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #47.

Published on November 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #11.

Published on November 15, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Two-Century Journey!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “Shrinking from Abuse!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The 10th at Noon,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; and “The Thing in the Jar,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: January-February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #86.

Published on November 16, 1951. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #23.

Published on November 16, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “A Stitch in Time!” by Johnny Craig; “99 44/100% Pure Horror!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Dead Wait!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “Staired… in Horror!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: February-March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Shock SuspenStories #1.

Published on November 20, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Neat Job!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen, with William M. Gaines; “Yellow!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis, with William M. Gaines; “The Monsters!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando, with William M. Gaines; and “The Rug!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels, with William M. Gaines. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: February-March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #26.

Published on November 23, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “The Trap!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; “Hagaru-Ri!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis; “Link-Up!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; and “Hungnam!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: March-April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 4 [#136].

Published on December 4, 1951. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Gladstone’s Usual Very Good Year,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #129.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published by December 5, 1951. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Robot Hunt” and “The Curse of the Black Thumb,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. It also features the story “The Liquid Horror,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #11.

Published on December 7, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Ooze in the Cellar?” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “The Acid Test!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Extermination,” by Albert B. Feldstein & George Roussos; and “Ear Today… Gone Tomorrow!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Graham Ingels. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: January-February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #48.

Published on December 10, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #43.

Published on December 11, 1951. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Night Before Christmas,” “My New Sled,” and “A Cold-Blooded Killing,” by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: January 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum #8.

Published on December 11, 1951. Edited by Chase Craig. The comic includes the story “Cinderella and the Three Bears,” “Berried Treasure,” and “The Big Rock Candy Quarry,” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover-indicia date: January-March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #12.

Published on December 13, 1951. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “A Gobl Is a Knog’s Best Friend!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “The Last Man!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Android!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; and “Chewed Out!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando, an unattributed adaptation of the short story “Pictures Don’t Lie,” by Katharine MacLean. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: March-April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Best Romance #5.

To read the Alex Toth-illustrated story referenced below, click here.

Published on December 14, 1951. The comic includes the story “My Stolen Kisses,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photograph is a publicity still for the film Elopement. The actors are William Lundigan and Anne Francis. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Meridien, CT: Visual Editions [Standard]. Cover/indicia date: February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #10.

Published on December 20, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “…Rocks in His Head!” by Johnny Craig; “Lady Killer,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Missed by Two Heirs!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Friend to ‘Our Boys’!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Girls’ Romances #13.

Published on December 24, 1951. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth. The comic includes the story “One Reckless Moment,” illustrated by Alex Toth. Cover illustration by Alex Toth. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 44 pages. New York: Signal [DC]. Cover/indicia date: February-March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #49.

Published on December 31, 1951. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Frontline Combat #6.

Published on December 31, 1951. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “A Platoon!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “War of 1812!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Ace!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; and “Bellyrobber!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Next: January 1952 to February 1952.

This is the 37th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 37th post covers January 1952 to February 1952.

Tales from the Crypt #29.

Published on January 3, 1952. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Grounds… for Horror!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “A Rottin’ Trick!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando; “Board to Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “A Sucker for a Spider!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Jack Davis. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #130.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on January 4, 1952. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes these stories: “Double Doom,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza; and “The Famine Foiler” and “The Mysterious Invisible Monster,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck, with Kurt Schaffenberger. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

New Romances #10.

To read the Alex Toth-illustrated story referred to below, click here.

Published on January 4, 1952. The comic includes the story “Be Mine Alone,” illustrated by Alex Toth, with Mike Peppe. The cover photographer and actors are unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Meridien, CT: Visual Editions [Standard]. Cover/indicia date: March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 5 [#137].

Published on January 4, 1952. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “The Screaming Cowboy,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: February 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #12.

Published on January 11, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Project… Survival!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “A Lesson in Anatomy!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “The Die Is Cast!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; and “A Man’s Job,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: March-April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Vault of Horror #24.

Published on January 18, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “A Bloody Undertaking!” by Johnny Craig; “…With All the Trappings!” illustrated by Graham Ingels; “Impressed by a Nightmare!” illustrated by Joe Orlando; and “The Death Wagon!” illustrated by Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Shock SuspenStories #2.

Published on January 22, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Kickback!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen, with William M. Gaines; “Gee, Dad… It’s a Daisy!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “The Patriots!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis, with William M. Gaines; and “Halloween!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels, with William M. Gaines. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: April-May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Spirit #1.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on January 22, 1952. Edited by J. F. Byrne. The comic features select stories originally published in Will Eisner’s The Spirit Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert. The stories include: “The Case of the Counterfeit Killer,” by Jules Feiffer & Jim Dixon, first published on September 16, 1951; “The Curse of Claymore Castle” [also known as “Claymore Castle’s Curse”], illustrated by Jim Dixon, first published on November 4, 1951; “The Plot of the Perfect Crime” [also known as “A Perfect Crime Plot”], by Jules Feiffer & Jim Dixon, first published on October 28, 1951; and “Panic on Pier 8” [also known as “Night on the Waterfront”], illustrated by Jim Dixon. The cover illustrator is unknown. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Real Adventures [Fiction House]. Cover/indicia date: 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #87.

Published on January 23, 1952. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #27.

Published on January 30, 1952. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Luck!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “Custer’s Last Stand!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “D-Day!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; and “Jeep!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: May-June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 6 [#138].

Published on February 5, 1952. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Statuesque Spendthrifts,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #131.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on February 6, 1952. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “Station WHIZ Gets Atomic Power,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza, and “Mr. Tawny’s Quest for Youth,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #12.

Published on February 6, 1951. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Poetic Justice!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “…On a Dead Man’s Chest!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Johnny Craig; “Till Death Do We Part!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando; and “What’s Cookin’?” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Graham Ingels. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: March-April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #50.

Published on February 10, 1952. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #45.

Published on February 11, 1952. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes these stories: “The Case of the Exploding Cigar,” “The Contest,” “The Magic Wand,” “That Awful Witch, Hazel, Again,” and “Cousin Jefferson,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: March 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge in “Only a Poor Man”.

Published on February 11, 1952. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the story “Only a Poor Man,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Notes

“Only a Poor Man” is Carl Barks’ first duck story with Uncle Scrooge as the marquee character.

Also known as Four Color #386.

Weird Science #13.

Published on February 13, 1952. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “A Weighty Decision,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “Saving for the Future” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “He Walked Among Us,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; and “Say Your Prayers,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #11.

Published on February 26, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Stiff Punishment!” by Johnny Craig; “One Man’s Poison!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Two for One!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Four for One!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; and “A Fool and His Honey Are Soon Parted!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: June-July 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Frontline Combat #7.

Published on February 28, 1952. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Iwo Jima!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “The Landing!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “The Caves!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; and “Mopping Up!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Next: March 1952 to April 1952.

This is the 38th entry in this weekly series. (For an index of the series’ other published posts, click here.) The purpose is to provide a detailed chronology of the history of North American comic-book publishing. The comics will be presented in order of publication.

While in some instances I will only include key issues of significant titles, I will for the most part be presenting the entirety of the major bodies of work. For example, every comic book with an original Carl Barks Donald Duck story will be featured in the posts. One will get to see something of the context in which the comics were published. With the original Barks duck comics, they will, depending on the year, appear alongside the Walt Kelly Pogo books, the EC “New Trend” titles, and the 1960s Marvel superhero line. This should reflect the books’ presence on newsstands when they were originally on sale.

The publication dates are by and large the on-sale dates the publishers reported to the U. S. Copyright Office. Exceptions will be noted.

Only magazines and books will be featured. Newspaper material will be included only when it has been published in these formats.

If the comic appears to be in the public domain, and a copy is available online for reading at the Digital Comic Museum [www.digitalcomicmuseum.com] or elsewhere, a link will be included in the listing. There may also be a link if an online scan is available for copyrighted material, but only if that material is out of print.

The series will give perhaps as good an idea as one can have as to the worthwhile comics a reader would have found at a retailer at a given point in time. If nothing else, the posts should prove a fun exercise in nostalgia.

This 38th post covers March 1952 to April 1952.

New Romances #11.

To read the story illustrated by Alex Toth, click here.

Published on March 4, 1952. The comic includes the story “My Empty Promise,” illustrated by Alex Toth. The cover photograph is a publicity still for the film A Place in the Sun. The actors are Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Meridien, CT: Visual Editions [Standard]. Cover/indicia date: May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 7 [#139].

Published on March 4, 1952. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Rocket Wing Saves the Day,” by Carl Barks. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #132.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on March 5, 1952. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the story “The Dizzy Dervish Day,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Tales from the Crypt #30.

Published on March 6, 1952. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “Gas-tly Prospects!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “A Hollywood Ending!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando, an uncredited adaptation of the Cornell Woolrich short story “Jane Brown’s Body”; “Auntie, It’s Coal Inside!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Mournin’ Ambrose…,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Jack Davis. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: June-July 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Fantasy #13.

Published on March 7, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The End!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “The Trip!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Home to Stay!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, an uncredited adaptation of the Ray Bradbury short stories “Kaleidoscope” and “The Rocket Man”; and “Don’t Count Your Chickens…,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Albert B. Feldstein. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: I. C. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: May-June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Note

Ray Bradbury contacted E. C. Comics after seeing the unauthorized adaptation of his work. The two agreed to produce further adaptations under license.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #51.

Published on March 10, 1952. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Marge’s Little Lulu #46.

Published on March 11, 1952. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “April Fools,” “Out, Out, Darned Spot,” “The Little Girl Who Could Talk to Trees,” and “Water, Water, Everywhere,” all by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. Cover illustration by Irving Tripp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Pogo Possum #9.

Published on March 11, 1952. Edited by Helen Meyer. The comic includes the stories “Caught in a Jam Session,” “Pig Game,” “Little Tommy Tucker,” “Who Ghost There?” and “Spring in the Air (and Why You Should),” all by Walt Kelly. Cover illustration by Walt Kelly. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 52 pages. New York: Dell. Cover-indicia date: April-June 1952. Cover price: 15¢.

The Vault of Horror #25.

Published on March 19, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Seance!” by Johnny Craig; “Kickin’ the Gong a Round!” illustrated by Jack Davis; “Practical Yolk!” illustrated by Jack Kamen; and “Collection Completed!” illustrated by Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: June-July 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Shock SuspenStories #3.

Published on March 25, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “Just Desserts!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen, with William M. Gaines; “The Guilty!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood, with William M. Gaines; “The Big Stand-Up!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando, with William M. Gaines; and “Stumped!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis, with William M. Gaines. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Tiny Tot [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: June-July 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Today’s Romance #6.

To read the story illustrated by Alex Toth, click here.

Published on March 25, 1952. The comic includes the story “Appointment with Love,” illustrated by Alex Toth, with John Celardo. The cover photograph is a publicity still for the film The First Time. The actors are Barbara Hale and Robert Cummings. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Meridien, CT: Visual Editions [Standard]. Cover/indicia date: May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, Vol. 12, No. 8 [#140]

Published on April 1, 1952. Edited by Alice Nielsen Cobb. The comic includes the Donald Duck story “Gladstone’s Terrible Secret,” by Carl Barks. The story is the first appearance of Gyro Gearloose. Cover illustration by Carl Barks. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Dell. Cover/indicia date: May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Captain Marvel Adventures #133.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 2, 1952. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic includes the stories “The Pressure Peril” and “A New Home for Billy,” both by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder, with Pete Costanza; and “The Dog Dilemma,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Two-Fisted Tales #28.

Published on April 2, 1952. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The comic includes these stories: “Checkers!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, with Bill [Will] Elder; “Pell’s Point!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wallace Wood; “Alamo!” by Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin; and “Saipan!” by Harvey Kurtzman & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Harvey Kurtzman. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.] Cover/indicia date: July-August 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #52.

Published on April 10, 1952. Edited by Leon Harvey. The comic features material originally published in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Chester Gould. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Harvey. Cover/indicia date: June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Haunt of Fear #13.

Published on April 18, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “For the Love of Death!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels; “Fed Up!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Johnny Craig; “Minor Error!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Wolf Bait!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis. Cover illustration by Graham Ingels. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: March-April 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

My Real Love #5.

Published on April 22, 1952. The comic includes the story “Shattered Dream!” illustrated by Alex Toth, with John Celardo. The cover photograph is a publicity still for the film Down Among the Sheltering Palms. The actors are Gloria DeHaven and David Wayne. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Meridien, CT: Visual Editions [Standard]. Cover/indicia date: June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

The Marvel Family #72.

To read the issue online, click here.

Published on April 23, 1952. Edited by Wendell Crowley, Al Jetter, and Will Lieberson. The comic features the story “The Marvel Family Battles the Pandora Pirates,” by C. C. Beck & Otto Binder. Cover illustration by C. C. Beck, with Pete Costanza. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett. Cover/indicia date: June 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Al Capp’s Li’l Abner #88.

Published on April 25, 1952. The comic features material originally published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner daily newspaper strip. Cover illustration by Al Capp. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Toby. Cover/indicia date: May 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Weird Science #14.

Published on April 25, 1952. Edited by William M. Gaines. The comic includes these stories: “There’ll Be Some Changes Made,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Wallace Wood; “Inside Story!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Bill [Will] Elder; “Saving for the Future” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; “Strategy!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Sid Check; and “They Shall Inherit,” by Albert B. Feldstein & Joe Orlando. Cover illustration by Wallace Wood. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: Fables [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: July-August 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Crime SuspenStories #12.

Published on April 29, 1952. Edited by Albert B. Feldstein. The comic includes these stories: “The Execution!” by Johnny Craig; “Murder the Lover!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Murder the Husband!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Davis; “Snooze to Me!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Jack Kamen; and “Paralyzed!” by Albert B. Feldstein & Graham Ingels. Cover illustration by Johnny Craig. Standard-format comic book. Color interiors. 36 pages. New York: L. L. [E. C.]. Cover/indicia date: August-September 1952. Cover price: 10¢.

Next: May 1952 to June 1952.