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.