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.