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.