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.