Happy Easter 2025

A happy Easter to all, as Woody Woodpecker tries to have one with his niece, Splinter, and nephew, Knothead, but it seems the eggs are a little more lively on this John Carey cover to Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker #42 (April-May, 1957) from Dell.

Life Stories Of American Presidents

When you are looking for history, you go with Dell.  

In a book cover dated November, 1957, they covered the Life Stories Of American Presidents, from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower, and all in between, like Abraham Lincoln...with interior art by John Buscema.

A little history, for President's Day.

Happy Pluto Day

Today is Pluto Day, celebrating the discovery of the planet Pluto by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

But, since it was decided in 2006 that Pluto wasn't a planet, here, we celebrate Mickey Mouse's dog, with these lovable covers to Four Color comics from Dell featuring the crafty canine.

Four Color #429 and #509 (October, 1952 and October 1953)

.

Four Color #595 and #654 (October, 1954 and October, 1955)

.

Four Color #736 and #853 (October, 1956 and October, 1957)

.

Four Color #941 and #1039 (October, 1958 and October, 1959)

.

Four Color #1439 (November, 1960 -- January, 1961)

.

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Party

It's time to get this Christmas party started...

...and what better way than with Bugs Bunny's Christmas Party #6 (November, 1955), by Ralph Heimdahl and Don McLaughlin's painted cover...

...with Bugs, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Petunia Pig, Tweety and Sylvester starting to celebrate the Christmas holiday in this Dell giant!

Remembering D-Day

Saluting the troops who stormed the beaches on D-Day (June 6, 1944), with this cover to Combat #11 (January-March, 1964) by Dell Comics.  

The cover was painted, and has a story on the the Normandy Invasion by Paul S. Newman and Sam Glanzman.  The issue also includes a biography page on General Omar Bradley's battles of World War II.

Frankenstein Adaptation?

The Universal Monsters saw a bit of an upswing in the 1960s, and Dell was already to cash in on that, with a Frankenstein comic book.

But, Frankenstein #1 (March-May, 1963) wasn't exactly all that it was suppose to be, even though it did sport a painted cover by Vic Prezio, and interior story and art by Don Segall and Bob Jenney.

In this story, Dr. Frankenstein created the monster (with an abnormal brain supplied by Fritz, the hunchback), but he later got control of the monster, and fled Europe, taking the monster, whom the doctor had some hypnotic control of to New York, where the monster got loose and was blamed for a fire started by some careless dock workers....

Of course, this was Shakespeare (or at least Shelley) compared to the second through fourth issues of Frankenstein by Dell.

Issue 2 came out in September, 1966, by D. J. Arneson and Tony Tallarico, and now he wasn't a monster, but a super hero!

The monster was created in an old castle in America in the 19th century, and, after 100 years, a city grew around it.  The creature awoke during a lightning storm, and, finding a human mask (to hide his green skin) went out, taking the name "Frank Stone".  He promptly found a billionaire, who died and left him a fortune.  So, Frank then decided to put his great strength to use, becoming a super hero, with his true identity only known by his butler, William, but suspected by his girl friend, Ann Thorpe.

This continued in his third issue from December, 1966, where he fought an evil duplicate of himself, and the fourth from March, 1967, where he faced the return of a nemesis from the second issue, the diminutive Dr. Freek, who had an assistant of his own, the brutish gorilla Bruto.

Oh, what brave heroes this Dell world must have!

Of course, two other heroes in this were Dracula and the Werewolf, who had equally short comic runs, but more on them later (maybe...or not).

Happy 80th Anniversary Bugs Bunny

Happy 80th Anniversary to Bugs Bunny!


While in more recent years, he's appeared with some of his "super friends" as a part of the greater Warner Brothers universe....Bugs Bunny has had quite the history!

While Bugs had appeared a few times with Porky Pig starting in 1938 as Happy Rabbit, the first feature starring Bugs Bunny (as such) was in Tex Avery's "A Wild Hare" that came out on July 27, 1940, with Bugs voiced by Mel Blanc, facing off against one of his most persistent foes.....Elmer Fudd!

Bugs Bunny had his first foray into comics back in the 1940s, as one of many features in Dell's Four Color Comics, where he continued well into the 1950s, when he got his own series starting with issue #28 in December-January 1952/1953 (starting there because he had 27 Four Color issues!).

Gold Key/Whitman kept the Bugs Bunny title running from the 1960s to the 1980s, running issues #86 (October, 1962) to the title's end in 1983 with #245.


Still, this wasn't the end for that rascally rabbit!

DC started some Bugs Bunny tales with a 3 issue series starting in June, 1990, continuing on with specials, one-shots and Looney Toons comics.....

....and the party will likely be going on well into the future!







 

Hunchback Of Notre Dame Comics

In light of the tragic events this week at the Notre Dame Cathedral, it seems worthwhile to look back at a few comics that focused on Victor Hugo's tale of hunchback Quasimodo, and his love for that building, as well as for the gypsy woman, Esmeralda, who he loved because of her kindness to him.

So, here's a look back at a few comic book adaptations of this story over the decades at various comic book companies!

1944

The first adaptation of the novel was in Classic Comics #18  in March, 1944...


....with Evelyn Goodman as the writer who adapted Hugo's book...


....and the art was by Allen Simon from the publisher Gilberton.

1949/1950/1957

Next up, Gilberton published the story again as a part of its Classics Illustrated series, all under the issue number 18....




....with the same story by Goodman and Simon, but different dates for this issue reprints, and this cover by Henry C. Kiefer from June, 1949.

This issue was reprinted again in December, 1950, and yet again, with a new painted cover in September, 1957 (though the artist was not identified).

1957

Dell got into the business of movie adaptations, and did an adaptation of the Anthony Quinn/Gina Lollobrigida movie version from the 1950s, with this adaptation by writer Hal Kanter, and art by Andre LeBlanc, with a photo cover from the movie...

...as well as information on the life of Victor Hugo as well as the history of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

This was in July, 1957, under the title of their Four Color #854.

1960/1968 

Gilberton tried again, doing a Classics Illustrated #18 (yet again) in September, 1960 and July, 1968...

...this time with a painted cover by Gerald McCann, and adaptation by Alfred Sundel, Reed Crandall and George Evans.

1976

Marvel jumped into the classic comic game, with their Marvel Classics Comics.  



Issue #3 (1976) with a cover by Gil Kane and Klaus Janson was wrapped around a reprint of the Pendulum Press version of the comic, by Naunerie Farr and Jon Lo Famia...

....with a little history of Victor Hugo in the issue as well.

1991

H. Smith Publishers did an adaptation of the Hunchback of Notre Dame (but, could not find more information of the interior content of the book) in 1991.




This is a wonderful volume of the Hugo classic.

1994

Pendulum Press published a version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, representing the Farr/Lo Famia version they originally presented in 1974, under a painted cover by Mark Hannon...


...along with a biography of Victor Hugo as a part of their "Hooked On Phonics Classic Achievement Series".

1996

The last of these (at least covering here), is the Marvel Comics adaptation of the Disney animated movie of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, with the issue being done in July, 1996 with script by T. Jeannette Steiner, and art by Orlando de la Paz, Brian Mon, Denise Shimabukuro, Dan Spiegle and Scott Tilley, and inks by Horacio Ottolini, Dan Spiegle and Scott Tilley.


This is just a fraction of the appearances of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in comics, showing its lasting history, in the comics and in history in general.

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies With Friends

Gather around the Christmas carrot (???) and celebrate the holiday with Bugs Bunny, and a few of his friends, Porky Pig, Petunia Pig, Sylvester and Tweety, all under this classic cover by Ralph Heimdahl for Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies #4 (November, 1953), one of eight issues that ran through the 1950s, with Warner Brothers' animated characters enjoying the holiday, as I hope you are with your friends!

Abraham Lincoln Life Story

Remembering 16th President Abraham Lincoln on his birthday (February 12, 1809) with the Dell Comic, Abraham Lincoln Life Story from March, 1958, with a cover attributed to either John or Sal Buscema.

The comic by Gaylord DuBois and Alberto Giolotti, covered Lincoln's life, from his boyhood in a log cabin, to his wild life in the backwoods of Kentucky and Indiana, moving up to be a lawyer then elected official in Illinois, becoming President on March 4, 1861, dealing with the Civil War and freeing the slaves, then his untimely assassination by Confederate supporter, John Wilkes Booth on April 15, 1865.


"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians

Yes, you've heard it all when you realize that they made of movie called Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

But, did you know that they made a comic book based on that movie?

Dell did, in March, 1966, with this photo cover with an image taken from the 1964 movie, and interior art by Bob Jenney, based on the story that Paul L. Jacobson wrote for the movie (based on the original story that Glenville Mareth....no comic writer of the story has been identified).

Words cannot describe how truly odd this movie (and comic) were.

But, the movie is famous for having an eight-year old Pia Zadora as one of the Martian children, and for being the first appearance of Mrs. Claus in live action (played by Doris Rich).