It's October 1940, and Disney launches their new comic monthly: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. What's there to say about this cover? It's iconic. It's not my favorite Hank Porter cover, but it's just so iconic of what it represents. Mickey is nowhere in sight, Donald is the big star here. So much so that when the series gets ready for its 700th issue in 2009, this is the one they intend to refer back to. It was not to be, but it did eventually grace the 70th anniversary issue and Donald's 700th appearance on the cover in 2011.
Back in 1940, Hank Porter pretty much leaves the cover art of WDC&S after issue #3, possibly because he's required to fill in the work of his late colleague Tom Wood in the Good Housekeeping pages. This leaves something of a gap, filled in by an intermediate artist of less considerable quality. The covers of issues #4 and #5 may be some of the worst in the series' history. Those speech bubbles are in some sense an all-time low, no?
Good cover illustrations in this era are few and far between. A notable exception is issue #7, a promotional illustration for the 1936 short Mickey Mouse "Donald and Pluto", attributed to Tom Wood.
By mid-1941, the editors have switched to the tactic of blowing up individual panels from Al Taliaferro's daily comics. At least they're honest about the primary attraction at this time, but it can lead to some pretty questionable covers, each for its own reasons. All in all, not their best time.
During this time, Dell Comics also starts their Four Color comic anthology series, occasionally featuring Disney characters. The best Disney cover of their first series is easily #16, "Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot". It's a classic. Although this isn't the best Mickey out there, the silhouetted skyline gives a great atmosphere and goes beyond the usual standard for cover art at this time.
Another, lesser known series is the Large Feature Comic series. These are not very interesting, mainly paint books, but one cover in their second series is worth mentioning. Issue #16, of July 1942, is the first to feature story work by Carl Barks, in "Pluto Saves the Ship". It's also got a pretty good cover, by someone who knew how to draw well, and with some muted colors, which are rare for this era.
By 1942, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories were also displaying their patriotism. They also managed to find a consistent cover staff, attributed by INDUCKS to Dan Noonan and Carl Buettner. I really like these wartime covers, they really capture the era they were made in.
Of course, there was another famous event in 1942...
The art direction in second Four Color series was really a cut above that of WDC&S at that time. It's a shame I can't go into the inside coloring, which was ahead of its time, but these cover illustrations are no slouch either. Each cover has a uniquely designed logo, and is often much nicer than the inside cover. We'll dip into some of the more notable ones over time.
By 1943, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories finally found itself a regular cover artist in Walt Kelly. He'll be with us for the rest of the decade, so there's no need to display his earliest work --- it's not his best, he'll grow into it. It's a combination of the gags, the execution, and the wildly unstable color direction. Kelly's stuff is cute, to be sure, but a little unfocused. My favorite early cover of his is actually a Christmas 1943 Sears giveaway. The lay-out is nice, the main color is Christmas green, and it mixes nicely with the holly on the left-hand side. He uses the same motif in a 1944 Snow White reprint (FC#49), although it's a woodcut that time.
Kelly occasionally fills in for Four Color covers, too, as seen in these 1945 covers. They make good use of white space, which is something artists for children's illustrations are always a little afraid of. You can see Kelly starting to assert his own style.
The gags are starting to get cleverer, too. These mid-1945 covers make me do a double take.
By 1946, Kelly is mastering the non-reaction. I like Donald's nonplussed attitude to the world.
Starting in 1947, Kelly starts to play around with Donald's headgear. The nephews' sweaters are also increasingly elaborate, without straying too far from the house style. These variations are great, and other artists copy them once it's their turn. They never quite caught on, which is a shame --- although it might have decreased the shelf life of a given comic, given the changing fashions. Here are issues #81 (June 1947), #92 (May 1948), #94 (July 1948), and #101 (February 1949).
Meanwhile, in the Four Color series, artists turn up the tension. Credits to Harvey Eisenberg (#116, 1946 and #170, 1947), Jim Pabian (#214, 1948-49), and Carl Barks (#238, 1949). Compared to this, the giveaways of the late '40s (Firestone, March of Comics, Cheerios, Wheaties) are pretty pedestrian.
By 1949, Disney's involvement in the Four Color series was in high gear. While at WDC&S, starting with issues #102 to #104, the logo was significantly reduced in size while the name Walt Disney grew to overshadow it. It would be the first of the rapidly changing cosmetic changes to the magazine that were to happen in the 1950s. Including, but not limited to, the cover art of a certain well-known good Duck artist...
Last Edit: Mar 7, 2021 21:46:11 GMT by That Duckfan
It's October 1940, and Disney launches their new comic monthly: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. What's there to say about this cover? It's iconic. It's not my favorite Hank Porter cover, but it's just so iconic of what it represents. Mickey is nowhere in sight, Donald is the big star here. So much so that when the series gets ready for its 700th issue in 2009, this is the one they intend to refer back to. It was not to be, but it did eventually grace the 70th anniversary issue and Donald's 700th appearance on the cover in 2011.
Huh. So the cover seen on WDC #715 was initially prepared under Gemstone and intended to be used on #700. Didn't know that.
Ooh, I really like that Kelly Three Caballeros cover--I hadn't seen that one before. I don't like Kelly's depiction of the nephews, so I'm rarely drawn to his Duck covers. The only one of his that stands out for me is the one with pilot Donald fighting off gremlins. Also Donald in flight. And two of my three favorite Rosa covers show someone in mid-air....
The March 1946 WDC cover where Donald has his hands up is an infinity cover which I hadn't seen. Since childhood I have had a soft spot for infinity covers. I wonder how many infinity Duck covers there have been?
Huh. So the cover seen on WDC #715 was initially prepared under Gemstone and intended to be used on #700. Didn't know that.
Boom initially wanted to go its own way with Disney comics, slotting the then-new Ultraheroes series into WDCS, and hired me to reschedule the Gemstone holdover material into their Classics hardbacks.
Upon finding that we'd produced a lot of special material for WDCS 700, Boom did decide to keep one of our planned stories—William Van Horn's "Close-Ups"—in the issue. Still, the rest of their WDCS 700 was devoted to continuing Ultraheroes, so the editors and I were tasked with finding new places for the cover and the rest of the stories.
The remaining Gemstone WDCS 700 stuff ended up sprinkled over several different magazines: • Front and back cover -> moved to WDCS 715 • Lars Jensen/Ferioli "Nothing New" -> moved to Donald Duck Classics: Quack Up • Gil Turner's "Villain in a Half-Shell" -> moved to WDCS 715 (...and Van Horn's cover illustrated this story, which is why it couldn't stay on WDCS 700) • Gottfredson's "Mickey Mouse Vs. Kat Nipp" -> moved to Mickey Mouse Classics: Mouse Tails • Jippes' "700th Heaven" -> moved to WDCS 715 and renamed "70th Heaven"
Early previews of the Gemstone WDCS 700 mentioned another story, Gottfredson's "Mickey Mouse Sails for Treasure Island" in serialized form, which never ended up appearing in comic books. We had actually gotten fairly far along on this at Gemstone—including, as per usual practice for the all-ages WDCS, softening the cannibals' dialect and reinking them to avoid their being jet-black. But colorists weren't free to handle such an extended story at the time (almost 80 pages), so we swapped it in WDCS 700 for the one-part "Kat Nipp" even before our license became a question.
Later, Fantagraphics' version of "Treasure Island" became easily available, so I never saw the need to revive the Gemstone version.
The March 1946 WDC cover where Donald has his hands up is an infinity cover which I hadn't seen. Since childhood I have had a soft spot for infinity covers. I wonder how many infinity Duck covers there have been?
By 1949, change was on the horizon for Western. The postwar boom was altering the field of comics pretty significantly, allowing Western to launch new titles. The first new Disney titles were the annual Christmas Parade and Vacation Parade, which premiered in 1949/1950. Meanwhile, at Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, a gifted colorist gave a splash of color to the last of Walt Kelly's covers. A brief shining moment of glorious color, until both of them vanish at the end of 1950. Below is a selection of titles between #106 (July 1949) and #124 (January 1951).
Bob Grant fills in for a few months, before Carl Barks takes over as permanent artist in July 1951. I haven't shown much of his cover work here, and there's a reason for that. Barks may be a gifted comics creator, he's not the greatest artist. I know a lot of his covers are classics because of the comics they contain, but I don't find them all that remarkable from an aesthetic point of view. You want something remarkable from this period? Look at these little background illustrations on Jim Pabian's covers (Four Color #261, 1949-50; Christmas Parade #2, 1950). Or the cold blue color scheme on this Mickey Mouse Four Color by Dick Moores (#334, 1951). The only Barks cover that stands out from this era is the Voodoo Hoodoo cover, seen at the end of Part 2.
I guess it's fair that Barks inherits the cover title, he's the main reason people buy the magazine after all. Barks does turn out the occasional beauty, just as interesting for our story is that in December 1951, Western starts meddling with the titles. Compare issue #131 (August 1951) with #135 (December) or #145 (October 1952).
The year 1952 represents another sea change. Dell launches more new titles, including Silly Symphonies and the long-running Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse series. The Four Color line-up increasingly features adaptations of Disney's live-action line-up, starting with Robin Hood in #413 (June/August 1952). These aren't very visually interesting yet, but I'm sure we'll see some of them in the future. 1952 also sees the release of Peter Pan Treasure Chest, a giant-sized standalone comic. These would become a staple of the mid-to-late Dell years.
The covers for the early years of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse are nothing to write home about. Barks does the first issues of the Donald, while Mickey is handled by the ever-competent Dick Moores. By 1955, both have been taken over by Paul Murry, whose work I don't really like. Barks' work on WDC&S is alright, but he starts to use increasingly large eyeballs, and the result is a little off-putting sometimes. What exacerbates this era is that by 1953, some joker decides that what these comics really need are dark background colors, and also as little background art as possible. Dark reds and greens and purples and blacks. What genius decided this was a good idea?
Our next curveball comes from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, which in October 1954 abandons its classic logo for something more that I assume looked more contemporary. Your mileage may vary. Starting in 1955, Paul Murry and Tony Strobl to take over, with the last regular Barks cover being #178 of June 1955.
But not all is doom and gloom in the 1950s. By far the nicest development of this era is the painted covers. The first artist to make a splash in this department was Donald T. MacLaughlin, who did a number of covers between 1953 and 1959, although INDUCKS isn't always sure that it's him. These covers, which generally ended up on standalone giants or annuals, are absolutely gorgeous. Featured below are Donald Duck Beach Party #1 (Paul Murry, Summer 1954), Donald Duck Fun Book #2 (Tony Strobl, Fall 1954), a Lady and the Tramp one-shot (Al Hubbard, April/June 1955), and an uncredited Christmas Parade #7 (November 1955).
We've seen a lot of change these past few years, but we're not done yet. Next time, we'll take a look at photography, the wonderful world of Norm McGary, and the end of the Dell imprint.
Last Edit: May 3, 2021 20:10:59 GMT by That Duckfan
The later years under the Dell imprint don't see any major changes. Freebies and premiums continue to be released. In the summer of 1955, Western launches the Dell Giant imprint, in a push to sell 100-page comic books for a quarter. Vacation Parade is retitled Picnic Party and becomes one of the many Giant titles. The Core Four line-up is adorned by well-worn gag covers: legendary in their status, but artistically not much to write home about.
A new title is added at the end of 1955: Chip 'n' Dale, with covers by Harvey Eisenberg. These are lovely, and so clean. Shown here are issues #6 (May/June 1956), #7 (July/September 1956), and #15 (July/September 1958). The series received a new logo in 1960.
In the Four Color series, Disney's regular comics have long been joined by live-action features, True-Life Adventures, and now its television shows. Here we see Mickey Mouse Club veterans Darlene Gillespie (Four Color #707), Tim Considine, Annette Funicello, David Stollery (Four Color #826), and Considine with Tommy Kirk (Four Color #887) in a series of comics from 1956 to 1958. It is easily forgotten how popular these were at the time. Spin and Marty even managed to get their own brief spinoff!
Another favorite subject was the newly opened theme park Disneyland. Between 1955 and 1960, Dell published a series of tie-in comics. The following titles were all drawn by Tony Strobl, and painted by Donald T. MacLaughlin and Norm McGary: Mickey Mouse in Frontierland (McGary, April/May 1956), Mickey Mouse in Fantasyland (MacLaughlin, April/May 1957), Christmas in Disneyland (McGary, October/December 1957), Donald and Mickey in Disneyland (MacLaughlin, April/May 1958), and Disneyland Birthday Party (McGary, August/October 1958). Summer Fun #2, although not a Disneyland title, fits in the same art style (MacLaughlin, June/August 1959).
1958 introduced another title, Scamp. Art duties fell to Al Hubbard, who had a wonderfully soft touch, almost impressionist in relation to the comic book art at the time. Shown here are issues #10, #11, #12, and #14, from 1959 and 1960.
As you can see, by 1959, a new colorist had taken over at Western, and the quality of the covers improved immensely. Soft, naturalist background covers returned, as can be seen in these 1959-61 issues of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories (#228, #235, and #236) and Donald Duck (#71, #78, and #79). Even heat and cold occasionally impacted the color scheme. Art credits to Carl Barks.
I'm also a big fan of the violets used during this era. Seen here are Four Color 995 (Pete Alvarado, April/May 1959), Comics and Stories 233 (Barks, February 1960), Mickey Mouse 72 (Paul Murry, June 1960), and Uncle Scrooge 36 (Barks, September/December 1961). Way to make Mickey's pants stand out!
Another innovation was the use of gradient backgrounds, here used to great succes in two late Four Color issues: #1161 (Strobl) and #1184 (Barks). Notice the violet tones in the Gyro Gearloose illustration. Here they are portrayed next to a beautiful neutral-colored cover, #1239 (Barks).
Over the period 1959-1961, Dell launched a number of short-lived series spun off from the Four Color line. These television arrivals include the first series of Walt Disney Presents, the ever-popular Zorro, and Ludwig von Drake.
But none were as beautiful as the Dell Giant anthology series, launched in 1959. These covers were drawn by Tony Strobl and painted by Norm McGary, who also did Barks' Donald Duck and the Christmas Carol and The Lemonade King during this period, and they are some of my all-time favorites. Pictured here are issues #52, #53, and #55, 1961. They are bold and absolutely beautiful, the middle one holding my top spot for best cover of the Dutch Donald Duck weekly of all time.
1962 proved to be Dell's final year in Disney comics. Its Four Color series stopped in the spring of that year, at roughly 1354 issues. Soon, Western launched a third series of one shots.
But they weren't done yet. As Western posted the final stamp and reached for the golden key, Disney comics were about to be shaken up in a big way.
Last Edit: May 5, 2021 18:58:23 GMT by That Duckfan