American TV Comic Books (1940s-1980s) Preview

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AMERICAN TV by

from the small screen...

Peter Bosch

American TV Comic Books (1940s-1980s) From the Small Screen to the Printed Page ISBN 978-1-60549-107-3 First printing, January 2022 • Printed in China

Written by Peter Bosch Publisher: John Morrow Cover design: John Morrow, with inspiration from Michael Kronenberg Interior design: Richard J. Fowlks Proofreader: Kevin Sharp Editorial package © 2022 Peter Bosch and TwoMorrows Publishing, a division of TwoMorrows Inc. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. The viewpoints expressed in the text are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TwoMorrows Publishing.

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Every effort has been made to verify the ownership or source of all illustrated material. We regret any errors of attribution, and will make the appropriate corrections in future editions.

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AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s)

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER 1: The 1940s & 1950s...................................................... 7 Artist Profile: Gil Kane.............................................................................12 Artist Profile: Wallace Wood....................................................................15 Artist Profile: Bob Oksner........................................................................19 Artist Profile: George Evans....................................................................24 Artist Profile: Everett Raymond Kinstler...............................................46 Artist Profile: Dan Spiegle........................................................................49 Artist Profile: Alex Toth............................................................................66 Artist Profile: Russ Manning...................................................................73

CHAPTER 2: The 1960s................................................................... 83

Artist Profile: John Buscema....................................................................88 Artist Profile: Mike Sekowsky.................................................................90 Artist Profile: Russ Heath........................................................................95 Artist Profile: Reed Crandall...................................................................98 Artist Profile: Bernie Krigstein..............................................................109 Artist Profile: Doug Wildey................................................................... 111 Artist Profile: Gene Colan......................................................................126 Artist Profile: Alden McWilliams..........................................................141 Artist Profile: Warren Tufts....................................................................158

CHAPTER 3: The 1970s................................................................. 163 Artist Profile: José Delbo........................................................................166 Artist Profile: Neal Adams.....................................................................175 Artist Profile: Jack Sparling....................................................................178

CHAPTER 4: The 1980s................................................................. 183 EPILOGUE: The 1990s & ONWARD............................................. 189

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CHAPTER 1: THE

1940 S & 1950 S

The evening schedule in the early days of television was filled with laughter as many popular comedians of the day had their own TV programs, including Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, Red Skelton, Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Ernie Kovacs, Eddie Cantor, and Jack Benny. And then, of course, there was the actress who performed funny like no one else, Lucille Ball. They, as much as anyone, were responsible for the sales of TV sets soaring from 6,000 sets in 1946 to almost four million in 1950… and over 30 million by 1955.

Drama, likewise, was no stranger to early television.

TV’s best anthology programs existed within the medium’s first decade, with series such as Studio One, Hallmark Hall of Fame, and Lux Video Theatre featuring Humphrey Bogart, Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, and other megastars of Hollywood. It was also the training ground for young newcomers like Grace Kelly, James Dean, Sidney Poitier, and Paul Newman. And the productions were broadcast live!

Anthology series were swept away in favor of crime shows and Westerns, the latter of which became the big ratings success of the late Fifties, with 30 to 50 different Western programs scheduled every week, including Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun— Will Travel. (this page and following) A highly-detailed, behind-thescenes look at early TV production drawn by George Roussos for a promotional comic released by General Electric, Adventures in Electricity #7 (1950). © General Electric Co.

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An average weekday of mid-1950s television began with religious programming. On CBS, Captain Kangaroo entertained children from 8 am to 9 am and then local programming took over for an hour, followed by CBS’ game shows, soap operas, and talk shows to fill out the daytime schedule. On NBC, Dave Garroway, host of the Today show, would take up the first few hours of the morning, and then the network’s other scheduled programs would be similar in nature to CBS. ABC, though, chose for several years to turn over morning and afternoon air time to local stations.

However, TV was not all entertainment during the 1950s.

Senator Joseph R. McCarthy used lies and distorted facts to destroy the lives of loyal Americans by asserting they were Communists. On March 9, 1954, CBS broadcast an episode of their See It Now program with host Edward R. Murrow exposing McCarthy and his dirty tricks by playing his own words via film, TV, and audio clips. A few months later, during televised Army-McCarthy Congressional hearings, viewers watched Joseph Welch, the U.S. Army lawyer, scold McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last,

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have you left no sense of decency?” By the end of the year, the Senate had censured McCarthy.

While the tensions of the early 1950s, including the atom bomb and the Korean War, played out in comic books of the period, the first comics of the Fifties that were based on television shows were much lighter in tone. Howdy Doody, Bozo, Beany & Cecil, and other characters from children’s programming made an easy transition to the comic book world… but that would quickly expand to many other TV genres.

For comics based on television live action series (including puppet shows), the first half of the decade was fairly evenly divided (science fiction, crime, sitcoms, etc.). TV Westerns were barely acknowledged. However, beginning in 1956, reflecting the Western’s growing dominance on television, more than half of the TV comics published in the last part of the decade followed suit. Dell Comics was the leading label on the newsstand with over 90% of those titles. Dell truly owned the field… until they didn’t.

1950 HOWDY DOODY: In the early days of television, when host “Cowboy Bob” Smith asked the dozens of kids in the audience, “What time is it?”, the answer was a yell heard across America… “HOWDY DOODY TIME!” Howdy Doody was a marionette of a boy that was voiced by Smith when he was offscreen. It was a pretty hokey act but children loved it (Howdy Doody aired on NBC from 1947 to 1960).

Howdy Doody #3 (July–Aug. The program contained 1950). The man behind the clown makeup of Clarabelle games and skits with Smith became a bigger TV star than interacting with Doody and Howdy Doody. other puppets. Howdy Doody TM & © the respective holders. was television’s first superstar and Smith was a master salesman, working in plugs for kids to buy every piece of merchandising featuring Doody’s image. Despite its commercialism, there was one great thing to emerge from the

program and that was Bob Keeshan, who portrayed Clarabelle the clown for the show’s first few years. After Keeshan left the program, he won the hearts of America on another series… as Captain Kangaroo.

The January 1950 first issue of Howdy Doody from Dell Comics featured a color photo of Howdy sitting atop a piano, with black-and-white photos on the inside covers, and a color picture on the back. The inside stories were drawn cartoon-like, with Howdy looking like a young boy (no strings attached). After the regular series ended with issue #38 (July–Sept. 1956), the title moved to Dell’s Four Color for two last issues (#761, Jan. 1957, and #811, July 1957).

In August 1976, the program was revived as The New Howdy Doody Show, with Smith still in cowboy regalia. Show veterans Bill LeCornec, Nick Nicholson, and Lew Anderson were also on hand. The syndicated series only lasted until January 1977.

FOODINI THE GREAT: The Adventures of Lucky Pup was a New York City CBS television puppet program that underwent a name change to Foodini the Great when one of the supporting puppets, an egotistical, villainous stage magician (with his assistant, Pinhead), became more popular than the pup. The show was cheaply made and it ran from 1948 to 1951, but remained in syndication for several more years. Doris Brown was the human host.

(Lou Prentis and Ellen Parker also served in that capacity.)

Foodini was one of the first comic series adapted from a TV program (Foodini the Great).

Foodini the Great merchandisPictured: Foodini #1 (Mar. 1950). ing spawned two different comic book series. The first TM & © the respective holders. was called Foodini, a four-issue title (Mar. 1950 to Aug. 1950) from Continental Publications, and the second, Pinhead and Foodini, from Fawcett Publications, also a four-issue run (July 1951 to Jan. 1952).

There was also a 1951 special 25-cent comic from Stanhall entitled Jingle Dingle Christmas Stocking Comics that contained Foodini and Pinhead (Jingle Dingle was a weather-announcing elf puppet on early television).

The inside cover of Howdy Doody #3 (July–Aug. 1950).

TM & © the respective holders.

CHAPTER 1: The 1940s-1950s

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THE ALDRICH FAMILY: Each week, The Aldrich Family sitcom began with the bellowing call of his mother’s voice: “Hen-ry! HENRY ALDRICH!!!” To which, Henry replied with his cracked voice, “Coming, Mother!” It was a routine as popular as Tarzan’s yell. Henry was aptly described as a normal teenager with a vision of hope, but he would soon see spots—trouble spots—and things would go hilariously wrong.

The Aldrich Family was one of the longest-running programs in radio history, remaining on the air from 1939 to 1953, and the TV version was The Aldrich Family broadcast on NBC from 1949 to 1953. underwent a change During those TV years, The Aldrich Family of name to Henry Aldrich for its Dell underwent important cast changes on a comic book series. frequent basis. Over a four-year period, Henry Aldrich #1 Henry was played by five different actors, (Apr. 1950). while Henry’s mother and his sister were TM & © the respective holders. each portrayed by three different actresses, and the role of Henry’s buddy, Homer, was undertaken by three actors during the run. (While this would be making headlines today, it was a common occurrence in the first years of television.)

Skipping the Four Color tryout processes, Dell went straight to a Henry Aldrich comic book series, with 22 issues from April 1950 to September– November 1954. The look of the characters in the first issue by artist Bill Williams followed that of the actors appearing on the television program at the time.

YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS: Early television benefited from several comedy geniuses, one of whom was Sid Caesar. NBC’s Your Show of Shows was a live, 90-minute weekly program in which anything went.

Caesar was a dynamo of physicality, equally at home with roughhouse slapstick comedy as he was with pantomime. He was aided by a fine trio of supporting players: Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris.

Your Show of Shows was also a gathering of some of the funniest writers in show business, including Reiner, Neil Simon, and Mel Brooks. The series won the Emmy for “Best Variety” program two years in a row. The series aired from February 25, 1950 to June 5, 1954.

(top) Merchandising of Foodini the Great included puppets, birthday cards, records, a wristwatch, and a magic set. (bottom) Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca were hilarious talents on Your Show of Shows.

Sid Caesar appeared in the second issue (Apr.–May 1950) of DC’s Miss Melody Lane of Broadway, a humorous comic book series focusing on the efforts of a New York actress trying to get a big break.

The three-issue title was used as a way to sneak in plugs for entertainers on television, Broadway, and records. In the six-page story, Melody discovered Caesar practicing sound effects for his program in a rehearsal studio. Without much coaxing, Melody got Caesar to tell a mini-bio of his life. Bob Oksner’s art was better than the story.

TM & © the respective holders.

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AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s)

Artist ProfILe: WALLACE WOOD Born June 17, 1927 in Menahga, Minnesota, Wallace Wood took pencil to paper very early in his life. He got his first job in the comic industry as an assistant lettering Will Eisner’s The Spirit, and would soon be drawing a Fox romance comic.

In the next year, Wood drew one of the very first TV tie-in comic books, Martin Kane, Private Detective. He also did impressive early work for Avon Comics, and got his chance to draw several weeks of Eisner’s The Spirit.

Wood’s style was still developing when he began working for EC in 1950, but over the next few years he became such a star there that he was the subject of “My Story” in Weird Science #22 in 1953.

After EC, Wood drew spot illustrations for Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, a science-fiction digest-size pulp magazine. In 1958, Wood teamed with Jack Kirby on the daily and Sunday newspaper strip, Sky Masters of the Space Force, and also on several issues of Challengers of the Unknown for DC Comics.

Wood revolutionized the look of Daredevil in the 1960s, as well as penciled/inked other Marvel titles. And, in 1965, Wood co-created T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents with writer Len Brown for Tower Comics. He also worked at Warren on their horror magazines.

Wood kept working over the decades but he met the saddest of ends. In 1981, he was in very painful health and, on November 3, police entered his apartment because he had not been heard from for a few days. They found he had committed suicide.

He had been held in such great esteem by so many in the industry, that his death came as a major shock. He had inspired so many young artists he never met. In 1989, Wallace Wood was the first inductee into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.

Martin Kane #4 (#1) (June 1950) by Wally Wood.

TM & © the respective holders.

CHAPTER 1: The 1940s-1950s

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Fox issued one comic (Aug. 1950) based on the TV series, but the artwork and the stories in it were terrible, even though it was aimed at small children.

THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR: NBC’s The Colgate Comedy Hour hit upon a successful formula by enlisting big-name comedians to appear as hosts on a rotating basis and appear in sketches. Eddie Cantor led things off for the first program (on September 10, 1950), and he was followed by Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Abbott & Costello, and others, each of whom who would appear frequently over the six-year run of the program.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO: When it came to comedy, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were true giants. They made millions of people laugh during the 1940s and 1950s, and as long as anyone remembers “Who’s On First” (“What’s on second.”

“I don’t know.” “Third base!”), the laughter will never die.

In 1952, the team received their own TV program, The Abbott and Costello Show, a syndicated series of 52 episodes that aired until 1954 (they also continued to appear as hosts or as guests on the Colgate program).

St. John published an Abbott and Costello comic book series from February 1948 through September 1956, with 40 issues

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AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s)

in total (which contained delightful drawings by Charles “Pop” Payne on the first issue, and extraordinary art by Lily Renée and Eric Peters for #2 through 8). In 1953, St. John also issued a one-shot 3D comic.

BOB HOPE: Bob Hope was one of the funniest men in Hollywood. A lot of what would be seen in Woody Allen’s characters decades later could be found originating with Hope in his film comedies: the faux bravery undercut by cowardly one-liners, the chasing of beautiful women, the talking to the audience, and the nervous mannerisms.

Hope’s talents were honed in vaudeville, and he had some of the best writers in the industry in radio and TV working for him.

In DC’s The Adventures of Bob Hope comic book, the Hope persona was as the actor portrayed himself onscreen: vain, cowardly, and a skirt-chaser. The series lasted 109 issues (Feb.–Mar. 1950 to Feb.–Mar. 1968), with art by Owen Fitzgerald for most issues, then by Bob Oksner later in the run.

Neal Adams drew the last four issues of the series. (left) Abbott and Costello #29 (Mar. 1955). (right) The Adventures of Bob Hope #85 (Feb.–Mar. 1964).

TM & © the respective holders.

taken with the way she was drawn in the stories (with artwork primarily handled by Jim McArdle). After the DC title ended, Dell Comics published Queen of the West, Dale Evans, beginning with the aforementioned Four Color #479 (July 1953) issue, which had a more accurately-drawn Dale.

The second issue was Four Color #528 (Jan. 1954), and from there it went on to a regular title, which began with the third issue (Apr.–June 1954). Every issue from #3 until its demise with #22 (Jan.–Mar. 1959) had at least one Manning “Dale Evans” story (except for #11, 19, and 21; however, #21 did have good artwork by Warren Tufts). There were also “Dale Evans” stories to be found in Dell’s Western Roundup from #11 (July–Sept. 1955) through #25 (Jan.–Mar. 1959), with Manning art in #16, 17, 19-23 and Tufts drawing #24.

In addition to the Rogers and Evans titles, there was also a separate Roy Rogers’ Trigger comic book series, with the first

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appearance in Dell Four Color #329 (May 1951) and then under its own title starting with #2 (Sept.–Nov. 1951) and ending with #17 (June–Aug.1955).

SPECIAL HONORABLE MENTION—MAD: For almost 70 years, MAD has been satirizing television. Starting with the third issue (Jan.–Feb. 1953), when it was still a color comic book, “Dragged Net” set the pace by poking fun at TV’s Dragnet. Another “Dragged Net” takeoff followed in MAD #11 (May 1954).

The MAD satire of TV’s Dragnet was perfect at picturing the deadpan Jack Webb as Joe Friday (originally in MAD #11, May 1954, this is from Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad #4, Summer 1998).

Written by Harvey Kurtzman, art by Bill Elder.

Art by Will Elder. TM & © E. C. Publications, Inc.

1954

I LOVE LUCY: Lucille Ball had been in movies of the 1930s and 1940s before achieving success on I Love Lucy, playing the most mishap of all TV sitcom wives, Lucy Ricardo.

In I Love Lucy, Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz, her real-life husband), performer, bandleader, and nightclub owner, loved Lucy, but whatever she tried resulted in a comedic disaster. Nothing described Ricky’s incredible stamina over the years better than the episode, “Lucy and

Superman.” Lucy heard Superman (played by TV’s George Reeves) wasn’t going to be able to make Little Ricky’s birthday party and she didn’t want to disappoint her son. She put on a homemade Superman costume, climbed out of the window of the apartment next to theirs, moved cautiously along the ledge to her own window—only to see Superman had arrived inside for the party. She tried backing away along the ledge, but got her cape caught on a drainpipe—and then it started to rain. Superman ended up rescuing her from the ledge, with Ricky screaming at her: Ricky: “Of all the crazy things you done in the fifteen years we’ve been married!”

Superman: “Wait a minute. Mr. Ricardo, do you mean to say that you’ve been married to her for fifteen years?”

Ricky: “Yeah! Fifteen years!”

Superman: “And they call me ‘Superman’!”

The series ran on CBS from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957, followed by thirteen 1-hour specials under the heading of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour from 1957 to 1960.

Dell released two issues of I Love Lucy under their Four Color series (#535, Feb. 1954, and #559, May 1954) and then moved the series to its own title, from #3 (Aug.–Oct. 1952) to #35 (Apr.–June 1962). Hy C. Rosen drew many of the comic stories and the issues were graced with many cover photos of Lucy. (In addition, from 1952 to 1955, Bob Oksner drew an I Love Lucy comic strip, written by Lawrence Nadel.)

MY LITTLE MARGIE: My Little Margie starred Gale Storm as a 1950s Jill-of-all-trades and Charles Farrell played her wid-

(left) My Little Margie #1 (July, 1954) featuring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell photos alongside Chic Stone art.

Not many programs in all of television history can equal the lasting success of I Love Lucy. And what was funny then have become comedy classics. (top) Four Color #535 (Feb. 1954).

(right) Charlton Comics was financially prudent in every way possible, but the cover of My Little Margie #7 (May 1955) took that to extremes.

TM & © the respective holders.

(bottom) Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy Comics #29 (Oct.–Dec. 1960).

TM & © CBS Broadcasting Inc. TM, ® and © Paramount Pictures.

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the period in-between seasons were reruns. The third season had John Hart replacing Moore due to contract disputes, but Moore returned with the fourth season. Moore and Silverheels also starred in two theatrical movies, The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).

While the TV show was on the air, excellent paintings of the Lone Ranger looking like Clayton Moore graced the covers of the long-running comic book series. However, it wasn’t until The Lone Ranger #112 (Oct. 1957), just about the time the final episode was airing, that the comic book cover had a photo of Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger. The photo covers continued for each issue through the final Dell issue, #145 (May–June 1962).

Tom Gill drew The Lone Ranger comic book from mid-1951 to the end. His was never a style that cried for attention; instead, he drew tale after tale about the Lone Ranger and Tonto and did so in a pleasing, clean manner.

Dell’s The Cisco Kid #39 (Apr.–June 1958), photo cover featuring Duncan Renaldo.

TM & © the respective holders.

When Western started publishing The Lone Ranger under the Gold Key emblem in 1964, the company went with painted covers instead of Moore photos. The one exception was The Lone Ranger Golden West one-shot issue (Oct. 1966), which had pictures of Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels on the front cover and a photo of Moore on the back cover.

THE CISCO KID: The Cisco Kid syndicated television program was a joyful adventure series with Cisco and his sidekick, Pancho, riding all over the West, catching bad guys, rescuing beautiful señoritas, and having a great time together. There was usually a bad joke at the end of each show that made them laugh, then an exchange of “Oh, Pancho” and “Oh, Cisco,” and they would ride off together.

Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger remains an icon in the hearts of Baby Boomers, a perfect joining of actor and character, a hero who taught children the meaning of goodness. (bottom) The Lone Ranger #123 (Sept. 1958).

TM & © Classic Media, LLC.

“The Cisco Kid” was the creation of writer “O. Henry” (William Sydney Porter) and was first brought to the screen in the silent days of cinema. Many films followed in the sound era with various actors as Cisco, but when Duncan

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LASSIE: When one thinks of the Lassie TV series, two images come to mind. One, a somewhat made-up image— the dog rushing up to the adults and barking distressfully—“What’s that, Lassie? Timmy’s trapped in the well again?” And, two, a real image, completely sentimental, during the end credits with Lassie sitting there “smiling,” as it were, and raising one paw.

Lassie was the subject of several M-G-M movies and a radio show, but it was the CBS-TV series from 1954 to 1971 and the extended syndicated series from 1971 to 1973 that made the collie such a beloved animal. At first played by a male collie named Pal, Lassies over the next several decades were portrayed

Years before there were “Spaghetti Westerns,” Italian artist Alberto Giolitti was doing excellent work on The Cisco Kid (pictured here from #39, Apr.–June 1958) and other American Western comics.

TM & © the respective holders.

Renaldo was cast and then teamed later for five films with Leo Carrillo as Pancho, it was a match made in Heaven, and it continued on for The Cisco Kid TV series from 1950 to 1956.

The program was one of the television’s earliest color series.

Dell’s first comic of The Cisco Kid was Four Color #292 in 1950.

Dell continued with a regular series of The Cisco Kid starting with #2 that same year. However, while the cover paintings often resembled the decorated clothes of the Cisco from television, the interior stories did not. It was not until issue #37 (Oct.–Dec. 1957) that all elements of the television program came together: the first cover photo with Renaldo, the interior art by Alberto Giolitti brought over the clothes, and the story ended with a poor joke by Pancho. The comic title continued with photo covers until #41, the last issue.

(top) Lassie is still the most beloved TV animal of all time.

Pictured: Lassie #41 (July–Aug. 1958). (bottom) Lassie deserved to have well-drawn stories and got them, as in this page from Lassie #41 (July–Aug. 1958).

TM & © Classic Media, LLC.

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then on ABC from 1962-1965, attracting many of movies’ biggest stars, including Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Darnell, Ronald Reagan, and Mickey Rooney, as well as many actors who were on the cusp of fame (among them were Leonard Nimoy, Lee Van Cleef, Yvonne Craig, Louise Fletcher, and Dennis Hopper).

In a time when there were so many Western titles, comic artists were spread thin, but After Ward Bond’s death and Robert Horton leaving the with a hit TV title like Wagon show, the replacement cast Train it should have gone to included John McIntyre, Scott one of their better illustrators.

Miller, and young Michael Instead, the stories based on Burns. Gold Key’s Wagon the series during the Dell Train #4 (Oct. 1964). run from 1958 to 1962 (which © Universal Television. included FC #895, 971, and 1019, and its own title #4 to 13, and the tales in Western Roundup #22 to 25) were handled by very weak artists. However, when the title came under the Gold Key imprint for four issues in 1964, the artwork improved in quality a thousand-fold under the pencil of Warren Tufts. There was magnificence in what Tufts brought to Western drawings. Whether it was drawing people on drives or eating by a chuck wagon, Tufts brought style and an understanding of being there.

THE PAT BOONE CHEVY SHOWROOM: In 1957, ABCTV gave Pat Boone, singer and sometimes actor, his own variety program, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. The series ran for three seasons, ending in 1960. During that time, DC Comics got involved with Boone twice.

DC’s five-issue Pat Boone series was an unusual comic for its time, a combination of articles and comic-illustrated stories about Boone. Pat Boone #1 (Sept.–Oct. 1959). © Cooga Mooga Products, Inc.

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The first involved a guest spot in Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #9 (May 1959). In the story, “Superman’s Mystery Song,” Lois Lane was as big a fan of Pat Boone as she was of Superman. When Boone just happened to visit the Daily Planet, he caught her singing in prep for an office party and asked her to appear on his TV

AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s)

Bob Oksner drew several stories in the Pat Boone comic series, all dealing with young teenage problems or looking at the singer’s homelife.

Pictured: A page from Pat Boone #1 (Sept.–Oct. 1959). © Cooga Mooga Products, Inc.

show. Lois conned Clark into writing lyrics for a song about Superman but, in a daze after a rough night’s sleep, he came up with words that accidentally revealed his secret identity.

The rest of the story involved Superman stopping everyone from hearing the song. Dick Sprang’s drawings of the singer looked more like Dick Clark than Pat Boone.

DC’s second time with Boone was giving him his own comic book title, and it was an odd combination of magazine-like articles and comic stories. Bob Oksner was the major comic artist throughout the five-issue series (Sept.– Oct. 1959 through May–June 1960), doing spot illustrations in each issue’s opening text installment about the life of Pat Boone. In addition, Oksner illustrated comic book style stories about Boone helping teenage girls to put on a prom or join a sorority. There were also Oksner-drawn comic stories about the homelife of the Boones. The rest of each issue were photo-illustrated articles about celebrities. Plus, of course, ads for Pat Boone merchandise.

WALT DISNEY PRESENTS: In 1958, the Walt Disney TV program underwent a name change from Walt Disney’s Disneyland to Walt Disney Presents. Under the new title, the program aired recurring serials of three different real-life adventurers: Elfego Baca, John Slaughter, and Francis Marion.

While they did not achieve the success of the Davy Crockett programs, they were all excellent entertainment.

THE NINE LIVES OF ELFEGO BACA: Elfego Baca, a Mexican American in New Mexico of the Old West, was a lawman, a lawyer, a mayor, and a district attorney. One of the great factual stories surrounding his legend was how, in 1844, he was trapped in a small shack-like building while a surrounding force of gunmen fired approximately 4,000 rounds of ammunition into it—and he came out unharmed.

He was a lawman who wrote letters to outlaws to come in and surrender themselves to him, and if they did not he

Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #9 saw a cover appearance

by Pat Boone, while inside Lois Lane was featured on the contemporary program This is Your Life. © DC Comics.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE: Each week on This is Your Life, a famous person was surprised by host Ralph Edwards, and then his or her life was examined, with family and friends to talk about the guest. The program debuted on NBC in 1952 and continued on air until 1961.

In Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #9 (the same issue that had the Pat Boone story), Lois was the subject of a cruel, elaborate hoax by Superman and everybody she loved. Seeking to make Lois “The Most Hated Girl in Metropolis!”, they did it to get her to leave and go to Hollywood in order to be caught unaware by Edwards on This is Your Life. (It was actually the second time Edwards appeared in a DC comic, the first being Action Comics #127, December 1948, when he was host of the radio game show Truth or Consequences. Guests failing to answer a question were made to do an embarrassing stunt. In the comic, Superman was the fall guy, and wearing an apron he was sprayed in the face by Edwards wielding a seltzer bottle.)

Matching the new name for the Disney weekly TV program, Dell’s Walt Disney Presents comic series included Disney’s “The Swamp Fox,” “The Tales of Texas John Slaughter,” and “The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca.” Walt Disney Presents #3 (Mar.–May 1960), with (clockwise) Leslie Nielsen, Tom Tryon, and Robert Loggia. © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

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CHAPTER 2:

It was an era that started with John F. Kennedy beating Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election. Space exploration was the order of the day, but Americans were worried about other missiles—Russian missiles brought to the island of Cuba for the sole purpose of being in range of America. Nuclear war was at hand, but Kennedy’s strong hand made Khrushchev blink and remove the weapons of mass destruction.

It was an era when, on November 22, 1963, CBS interrupted their programming and Walter Cronkite told the country that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. The death of the young president put the country into shock. Two days later, Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin, was murdered by Jack Ruby inside a police station—and it was captured live on television. The following day, the Kennedy funeral was broadcast on all three networks.

If that pain had not been enough, in 1968, his brother Robert was killed by an assassin a few moments after he had won the California primary, and television cameras were just a few feet away. Adding horror on top of that, Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered that same year.

The country was also mired in Vietnam and America’s youth did not want to be there. “Make love, not war” was the slogan of the new generation. It was a country ripped apart and the division between hawks and doves was never more apparent.

Television, while documenting the tragedies, still managed to entertain with Batman, Perry Mason, Star Trek,

The 1960s

The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Dream of Jeannie, The Beverly Hillbillies, Honey West, The Green Hornet, and many, many others. Dr. Richard Kimble proved his innocence in the final episode of The Fugitive, garnering the highest viewership of any program to that date. And the decade ended with President Kennedy’s dream realized as the world watched a man walk on the Moon.

The comic books in the 1960s were also an amazing time with the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the X-Men added to the newsstand racks alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League of America.

The 1960s was not only a Silver Age for superheroes, it was that for TV comics, too—starting in 1962 when kids saw their favorite Dell titles bearing a new imprint, “Gold Key.” As mentioned in the Introduction, Western Printing & Lithographing Company had been producing the comics for Dell, including writing, drawing, and printing. They also held the comic book licensing rights for the majority of the TV shows, movies, and other characters, but Dell paid the bills and did the distribution. A clash between the two companies about money ended with Western keeping the comic book titles (and the artists and writers) and printing them under the new Gold Key insignia. Dell’s remaining and subsequent new titles (including Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, and Car 54, Where Are You?) looked weaker than Gold Key’s polished cover design and printing. However, Dell continued on through the rest of the decade, giving competition to Western.

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1960 77 SUNSET STRIP: 77 Sunset Strip was one of TV’s most popular private detective series, running from 1958 through 1964 on ABC, but its popularity was not because of the private eyes in it. Though the male leads were handsome Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Roger Smith, it was the attendant of the parking lot next door, “Kookie,” played by Edd Byrnes, whom the teenage female fans loved. He was hip, he was cool, and his speech contained language so bizarre that a translation was needed. The program was TV’s first hourlong private eye series.

1962). With the move away from Dell, Western published two more issues (#1, Nov. 1962, and #2, Feb. 1963) under its new Gold Key imprint.

The comic book series had two illustrators who were both extraordinary talents, and each had a style that was completely different from the other—but it is impossible to select who was better suited to handle the title.

Beginning in 1960, Dell released six 77 Sunset Strip issues in their Four Color series (#1066, 1106, 1159, 1211, 1263, and 1291), and then a oneshot issue (#01-742-209, Sept.

The public chooses who they want to make stars and, in the case of 77 Sunset Strip, teenage viewers chose supporting actor Edd “Kookie” Byrnes. The 77 Sunset Strip comics also elevated his role in the stories and his place on the covers (top left: Four Color #1066, Jan.–Mar. 1960). (bottom left) “Standing still” didn’t seem to be built into Alex Toth’s artistic vocabulary. And even sound effects on paper didn’t just hang there—they would curve around a corner with Kookie’s hot rod in this 77 Sunset Strip comic adventure.

Four Color #1066 (Jan.–Mar. 1960). (right) Even fans of “Kookie” on 77 Sunset Strip needed “Kookie Talk,” a one-page feature on the inside cover of Four Color #1066 (Jan.–Mar. 1960), that translated his expressions into regular English. © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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than anybody how to do things. The sitcom was a hit and ran from 1957 to 1962 on ABC and from 1962 to 1963 on NBC. Dell waited until two years into the TV run before coming out with Four Color #1071 (Jan.–Mar. 1960), but it was worth the wait. Alex Toth applied a simple approach to the art and it worked, and the stories were genuinely funny. Scripts for that first issue were by writing partners Eric Freiwald and Robert Schaefer, who not only wrote comics based on movie and TV shows for Dell and Gold Key, they were both active writers in television. With the second installment, Four Color #1134 (Sept.–Nov. 1960), Toth got very much more detailoriented and the 32 pages made up a joyful tour-de-force.

With the third of the Four Color issues (#1193, June–Aug. 1961), Toth was gone and the art was weaker, as it also was with the next (#1265, Dec. 1961-Feb. 1962). Dell did one issue under its own title (#01-689-207, May–July 1962) but it would be the last issue.

Under Russ Manning’s pencil, the actors of 77 Sunset Strip were captured perfectly. They were living, breathing characters in his drawings and he just put them to work naturally throughout the stories. 77 Sunset Strip #1 (Nov. 1962). © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Alex Toth’s excellent line work highlighted the first three issues of 77 Sunset Strip that appeared in the Dell Four Color series, with plenty of action sequences and Toth’s great use of shadows. Russ Manning drew the rest of the issues and the contrast between the two artists was remarkable. Both Toth and Manning captured the stars’ likeness extremely well, but Manning was the victor in that area. Manning’s was a clean, beautiful style, and he seemed to know the actors from every angle.

THE REAL McCOYS: The Real McCoys was sort of the first Beverly Hillbillies, except in this case the McCoys were a family that moved from their farm in the hills of West Virginia to another farm in California, this time in the San Fernando Valley—and they were not rich. The cast included Richard Crenna as Luke and Kathy Nolan as his wife, Kate, but the star of the show was Walter Brennan as Grandpa Amos, a cantankerous old soul who always thought he knew better

Richard Crenna, Walter Brennan, and Kathy Nolan starred in The Real McCoys, a six-season comedy hit.

Four Color #1265 (Dec. 1961-Feb. 1962). © Brennan-Westgate Productions, Inc. © sfm Entertainment. © Inception Media Group.

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The Real McCoys TV series was carried over into five Dell comic issues and the first two featured very funny art by Alex Toth, especially the inside back cover of Four Color #1134 (Sept.–Nov. 1960). © Brennan-Westgate Productions, Inc. © sfm Entertainment. © Inception Media Group.

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THE REBEL: From 1959 to 1961, Nick Adams starred as Johnny Yuma, The Rebel of the title. The ABC series told of his wanderings across the country after his time in the Confederate Army. Yuma’s most important possession was a journal in which he wrote about his life, trying to come to terms with the brutality of the war and living afterwards. Yuma was another knight of the Old West, and the episodes were well-written. Guest stars included Dan

The Deputy was a western drama starring Henry Fonda, but Allen Case as the deputy of the title was the main focus of the stories. (left) Four Color #1077 (Feb.–Apr. 1960) and #1130 (Sept.–Nov. 1960). © NBC Universal, Inc.

Blocker, Robert Vaughn, and Leonard Nimoy. In the summer of 1962, NBC aired it in reruns.

Dell’s four issues based upon the show had good stories

by Gaylord Du Bois. Mike Sekowsky’s art was excellent at capturing Nick Adams and provided a strong Western atmosphere (or, at least, a TV Western atmosphere). The first issue (FC #1076, Feb.–Apr. 1960) adapted the pilot episode of the TV series in which Yuma returned to his hometown and found out his father, a sheriff, had been murdered. The second and third issues (FC #1138, Oct.–Dec. 1960, and FC #1207, Sept.–Nov. 1961) were equally as impressive. The last issue (FC #1262, Dec. 1961-Feb. 1962) was weaker because a different inker, lighter in style, reduced the impact of Sekowsky’s art (Dec. 1961-Feb. 1962).

(top) Nick Adams as Johnny Yuma in The Rebel (Four Color #1138, Oct.–Dec. 1960). (bottom) All four issues of Dell’s The Rebel (Four Color #1076, 1138, 1207 and 1262) contained good artwork by Mike Sekowsky.

Four Color #1207 (Sept.–Nov. 1961). © The Rebel Company.

THE DEPUTY: Henry Fonda took a very rare television series role as the marshal on The Deputy, a part that allowed him to make a short appearance per show and leave plenty of time for making films. The character of “The Deputy” was a local merchant (Allen Case) who also happened to be deadly with a gun, taking up the responsibilities of a parttime deputy when the marshal needed him to help out. It was a good series, sometimes taking overused Western plots and turning them on their head. The NBC program ran two seasons, from 1959 to 1961.

There were three issues to the Dell adaptation, and the first two (FC #1077, Feb.–Apr. 1960, and FC #1130, Sept.–Nov. 1960) contained very good artwork by John Buscema, with excellent renditions of Fonda and Chase. The final issue (FC #1225, Oct.–Dec. 1961) had adequate artwork by Jack Sparling. Paul S. Newman wrote the first issue.

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Dan Spiegle’s atmospheric art for all four issues of The Untouchables captured the feel of the dark, gun-ridden streets of 1920s Chicago. Four Color #1237 (Oct.–Dec. 1961).

TM, ® & © Paramount Pictures.

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1962 THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW: The Andy Griffith Show remains one of America’s most beloved TV shows, even after almost six decades since it first debuted on CBS. The close relationships between Sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith), his son Opie (Ron Howard), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts), and the rest of the cast in Mayberry may well be the idealized image of Middle America in the 1960s. Mayberry was a peaceable town so small there was only one barber, one bank, one gas station, and one town drunk (who let himself into a jail cell to sleep it off).

The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 through 1968, at which time Griffith left the series. With a change of name to Mayberry R.F.D., and a new lead of Ken Berry, the program continued for another three years.

Coming at a time when the split from Western was just about to take place, Dell released only two comic issues based on the series. In the first issue (FC #1252, Jan.–Mar. 1962), Henry Scarpelli drew Griffith and Knotts in high-caricature mode, but it was still enjoyable. However, Opie and the other participants, as well as the panel backgrounds, looked more like a tale of Archie Andrews. The second issue (FC #1341, Apr.–June 1962) was weaker in all aspects of the art, this time

by Bill Fraccio.

DIVER DAN: A syndicated children’s program, Diver Dan mixed human actors and puppets in stories under the sea.

Made on a minuscule budget, it resembled something from the early 1950s, instead of 1960 when it aired. However, it still had charm in its humor. The main bad guy was a barracuda who sounded like Bela Lugosi. On the good side was a beautiful mermaid, Miss Minerva (Suzanne Turner) and the hero of the title, Diver Dan (Frank Freda).

The first Dell adaptation (FC #1254, Feb.–Apr. 1962) had very nice art, believed to have been by Maurice Whitman, with amusing illustrations of the different fish characters. Diver Dan had one more issue, under its own title, as #2 (June– Aug. 1962).

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE: In Adventures in Paradise, Gardner McKay portrayed Adam Troy, the skipper of a schooner that he used to carry cargo from port to port.

However, being a good guy, he often got involved in people’s problems, whether they were passengers or people he met on land. It was a popular series, with a number of good guest stars, including Alexis Smith, Lizabeth Scott, Yvonne De Carlo, and Vincent Price, as well as up-and-comers such as

Four Color #1252 (Jan.–Mar. 1962) featured The Andy Griffith Show stars Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, and Frances Bavier on its photo cover. © Mayberry Enterprises Inc. © Danny Thomas Productions and its successors and assigns. © CBS Studios Productions LLC.

(left) An entertaining children’s program, two issues of Diver Dan were released under the Dell logo. Frank Freda was Diver Dan. Four Color #1254 (Feb.–Apr. 1962). (right) Gardner McKay as Adam Troy in Adventures in Paradise, a three-year ABC-TV adventure series.

Four Color #1301 (Feb.–Apr. 1962).

TM & © the respective holders.

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Dell published two issues (Mar. 1967 and June 1967) with art by Frank Springer, who was normally an exceptional comic book artist but here appears to have done both issues in a hurry.

This group shot of the actors for The Monroes— in combination with the comic’s plain but effective logo masthead—may well be the best representative of what a TV-comic cover should look like. The Monroes #1 (Apr. 1967). © Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc.

THE MONROES: In The Monroes, an ABC-TV program in the fall of 1966, a group of orphaned children were determined to make it in the Old West on their own after their parents died. Clayt (Michael Anderson, Jr.) and Kathleen (Barbara Hershey) were the eldest of the family, so the responsibility of caring for the young twin brothers (played by Keith and Kevin Schultz) and their tiny sister (Tammy Locke) fell to them.

They set up home on a small piece of land they said their father had claimed years before, a piece of property that two feuding land barons wanted. The ABC series was filmed on location in Moose, Wyoming territory, including the majestic Grand Teton National Park, but only lasted the 1966-1967 single season.

Dell’s only issue (Apr. 1967) had two quickly-drawn stories

by Jack Sparling.

Peter Lupus, Greg Morris, Barbara Bain, and Steven Hill took center stage on the cover to Mission: Impossible #1 (May 1967).

TM Paramount Pictures Corporation. © CBS Studios, Inc.

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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: “Good morning, Mr. Phelps.”

Each week of Mission: Impossible, that unmistakable voice addressed Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) and sent him and his IMF (“Impossible Mission Forces”) team on another exciting, high-intrigue assignment to stop saboteurs, third-world dictators, and other dangers to the free world. The CBS series began September 17, 1966 with regulars Stephen Hill (as mission head Dan Briggs), Greg Morris, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and Peter Lupus. Hill quit the series after the first season and was replaced by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps.

AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s)

Mission: Impossible #4 (Oct. 1968) was the only cover in Dell’s five-issue series to include both stars Peter Graves and Martin Landau.

TM Paramount Pictures Corporation. © CBS Studios, Inc.

Landau and Bain left the series at the end of the third season, and Leonard Nimoy (right off of Star Trek) came in but he was gone after two seasons. Lesley Ann Warren was the first replacement for Bain, followed up by Lynda Day George, and then Barbara Anderson. The original series came to an end on March 30, 1973, but Peter Graves returned with a new IMF crew for a two-year run on ABC from October 23, 1988 to February 24, 1990.

Dell published five issues (from May 1967 to October 1969) based on the original series. Each issue dealt with the “Dan Briggs” character. Even the fourth issue, which pictured Graves on the cover and his likeness in the story, still called him “Dan Briggs.” Art for the series was by Jack Sparling and, while he did good likenesses of the actors, his work was weaker than some of his other adaptations. Paul S. Newman wrote the scripts for the first three issues and Joe Gill did the fourth. (The fifth issue was a reprint of the first.)

RUN, BUDDY, RUN: Run, Buddy, Run was a clever comedy from Leonard Stern (one of the writers for Get Smart).

The CBS series focused on the terror felt by Buddy Overstreet (Jack Shelton) after he overheard a crime boss (Bruce Gordon) telling his underlings to kill someone.

The criminals discovered Buddy had been listening and he ran for his life. Crossing the country, Buddy took odd jobs as he got them, until the crooks discovered where he was and he was off again.

Jack Sheldon did a good job as Buddy, but the best performance was by Gordon doing a satire on his Frank Nitti role in The Untouchables. The series was short-lived, airing from September 1966 to January 1967.

Though the Gold Key comic had but one issue (June 1967), and added an exclamation mark to the title on the front cover, the comedy story got realistic-looking art by Alden McWilliams, who drew excellent renditions of Sheldon and Gordon.

DAKTARI: Daktari (Swahili for “Doctor”) was an Ivan Tors production about a game preserve in Africa. Starring in the cast were Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy and Cheryl Miller as his daughter, Paula… plus Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion. The series started in January 1966 and lasted four seasons on CBS. Fans of the TV series had very long waits between the four issues of the Dell comic book title. The first was published with a cover date of July 1967, and the second was dated November; it was a year before the third issue, dated October 1968, and then another full year before the fourth (Oct. 1969)… which was a reprint of the first issue. Bob Jenney drew issues #1 and #3, while Henry Scarpelli drew #2.

RANGO: When you’ve got nothing good to say about a genre, make a comedy about it—but be sure it is humorous, first. Tim Conway, fresh from McHale’s Navy, put on a Texas Ranger tin star and became the Old West’s most-inept lawman, Rango. Considered one of the worst TV series ever aired, the 1967 ABC series was cancelled after only 17 episodes.

The only good thing about the show was the opening theme sung by Frankie Laine (Rawhide, Blazing Saddles).

Run, Buddy, Run was created by Leonard Stern, an executive producer and writer of the Get Smart TV series. Pictured on the only comic book tie-in (June 1967) was Jack Sheldon and Bruce Gordon, with possibly the most humorous back cover “pin-up” ever from Gold Key. © Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.

(left) Daktari #4 (Oct. 1969). (right) With the conclusion of McHale’s Navy, America looked forward to seeing Tim Conway in another TV comedy series. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Rango.

Daktari © Ivan Tors Films. Inc. Rango © Thomas/Spelling/Timkel Productions.

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(top right) The Bomba the Jungle Boy comic book series may have been “All new!” as per the header of the first issue (Sept.–Oct. 1967), but the TV program actually consisted of re-edited Bomba movies. (bottom) In a change of pace, Bomba the Jungle Boy #6 (July– Aug. 1968) told the story in captions, with no dialogue balloons.

Denny O’Neil’s script clearly inspired Jack Sparling to turn out exceptional and emotional artwork.

TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The Dell comic one-shot (Aug. 1967) was just as painfully unfunny as the TV show was. The artwork by Sal Trapani, though, was sufficient for its purpose.

BOMBA, THE JUNGLE BOY: The character of Bomba, the Jungle Boy, had similarities to the early sound films of Tarzan, the Ape Man starring Johnny Weissmuller, which had as his son a character named “Boy.” Bomba was like “Boy” but as a teen.

In reality, that was not far from the facts, as actor Johnny Sheffield played both parts. Like Tarzan, Bomba was established in a series of novels. Bomba movies were a staple of Monogram Studios, with a total of nine pictures produced there, and then Allied Artists did the final three in the series, all of which were produced between 1949 and 1955.

In the 1960s, the films got a revival (in edited form) on a Chicago television station, and from this DC went ahead with Bomba, the Jungle Boy, a seven-issue comic book series (Sept.–Oct 1967 to Sept.–Oct. 1968) with the tagline, “TV’s Teen Jungle Star.” Though the comic had an exceptional first issue cover by Carmine Infantino, with Bomba wrestling the most vicious-looking alligator in comic history, the interior of it and the second issue had poor art by Leo Sommers. Jack Sparling took over the art chores with the third issue and, again, his art was very loose and exaggerated.

However, the sixth issue was a standout by Sparling, possibly because of the writing by Dennis O’Neil, with a tale of Bomba becoming friends with the son of a chief. Sparling drew the friendship of the two youths with reverence, and the art had a quiet dignity that was not seen in any other issue in the series.

STAR TREK: Finding new things to say about the original Star Trek television series is impossible. Star Trek couched the fantastic in the real and there was little in alien life that Kirk, Scotty, Bones, Uhura—and even Spock—did not recognize in their own humanity. The mission of the Starship Enterprise, as envisioned

by Gene Roddenberry and played out by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and the rest of the cast, was A striking photo design on the cover to Star Trek #7 (Mar. 1970).

TM & © Paramount Pictures Corporation.

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Gold Key transitioned the covers from photo collages (top left) #8 (Sept. 1970), to painted artwork (top right) Star Trek #21 (Nov. 1973) and (bottom left) Star Trek #25 (July 1974), to pen and ink Star Trek #30 (May 1975).

TM & © Paramount Pictures Corporation.

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Barclays, respectively) were already established and respected. However, in the case of The High Chaparral, the stories focused on John Cannon carving out an empire of his own in Arizona. Cannon was a grim, hard fighter and cowboys didn’t slack off a moment if they wanted to continue working for him. The stories were intelligent and well-acted by a cast that included Leif Erickson as Cannon, Linda Cristal as his wife, Cameron Mitchell as his brother, and Henry Darrow as his brother-in-law. The series ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 10, 1967 to March 12, 1971.

Gold Key published just one issue of The High Chaparral (Aug. 1968) but it was an excellent tie-in to the television series. In the story, Cash Cade bore a hate for John Cannon because of a range war and because Cannon’s deceased wife, Annalee, chose to marry John over him. Cade hired men to kill Cannon and destroy everything he had. An all-out battle emerged throughout the entire issue, with only Indians standing back to observe the fight. The comic had very fine artwork by Warren Tufts, including excellent renditions of the TV show cast.

For the only Americanpublished comic of the 1960s based on The Avengers, the cover pictured Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee in a scene from the 1967 episode, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station.” © STUDIOCANAL FILMS Ltd.

THE AVENGERS: The Avengers was one of the greatest television hits to come out of the United Kingdom, but prior to playing on ABC-TV in America it had already been on the air for three seasons in its native England. The first, in 1961, was a teaming of Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry) and British agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee), at the time a supporting character. With Hendry’s leaving the program, Macnee got the lead and Honor Blackman became a partner as Cathy Gale, a leather-clad, judo expert. Blackman stayed for two years (1962 to 1964) and then departed to make Goldfinger… which brought in Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.

The fourth season was filmed in black-and-white and debuted on ABC in America in early 1966. With the fifth season, The Avengers went to full color and was a hit in the United States.

Episodes were at their tongue-in-cheek best, with Steed and Mrs. Peel stopping murderers, lunatics, and would-be world conquerors. At the start of the sixth season, the first episode featured the leaving of Diana Rigg/Emma Peel and the arrival of her replacement, Linda Thorson as new agent Tara

In England, fans of The Avengers TV series got to see John Steed and Emma Peel on a more frequent basis with beautifully-illustrated comic adventures in 1966-1967 issues of Diana, a British weekly magazine for young girls.

These were reprinted by Big Finish in a 2018 trade paperback, The Avengers Steed and Mrs. Peel: The Comic Strips. © Big Finish. © STUDIOCANAL Films Ltd.

King, who did not have the same chemistry with the viewers.

The Avengers remained popular in the UK, with a stage production and radio shows. There was also a sequel TV series, The New Avengers, which had Macnee returning as Steed with two new partners, Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) and Purdey (Joanne Lumley). The New Avengers aired for two seasons (October 22, 1976 to December 17, 1977).

Gold Key published its one and only comic (Nov. 1968) with a heading of John Steed Emma Peel in large letters on the top of the cover, and in much smaller font halfway down the cover “Based on the TV Series The Avengers”, likely to hold off trouble from Marvel. (The indicia on the first page of the inside, however, listed it as “The Avengers, No. 1”.) The poorlydrawn stories in the issue were reprinted from a British weekly. (On a much brighter note, in 2018, Big Finish Productions Ltd. published The Avengers Steed and Mrs. Peel The Comic Strips, a collection of the hand-painted comic stories of

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The comic book from Gold Key had five issues (Nov. 1968 to Sept. 1969), all written by Dick Wood, and, like the TV show, ended without any return to their own world. The artist who drew the series is not positively identified but the work was competent, though figures were labored and stiff.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN: In The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Hanna-Barbera produced a TV series with actors portraying Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Becky Thatcher (Michael Shea, Kevin Schultz, and LuAnn Haslam, respectively). While on the run from the murderous Injun Joe (Ted “Lurch” Cassidy), the three children rushed into a cave which suddenly thrust them into an animated world. Each week, the young adventurers would intermingle with cartoony characters of history and legend. The NBC series began in September 1968 but lasted only five months.

Land of the Giants #5 (Sept. 1969).

Paul Norris drew the single Gold Key issue (December 1968) based upon the series.

A photo of Shea, Schultz, and Haslam appeared on the cover, along with a comicillustrated Mummy that would have been more at home on Scooby-Doo. The comic, using the alternate TV title of The New Adventures of Huck Finn, adapted the TV series’ episode, “The Curse of Thut.”

TM & © Irwin Allen Properties LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

The Avengers published in Diana magazine in the UK from 1966 to 1967. The art by Emilio Frejo offered perfect likenesses of Macnee and Rigg, using production photographs as references.)

LAND OF THE GIANTS: Land of the Giants was a 1968 Irwin Allen series about people in the year 1983 on board a transcontinental flight that traveled through space as part of its flight pattern. Encountering a space storm, it crashed on the planet… but what planet?

While it looked like Earth, the people and animals were the size of giants, while the crew and passengers were as small as dolls by comparison. The cast included Gary Conway, Heather Young, Don Marshall, Deanna Lund, Don Matheson, Stefan Arngrim, and Kurt Kasznar (as the obligatory Irwin Allen villain posing as a good guy).

The ABC series ran two years and was cancelled without a conclusion.

(top) The New Adventures of Huck Finn #1 (Dec. 1968) from Gold Key. (bottom) A Hanna-Barbera painted image from the series The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. © Hanna-Barbera.

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1969 THE MOD SQUAD: The Mod Squad was groovy and with it, and it was where the audience made the scene every week or else they would be labeled as totally square. (Yes, they did talk like that.) It was the Sixties and it was a time of rebellion, of drugs, of free love, and of anti-war feelings. Tough-but-decent cop Captain Adam Greer (Tige Andrews) rescued three young lawbreakers, Pete (Michael Cole), Linc (Clarence Williams III), and Julie (Peggy Lipton), from continuing down the path they were headed, and gave them a chance to prove their worth as undercover cops, infiltrating the young counterculture in order to weed out the bad guys preying on “the Now Generation.” The Mod Squad was a good series and aired from 1968 to 1973.

There were a total of eight issues published by Dell (#7 and 8 were reprints of the first two issues) from January 1969 to April 1971. The photo covers were mod-like layouts, with added text such as “Groovey!”, “Outasite!”, “Danger is their bag!!”, and “The dove of peace is DEAD!” The insides were drawn by José Delbo, not yet showing the good artist he would become. However, it was the comics’ stories that were truly cringe-worthy. What could have been excellent writing with a view on politics and the happening scene, instead sunk to unbelievable depths, including a story’s reveal that a disco club owner was trying to turn protesters into revolutionaries because he was an undercover “commie,” with Linc holding the evidence: a large-sized photo of Mao Tse-tung and a Red Chinese flag. The Dell comic adaptation was a bad scene, man.

LANCER: In the CBS TV series Lancer, two sons of rich landowner Murdoch Lancer (Andrew Duggan) came together, not knowing beforehand of the other’s existence (each was from a different mother). Both men had different personalities, one a hothead (James Stacy) and the other very deliberate (Wayne Maunder), but the stepbrothers would fight for each other and for their father. The series was well-written but lasted only two seasons (1968-1970).

Gold Key published three issues based on the Lancer TV program, running from February 1969 to September 1969. Art for the series was moderately good.

DARK SHADOWS: Daily TV soap operas had been standard drama for many, many years. And then, on June 27, 1966, ABC aired Dark Shadows and things got very creepy very quickly as Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) arrived at the Collins family mansion to act as a governess. However,

(left) Three youths, Linc (Clarence Williams III), Julie (Peggy Lipton), and Pete (Michael Cole), avoided jail time by working undercover for a police captain as The Mod Squad. (right) Gold Key gave the cover for the second issue (June 1969) of Lancer a modern-day thriller look, but the series was strictly set in the old West.

The Mod Squad TM & © Spelling Television Inc. Photography © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Lancer © Twentieth Century-Fox Television, Inc.

Vampires like Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) feared nothing except the Holy Cross, garlic, and a lot of large text on the cover of Dark Shadows #4 (May 1970).

TM & © Curtis Holdings LLC.

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CHAPTER 3:

The 1970s were a time of rebellion. The United States pulled out of Vietnam. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace. Young Hollywood talents were edgier, hipper, and more willing to go against the norm. Yet, in movies, the top-grossing films leaned towards subjects that had roots in cinema past…

The Godfather, Star Wars, and Jaws… but they were made by “the Movie Brats” (Coppola, Lucas, and Spielberg) and appealed to a new audience.

On television, America laughed its head off watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Saturday Night Live, M*A*S*H, All in the Family, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Mork & Mindy. Other popular fare included Dallas, The Waltons, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Charlie’s Angels.

At the time of the early 1970s, comic publishers reduced their output. Dell would be out of the comic business after 1971 and Gold Key/Whitman was hanging on by its fingernails. However, there was to be a champion, even if it was temporary, and it was the least suspected comic publisher of all. Charlton Publications (which was notorious for shoddy printing and poor art) had a new editorial team and they jumpstarted the return of television comics.

1970

ROOM 222: Room 222 was a well-respected TV comedydrama about teachers and students. Pete Dixon (Lloyd Haynes) communicated well with his students, not only about the schoolwork, but also because he had compassion about their problems. The series, which was likely inspired by To Sir, With Love, dealt with a number of important topics, including drugs, Vietnam, and obesity, and how

The 1970s

great teachers could make the difference in many students’ lives. The supporting cast included Denise Nicholas, Karen Valentine, and Michael Constantine. The Emmy-winning program, created by James L. Brooks, aired from 1969 to 1974.

The comic book adaptation by Dell, The cast of Room 222. on the other hand, Room 222 #3 (July 1970). lasted only four © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. issues, from January 1970 to January 1971, with #4 being a reprint of #1. Art for all issues was by Jack Sparling, who seemed to have only three or four photos of the actors to work from because the head shots of the cast were repeated within the same story, and not always appropriately, such as grinning during a very serious moment. Sparling’s art was also very simplified and messy.

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A satirical take on Room 222 from MAD #136 (July 1970).

Room 222 © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. MAD TM & © E. C. Publications, Inc.

The Courtship of Eddie’s Father was one of the best TV series of the 1970s. However, the Dell comic was a failure for both of its issues. Issue #2 (May 1970). © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.

THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER: Bill Bixby, Brandon Cruz, and Miyoshi Umeki starred in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, one of the best TV comedies of the late 1960s/early 1970s—possibly the very best when it came to love between a father and son. Bill Bixby played Dad to Brandon Cruz’s Eddie, and there was a genuine bond between Bixby and Cruz. Unlike other series, Eddie was a sweet kid, and Tom Corbett (Bixby) wasn’t a goofball TV dad. Corbett was a widower, trying to be both parents for Eddie. Eddie, on the other hand, wanted his dad to be happy again and was actively trying to find someone to take his mother ’s place. Children that good don’t grow on trees. Miyoshi Umeki played their Japanese housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston, a gentle soul who was still having trouble with English. Jodie Foster made several appearances as Eddie’s friend, Joey. Based on the

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1963 M-G-M movie starring Glenn Ford and Ronny (Ron) Howard, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father ran three seasons on ABC, from September 17, 1969 to March 1, 1972.

There were two Dell issues (Jan. 1970 and May 1970), both with incredibly horrible art. Forget that none of the characters in the comics looked like the actors, this was a nightmare of disproportioned bodies, gigantic blank areas in the background, and incomplete inking.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Similar to Bachelor Father, Family Affair featured Bill Davis (Brian Keith), who lived in a swanky New York apartment with his valet, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot), but then had the sudden arrival of his two nieces and a nephew whose parents were killed in a car crash. While he tried to retain the romances of his bache-

(left) Family Affair #2 (Apr. 1970). (right) Before there was Lost, there was The New People. The New People #2 (May 1970).

Family Affair © Family Affair Company or successor in interest.

The New People © Thomas/Spelling Productions.

lorhood, Uncle Bill, as the kids called him, became a loving and protective guardian to them. The CBS TV series ran from 1966 to 1971.

Gold Key’s four-issue comic series (1970) had art by Jack Sparling and Sal Trapani, and the rendering of Keith, Cabot, and the others was excellent. However, the stories were short, three to four per issue, never giving much chance to play out the humor and warmth of the show. While #2 to 4 were priced at 15 cents each, issue #1 was 25 cents because it had a foldout poster of Buffy (Anissa Jones, whose life ended at 18 years of age from a drug overdose).

THE NEW PEOPLE: 35 years before Lost, there was another drama on ABC about a downed airliner crashing on the beach of a mysterious island. The story of The New People involved the adults on the plane being killed in the crash (save for one who met his death shortly thereafter in the series), which left a group of teenagers who had to survive on their own. The cast included Tiffany Bolling, Zooey Hall, Jill Jaress, and David Moses. The series got a good start-off with the pilot written by Rod Serling, but soon went downhill, and the episodes were 45-minutes long, an experimental concept that didn’t catch on. The program debuted in September 1969 but was cancelled in January 1970.

There were two issues published by Dell (#1, Jan. 1970, and #2, May 1970), and both had fair artwork by Frank Springer, who employed a lot of shortcuts here, including almost entire pages where characters and settings were in complete silhouette.

THE GOVERNOR AND J.J.: The Governor and J.J. was a delightful comedy series starring Dan Dailey as a state governor and the effervescent Julie Sommars as his grown-up daughter, J.J. The Governor was a widower and part of the older generation, but J.J. took it upon herself to handle all the things a First Lady would and tried to bring him into the present day. The sitcom debuted in September 1969 with smart writing, but the The Governor and J.J. #1 (Feb. 1970). program never found an audience, even with a lead-in TM & © the respective holders. of The Red Skelton Hour. CBS cancelled the series during its second season.

Gold Key published three issues based on the series in quick succession, dated between February 1970 and August 1970.

THE BRADY BUNCH: The Brady Bunch told of Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a man with three sons, who married Carol (Florence Henderson), a woman with three daughters, and all the situations they encountered as one big family. The sitcom certainly bore more than a resemblance to a very successful 1966 movie called Yours, Mine, and Ours, which starred Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, as two people who met and fell in love…

The Brady Bunch #1 and each with a secret: his ten (Feb. 1970). kids and her eight. The Brady TM & © Paramount Pictures.

Bunch ran for five seasons on ABC (from 1969 to 1974), as well as an attempt to revive the series (The Brady Bunch Hour) for a few months in 1977. There were also various TV-movies, plus two satirical film remakes with a new cast.

Dell published two issues of The Brady Bunch. The first (Feb. 1970) and the second (May 1970) both featured art

by José Delbo, who drew the characters in a very stylized, humorous manner that was pleasing and managed to retain the “cuteness” of the family members, even if not quite capturing the actors’ features.

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1973

1974

ADAM-12: Adam-12 was the Jack Webb-produced cop show about patrol car officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed (played by Martin Milner and Kent McCord, respectively). The NBC series featured the officers’ police work, with plenty of time between emergencies for the pair to discuss Jim’s married life and Pete’s bachelor existence. The program aired for seven seasons, from 1968-1975.

THE ELECTRIC COMPANY: Beginning a six-season run on PBS in 1971, the Emmy-winning children’s informational program The Electric Company featured cartoons and comedy sketches as part of its teaching methods. In 1974, Marvel’s Spider-Man (with Danny Seagren inside the costume) became a part of the cast and would be featured in short adventures that ran until 1977.

Mike Roy drew the first issue (Dec. 1973) of the 10-issue Gold Key series, with writing by Paul S. Newman. Roy’s art made the officers look a little goofy, and Jack Sparling took over the art for the rest of the comic’s run, providing a more realistic look to Milner and McCord. Stories were on a par with the TV series’ scripts.

Marvel published a 57-issue comic book tie-in (Oct. 1974 to Mar. 1982) called Spidey Super Stories, with a masthead that read “Marvel Comics and The Electric Company Present.”

Kent McCord and Martin Milner (pictured on the cover of Adam-12 #1, Dec. 1973) starred in Jack Webb’s drama of L.A. patrol car officers. © Adam-12 Productions. © Universal City Studios LLC.

The Electric Company characters teamed up with Spider-Man in Marvel’s Spidey Super Stories, including issue #2 (Nov. 1974) with Jennifer of the Jungle (played by delightful comedienne Judy Graubart on the program).

TM & © Children’s Television Workshop. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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1975 SHAZAM!/ISIS HOUR: In 1974, Filmation (in concert with DC) produced a live-action Captain Marvel TV series for CBS called Shazam! The television program veered away from much of the comic book history, basically leaving only Billy Batson (Michael Gray) and the gods who gave him his powers as Captain Marvel (Jackson Bostwick). The gods sent him on the road in a Winnebago across the United States, accompanied by a mentor (Les Tremayne) to gain wisdom through the people he met and helped. John Davey replaced Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel after the first weeks of the second season.

In September of 1975, Filmation expanded the time slot from 30 to 60 minutes by attaching a new live-action TV series, Isis, to Shazam! under the combined title of Shazam!/Isis Hour. In the new half-hour segment, American high-school teacher Andrea Thomas (Joanna

(above) Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel on the cover of Limited Collectors Edition #C-35 (Apr.–May 1975). (top right) Joanna Cameron as Isis in the SHAZAM/Isis Hour. (bottom right) Isis #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1976).

Shazam! TM & © DC Comics. Isis © Filmation Associates. TM & © DC Comics.

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CHAPTER 4:

Ted Turner started the world’s first 24-hour news channel, CNN, on June 1, 1980, and there would be much to cover in its first decade, both uplifting and heartbreaking. People everywhere watched live on television the royal wedding of Charles and Diana, but the world also witnessed the moment the space shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff.

The 1980s was a time when John Lennon was murdered, hundreds of Americans were killed by a bombing in Beirut, and there were individual assassination attempts on President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. However, it was also a decade of coming together for humanity’s sake as music superstars joined each other for specially-written songs, first in the United Kingdom, and then in the United States and Canada, to raise money for famine relief in Africa. The decade came to a close in celebration with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The Eighties were also a time of incredible entertainment.

“Pac-Man” devoured not just dots, but also billions of dollars in people’s quarters. Personal computers were offered for sale, CDs replaced records, and the Walkman debuted. At the movies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghostbusters, Die Hard, Back to the Future, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi provided escapism. On television, new shows included The A-Team, Cheers, Miami Vice, Knight Rider, and Quantum Leap. And a new network debuted… MTV. In the 1980s, while DC and Marvel were predominant in the creation of new TV comics, there were fewer titles published than in previous decades. This was not specific to just TV tie-in comics—the entire comic book industry was going through a downturn. However, the late 1980s saw the rise of independent publishers and things would change for the better.

The 1980s

1980 DOCTOR WHO: The canon of Doctor Who has filled many in-depth appreciations, with a convoluted history as large as that of the world of Star Trek.

The story is of a Time Lord who stole a time machine, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), from his home world Gallifrey in order to travel freely throughout the universe and, as revealed in the 2017 Christmas special, learn why evil doesn’t win when The fourth TV “Doctor Who,” so much effort has to go into Tom Baker (Marvel Premiere being good. #57, Dec 1980).

TM & © British Broadcasting Corporation.

The first Doctor was played Marvel Premiere TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966, but when the actor suffered from a disease that made it mentally difficult for him to perform, the gimmick of “regeneration” came into being, where the Doctor came to the end of a life and was reborn into another body… in other words, replaced by another actor. Since that time, it has become an event by fans that is sometimes sorrowful but oftentimes celebrated as a bridge to something new. Hartnell was replaced by Patrick Troughton, who in turn was replaced by Jon Pertwee, and then Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.

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The television series initially came to an end in 1989, but it was revamped several years later with new Doctors and is still a major British import.

In the comic field, the UK had a steady run of Doctor Who strips appearing in comic weeklies almost from the beginning. In the United States, however, it took until 1980 to recognize the phenomenon. There had been a Dell Comics movie adaptation of Dr. Who and the Daleks starring Peter Cushing in the 1960s, but Marvel Premiere #57 (Dec. 1980) was the first American comic to feature a television Doctor (Tom Baker, the fourth actor to portray the Doctor). The stories in Marvel Premiere #57 through 60 (June 1981) were reprints from England’s Doctor Who Weekly magazine and featured art by Dave Gibbons and writing

by Pat Mills and John Wagner. Marvel also published a Doctor Who regular series of 23 issues (Oct. 1984 to Aug. 1986), though its contents were still reprint comic stories from the British magazines.

1984 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: In The Avengers #239 (Jan. 1984), several members of the Avengers team appeared within that issue as guests on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman. Of course, a third-rate villain thought this was the perfect time to show to the world how he was superior to the Avengers. Roger Stern wrote the humorous tale, with art by Allen Milgrom and Joe Sinnott.

THE A-TEAM: The basic background for The A-Team was that a skilled American military unit was sent to prison for a crime they did not commit, but they escaped into the underground of Los Angeles where they helped good people who were overwhelmed by criminals. The team consisted of leader Hannibal Smith (George Peppard), “Howling Mad” Murdock (Dwight Schultz), “Face” (Dirk Benedict), and B.A. Baracus (Mr. T). The television series from Stephen J. Cannell ran on NBC from January 23, 1983 to March 8, 1987.

The Marvel regular series didn’t match the success of the TV program and lasted only three issues (Mar. 1984 through May 1984).

(left) During the tomfoolery of “Assistant Editors’ Month,” the comic book version of Late Night with David Letterman had guest members of the Avengers battling with a B-grade villain in The Avengers #239 (Jan. 1984). (right) The A-Team #1 (Mar. 1984).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. (The name and likeness of David Letterman was used by Marvel with his consent.) The A-Team TM & © Stephen J. Cannell Productions and Licensed by Universal City Studios Inc.

Original Gene Day art to Marvel Premiere #59 (Apr. 1981).

TM & © British Broadcasting Corporation. Marvel Premiere TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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1985 V: ABC’s V had the arrival of alien visitors in massive spaceships centered over strategic cities around the globe. Appearing at first to be friendly, the aliens’ true mission to subjugate the human race was soon exposed, and ordinary citizens rose up to fight them. V was a modern version of the rise of Nazism in the 1930s and 1940s and the Resistance movement that organized to fight them. The miniseries

aired on ABC over two nights (May 1-2, 1983). It was followed up by the three-part V: the Final Battle (May 6-8, 1984) and then continued in a regular V TV series for 19 episodes (October 26, 1984 through March 22, 1985). The cast featured Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Jane Badler, and a pre-“Freddy Krueger” Robert Englund.

DC Comics’ V ran for a total of 18 issues (Feb. 1985 through July 1986). For the first 16 issues, Cary Bates delivered good stories and Carmine Infantino penciled most of the series.

FRAGGLE ROCK: Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock took place in two primary locations, one of which was a storefront where a human inventor and his Muppet dog worked. The other, which was accessible by a hole in the store’s wall, was Fraggle Rock, a community of 18-inch high furry creatures inside a carved-out huge rock. The beings, called Fraggles, cohabitated peacefully with the Doozers, a tiny race of workers who loved Marvel’s Fraggle Rock #4 to construct things, but they (Oct 1985). were not on friendly terms TM & © The Jim Henson Company, Inc. with the Gorgs, giants who lived just outside another exit to the rock. The stories were often about getting along with each other and offered a few songs each episode.

IF YOU ENJOYED THISwas PREVIEW, The four-year series (1983-1987) an international CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS production, with funding from Canada, England, and the ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! United States, and was broadcast worldwide in different languages. An animated series continued the adventures of Fraggle Rock for 13 episodes in late 1987.

(top) Eduardo Barreto cover to DC’s V #1 (Feb. 1985). (bottom) Cast of V: (L-R) Marc Singer, Jane Badler, Frank Ashmore, Faye Grant.

TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Eight issues of Fraggle Rock stories were published by Marvel under their children’s series brand Star Comics between April 1985 and September 1986. Stories by Stan Kay were amusing, especially with the art of comics’ queen of mirth, Marie Severin. Marvel also published a second series (Apr. 1988 through Aug. 1988) to tie into the animated series, but these were just reprints of the first five issues of the original series.

AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s) History of over 300 TV shows and 2000+ comic book adaptations across five decades, from well-known series (Star Trek, The Munsters) to lesser-known shows (Captain Gallant, Pinky Lee).

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