Old-fashioned Comics: April 2018

Sunday 29 April 2018

Straight Arrow #01 - #55 (1950 -1956) Magazine Enterprises [Complete Series]

Publisher: Magazine Enterprises

Publication Dates: February-March 1950 – March 1956

Number of Issues Published: 55 (#01 – #55)

Color: color

Dimensions: standard Golden Age US; then standard Silver Age US

Binding: saddle-stitched

Publishing Format: was ongoing series
Pages: 36 Indicia Frequency: Bi-Monthly

Authors:

Script
Gardner Fox

Pencils
Fred Meagher (signed), Bob Powell (signed), Ogden Whitney (signed),

Inks
Fred Meagher (signed), Bob Powell (signed), Ogden Whitney (signed),

Letters

?

The Straight Arrow radio program was a western adventure series for juveniles which was broadcast, mostly twice weekly in the United States from 1948 or 1949 through 1951. A total of 292 episodes were aired.
Although first broadcast only in California, in early 1949 it was broadcast nationally on the Mutual Broadcasting Network. All the programs were written by Sheldon Stark.

The protagonist, rancher Steve Adams, became the Comanche Indian, the Straight Arrow, when bad people or other dangers threatened. In fact, Adams was a Comanche orphan who had been adopted by the Adams ranching family and later inherited the ranch.
His dual identity was known to only one friend. Internal evidence places the ranch in the vicinity of the Colorado Rockies in the 1870s. Howard Culver played both Adams and Straight Arrow. The program was sponsored by Nabisco Shredded Wheat.

Like many other children’s programs, this one soon had cross-over presence. The Straight Arrow Comic book. published by Magazine Enterprises, first came out in February 1950.
Most of the stories were written by Gardner Fox. In addition, there was a Straight Arrow comic strip for which Fox wrote all the scripts as well as and Straight Arrow collectible cards of Indian crafts inserted in the boxes of Nabisco Shredded Wheat.

Information thanks to the Grand Comic Database
and https://westerncomicsblog.wordpress.com/

Also 1 Australian issue 16
Also 1 issue Straight Arrow’s Fury #1

Links ⇲⇲ #01 - 55#, Australian issue 16, Straight Arrow’s Fury #1

Just Married #01 - #114 ( 1958 - 1976) Complete Series [Charlton Comics Collection]

Publisher : Charlton

Publication Dates: January 1958 – December 1976

Number of Issues Published: 114 (#1 – #114)

Color: Color

Dimensions: Standard Silver Age US

Paper Stock: Glossy Cover; Newsprint Interior

Binding: Saddle-stitched

Publishing Format: Was ongoing

Pages: 36 Indicia Frequency: quarterly

Authors:

Script:
Joe Gill ?, Jeannette Copeland,

Pencils:
Charles Nicholas, Dick Giordano ?, John Severin, Chris Rule, George Wildman,
Tony Tallarico ?, Jack Keller, Art Cappello, Nicky Zann ?, Wayne Howard (signed), A. Martinez (#92-#101), Demetrio Sánchez Gómez (signed Demetrio)(#102) Luis Avila ? (#103), Enrique Nieto (signed) (#104) Joe Staton (signed), Frank Bolle, José Delbo? (#105), Charles Nicholas (signed) [as CN], Torre Repiso (signed) (#95), Norman Nodel ?, Don Sherwood?, Sal Gentile, Luis Ávila (#92), Fred Himes, Jeannette Elier,

Inks:
Jon D'Agostino ?,Bill Molno, Vince Colletta, John Severin, Tony Tallarico ?,
Vince Alascia (signed), Chris Rule, Sal Trapani ?, George Wildman, Jack Keller, Art Cappello, Wayne Howard (signed), J. Zúñiga (#93-#101), Demetrio Sánchez Gómez (signed Demetrio)(#102), Enrique Nieto (signed) (#104), Joe Staton (signed), Frank Bolle, José Delbo? (#105), Don Sherwood?, Sal Gentile,
Luis Ávila (#92), Jean Elier (signed), Fred Himes, Jeannette Elier,

Colors
?

Letters:
Jon D'Agostino, John Duffy, Charlotte Jetter,

Information thanks to the Grand Comics Database

Gunfighters #51 - #52 (1966 -1967) #53 - #85 (1979 -1984) Complete Series [Charlton Comics Collection]

1966 Series

Publisher: Charlton

Publication Dates: October 1966 – October 1967

Number of Issues Published: 2 (#51 – #52)

Color: Color

Dimensions: Standard Silver Age US

Paper Stock: Glossy Cover; Newsprint Interior

Binding: Saddle-stitched

Publishing Format: Was ongoing

Publication Type: magazine

Pages: 36 Frequency: four times yearly

Authors:

Script: Joe Gill? Steve Skeates

Pencils: Russ Jones (signed) Charles Nicholas (signed) Carl Hubbell, Luis Dominguez,

Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio

Inks: Russ Jones (signed), Sal TrapaniVince Alascia (signed) Carl Hubbell, Luis Dominguez,

Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio

Numbering continues from Kid Montana (Charlton, 1957 series) #50

Numbering continues in Gunfighters (Charlton, 1979 series).

1979 Series

Publisher: Charlton

Publication Dates: June 1979 – July 1984

Number of Issues Published: 33 (#53 – #85)

Color: Color

Dimensions: Standard Modern Age US

Paper Stock: Glossy Cover; Newsprint Interior

Binding: Saddle-stitched

Publishing Format: Was ongoing
Pages: 36 Frequency: ?

Authors:

Script: Joe Gill?, Steve Skeates
Pencils:
Dick Giordano, Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio, Al Williamson, Bill Black,
Joe Maneely, Jack Keller, Bill Molno, Jack Kirby, Nestor Olivera,
John Severin [as JS], Charles Nicholas, Miguel A. Repetto (signed)
Inks:
Joe Maneely Sal Trapani, Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio Dick Giordano? John Severin [as JS],
Vince Alascia, Bill Black, Maurice Whitman, Jack Kirby,
Nestor Olivera, Miguel A. Repetto (signed)
Colors: ?
Letters: Joe Rosen, Jon D'Agostino,

Numbering continues from Gunfighters (Charlton, 1966 series).

Information thanks to the Grand Comics Database

LINKS ⇲⇲

Kid Montana #09-#50 (1957-1965) Complete Series [Charlton Comics Collection]

Publisher: Charlton Comics

Publication Dates: November 1957 – March 1965

Number of Issues Published: 42 (#09 – #50)

Creators: Pat Masulli (writer) and Rocke Mastroserio (artist)

Color: Color

Dimensions: Standard Silver Age US

Paper Stock: Glossy Cover; Newsprint Interior

Binding: Saddle-stitched

Publishing Format: Was ongoing

Publication Type: magazine

Pages 36 Indicia frequency bimonthly

Authors:

Script Joe Gill ?

Pencils

Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio (signed), Dick Giordano,

Bill Molno, Pete Morisi (illo)

Inks

Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio (signed), Dick Giordano, Vince Alascia ?, Pete Morisi (illo)

Colors ?

Letters typeset, Jon D'Agostino,

Traking:

Numbering continues from Davy Crockett (Charlton, 1955 series) #8

Numbering continues with Gunfighters (Charlton, 1966 series) #51

Note:

Issues #44-#50 have “Montana Kid” as the cover title.

Kid Montana was a guy who got branded as an outlaw, but went around the West doing good. That about sums him up, but since it also about sums up Kid Colt, The Wyoming Kid, The Rawhide Kid and any number of other "kids" who starred in western comic books (not to mention westerns in other media), it doesn't seem like much to base a series on.

But those others succeeded, and considering Charlton Comics, where he was published, operated on a lower budget than most comic book companies and therefore could tolerate lower sales, there was no reason for him not to succeed too.

And he did succeed, maintaining a presence on the newsstand from 1957, when westerns in all American media were at their peak of popularity, to 1965, by which time the vast majority had become as firmly a part of the past as the days the stories themselves were about.

Monty's series was built on the ruins of an even bigger fad than westerns. Disney's version of the life and times of Davy Crockett had swept the country in 1955, but since Davy was a real historical figure, he couldn't be copyrighted, trademarked, or otherwise treated like intellectual property. So Disney was helpless to prevent not just Dell, its authorized publisher, but also DC (Batman), Avon (Space Detective) and others from exploiting him in comics form. But after a couple of years, the public was ready to move on, so Charlton changed the title Davy Crockett, Frontier Fighter, to Kid Montana. The first issue was #9 (November, 1957).

That issue was written by Pat Masulli, who edited the entire Charlton comics line at the time. Masulli also wrote for such titles as Outer Space and Jungle Tales of Tarzan. The artist was Rocke Mastroserio, whose many other Charlton credits include Black Fury and Nature Boy. Mastroserio drew the title for several years, but the artist most memorably associated with the character was Pete Morisi, whose best-known works are Johnny Dynamite and Kid Montana's physical appearance changed about when Morisi took over. Starting at the end of 1961, contradicting the "Kid" part of the name, he was drawn with gray hair at the temples, a rare example of an aging comic book gunfighter. As of #44 (January, 1964), the cover logo was altered to read "Montana Kid". Neither the indicia nor the way the character was addressed inside reflected the slight change.

Charlton's western line continued to flourish while even that of Marvel, once the most prolific publisher of the genre, went into decline. But by the middle '60s, it was ready to bite the dust. Monty's last issue was #50 (March, 1965).

Links ⇲⇲

Davy Crockett #01 - #08 (1955 - 1957) Complete Series [Charlton Comics Collection]

1955 Series

Publisher: Charlton

Publication Dates: August 1955 – January 1957

Number of Issues Published: 8 (#1 – #8)

Color: Color

Dimensions: Standard Silver Age US

Paper Stock: Glossy Cover; Newsprint Interior

Binding: Saddle-stitched

Publishing Format: Was ongoing

Publication Type: magazine

Pages 36 Indicia frequency bimonthly

Numbering continues with Kid Montana (Charlton, 1957 series) #09

Authors:

Script
Joe Gill, Mario DeMarco
Pencils
Dick Giordano, Bill Molno, Ernie Hart, Pete Costanza, Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio,
Maurice Whitman, JB, Mario DeMarco,, Stan Campbell,
Inks
Vince Alascia, Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio, Sal Trapani, Pete Costanza, JB,
Mario DeMarco, Dick Giordano
Colors
?
Letters
Jon D'Agostino

David “Davy” Stern Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet “King of the Wild Frontier”. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Crockett grew up in East Tennessee, where he gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. After being made a colonel in the militia of Lawrence County, Tennessee, he was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821. In 1825, Crockett was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he vehemently opposed many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, most notably the Indian Removal Act.

Crockett’s opposition to Jackson’s policies led to his defeat in the 1831 elections. He won again in 1833, then narrowly lost in 1835, prompting his angry departure to Texas (then the Mexican state of Tejas) shortly thereafter. In early 1836, Crockett took part in the Texas Revolution and was killed at the Battle of the Alamo in March.

Crockett became famous in his own lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs.

After his death, he continued to be credited with acts of mythical proportion. These led in the 20th century to television and movie portrayals, and he became one of the best-known American folk heroes.