Dell Four Color #631- Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

From December, 1954 to February, 1955, ABC aired 3 one-hour mini movies starring Fess Parker as legendary frontiersman, Davy Crockett. The programming was part of a deal with the television network to produce weekly family entertainment in return for funding for Walt Disney to build his dream theme park: Disneyland. This deal also acted as a weekly advertisement in which Disney would provide updates on the park's construction.

The trio of Davy Crockett episodes were produced to highlight Disneyland's Frontierland, the park's tribute to explorers and cowboys. The three parts were titled 'Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter', 'Davy Crockett Goes to Congress' and 'Davy Crockett at the Alamo'. These films ended up becoming a nationwide success and sparked a fad in children wearing coon skin caps as well as boosting interest in Westerns as a growing genre in post-war television and movies. 

Seeing dollar signs, Disney repackaged the 3 episodes into a feature length movie. In May, 1955 Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier hit theaters and was an immediate hit. Grossing over $2 million dollars, that's about $30 million dollars in 2026 dollars. 

Historians know that Davy Crockett met his demise at the infamous battle of the Alamo. (Whether he died heroically in battle or was taken as a prisoner and executed at a later date is a subject for debate that will not be examined here.) After losing his Tennessee  congressional seat, Crockett sought to make a new start in politics further South. Texas was in the middle of a battle for Independence from Mexico and Crockett saw a chance to reap massive political and personal benefits should Texas win the war. He joined the garrison in San Antonio in the winter of 1836 and died a few months later at the regiment's last stand at the Alamo. 

As Fess Parker's character dies at the conclusion of the 3-episode miniseries, you would think that would be the end of Disney and the exploits of Davy Crockett. Never one to let a money making opportunity slip away, Walt Disney decided to produce another set of films based on the historical figure. Only they would be more fiction than fact and they would be set in between Crockett's time as a scout for the United States Army during the Creek Indian Wars and his brief stint in Washington DC. 'Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race' and 'Davy Crockett and the River Pirates' were brilliantly released in the fall of 1955, just in time to make Davy Crockett hats, bubble gum cards and pop-style muskets the most requested toys from American boys AND girls! An estimated $300 million in Christmas sales revolved around Davy Crockett themed merchandise.

The prequel episodes were edited and repackaged as another feature in the summer of 1956. Walt Disney's Davy Crockett and the River Pirates was released in July. It took earned over $2 million in ticket sales. However, by the time the film exited theaters, the fervor over Davy Crockett had become passé and American children moved on to the next fad.

This edition of Dell Four Color was published during the height of Crockett Mania. It adapts the first chapter of the Davy Crockett miniseries seeing Davy and his singing pal George Russel volunteering to join the U.S. Army under the command of General Andrew Jackson. They act as scouts and use their knowledge of animal tracking to procure food for the troops before returning home for the winter to hunt for their families.

Upon their return to the Army, Davy and George learn that Jackson has been transferred to New Orleans to help fortify the important port city against the British. The incompetent Major Norton is now in charge of the Army. His mission is to hunt down the remaining Creek warrior Chief Red Stick in hopes of ending the war. George is taken captive by Red Stick's men prompting Crockett to a tomahawk duel to the death! 

With the exception of 'Davy Crockett Goes to Congress', the other 3 segments of Disney's miniseries were given solo treatment in the Four Color series. Crockett's time in DC was included in the reprint heavy Dell Giant Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. Dell also produced a holiday special to cash in on the hoopla with Sears promo comic, the Davy Crockett Christmas Book that along with a dozen pages of comics including puzzles and games. 

The comic adventures of Davy Crockett would live on in reprint form through the 1980s in issues of Gold Key's Walt Disney Showcase and Walt Disney Comics Digest.

According to leagueofcomicgeeks.com Chase Craig scripted this issue. John Ushler is attributed by several sources for providing the pencils and inks. The front cover is a photograph image of Fess Parker as Crockett. Additional artwork for the background and the map of the Creek Indian Wars were provided by the staff of the Western Publishing Production Shop.

Completing this review completes Task #1 (Comic from the Golden Age (1938-1955)) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Piracy #6 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The comic book known as Piracy was produced by EC Comics. It ran for 7 issues from October/November, 1954-October/November, 1955. The timing of Piracy's publication places it at an awkward time during the history of William Gaines' publishing house. 

Piracy was the last New Trend title EC released before the company shifted focus of its publications. That's because from April to June, 1954, the US Senate held several public hearings on juvenile delinquency and comic books were placed under the microscope as being its number one cause. Across America, civic groups lead massive burnings of comic books. 

There's actually a famous photo taken in the Norwalk, Connecticut community of a Catholic League community bonfire composed of thousands of comics going up in flames. And there's my future grandmother-in-law smiling triumphantly over the paper barbecue. Also in the picture is my wife's 7 or 8 year old uncle, frowning despondently as his prized comic book collection went up in smoke. 

Needless to say, comic books were on life support. To prevent the complete extinction of the art form, several publishers got together and formed the self-governed Comics Code Authority. Gaines was initially hesitant to concede to the CCA, instead, opting to cancel most of his controversial line of comic books.

Only 3 books made the cut. The humor comic MAD changed to a larger format and was exempt from CCA rules operating as a magazine. Panic, another humor title, remained comic sized. Piracy, was the third surviving title. 

Piracy still had EC's signature twist endings. But they were no longer sensationalized. Haunt of Fear #19 had for a shock conclusion, a rival baseball team dismembering a baseball player who used poisoned cleats and using the guys entrails for a ballpark foul line. Issue #1 of this series has a boat captain finding the man who shanghaied him decades earlier and getting revenge on him... by thanking him for his cowardly deed. 

There are 4 stories that fill issue #6 of Piracy. Reed Crandall's 'Fit for a King' has a drunkard regaling the patrons of a tavern with the truth about a missing fabled swashbuckler known as The King of the Pirates. 'The Skipper' by George Evans tells of a sailor whose been stuck as first mate for so long, that he secretly begins sabotaging his cargo ship in a twisted plan to have the captain removed from the helm. Then readers head back in time to the seal hunts of the great white north in Graham Ingels' 'Fur Crazy.' Lastly, Jack Davis spins a yarn about a shipmaster haunted by the screams of the crew he lost years prior in 'Solitary.'

The cover was illustrated by Bernard Krigstein.

EC Comics launched 7 new titles in early 1954 as part of its New Trend line of titles. Because Gaines refused to issue a CCA stamp on the cover of his books, newsstands refused to carry them. Gaines would eventually acquiesce later in the year. But at that point, the financial damage was done and most titles were cancelled with issue #5 (Nov/Dec, 1955). A controversial ruling by the CCA for the powerful anti-racism story 'Judgment Day' in Incredible Science Fiction #33 led to William Gaines turning his back on comic books, devoting himself as publisher of MAD Magazine until his death in 1992.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #33 (An EC Comic (Reprints are allowed)) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Walter Lantz New Funnies #215

If a comic book with a holiday cover has no Christmas related content inside, I call it a SCROOGE. And this January, 1955 dated issue is definitely a Scrooge. But I'm actually not too upset about it.

The first story stars Woody Woodpecker and his niece and nephew: Knothead and Splinter. Woody gets the impulse to sell his old house, buy a fix-er-upper and do some renovations. Unfortunately, Woody got swindled when he bought this massive money pit.  

After that Andy Panda and a pal cross paths with some thieves while doing public service work in the park. Oswald Rabbit seeks a new music teacher for his tone deaf sons. Finally, Chilly Willy and Homer Pigeon must save Chilly's village after Waldo Walrus makes a play to steal their supply of winter fish.

All of these stories were good. But the Woody Woodpecker comic was probably my least favorite. Why? Woody just didn't seem to be himself in that story. In my experience, Woody is like a talking version of the Road Runner. Able to free himself from any conundrum while making a witty one-liner. In the money pit story, Woody is just too much like Homer Simpson. I've not really seen any of the Knothead and Splinter cartoons. So maybe Woody gets dumber when his relatives are involved? 

There's a two-page prose story in this book. As with many comics of the era, in order to meet certain US Postal Service regulations, titles were required to publish 2 pages of written story. (This would later change to just 1 page and then eventually a provisional ruling for a letters page was allowed.) This story involved Woody being invited to spend time with his aunt. Only, Woody gets mixed up and ends up holidaying in the wrong place!

Now to why I am not so upset that there's no Christmas content to match the cover. It all boils down to the ads. There's 3 really cool advertisements. One is for readers to subscribe to Dell Comics as a Christmas present. I'm jealous of the price of 12 issues for only a buck. Then on the back cover is a holiday ad for a Red Ryder air gun! You know, the prized dream weapon of Ralphie from A Christmas Story. That was a really cool addition. Lastly on the back cover was an ad for a TV show called Super Circus. Well, actually it's for 2 paper puppets based on characters from the show that kids can get with 2 Snickers wrappers. I've never heard of the show. I was neat to learn about. The artwork was beautifully painted. And as a professional chef and food historian, I am amazed by how different a Snickers looked in 1955.

I think I would have been furious if not for these ads. I love the vintage ads in an old comic book. And they added to my enjoyment enough to forgive the lack of holiday content I feel I was promised. Barely. But enough to be happy with my purchase.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

A Classic TV Christmas: Advent 2017 Day 3

People have their favorite Christmas stories. For many it's Dicken's A Christmas Carol which pretty much established the modern traditions of the holiday. Some are devoted to the animated tales of the Grinch or Charlie Brown. But for me, my favorite Christmas story is The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.

The story is quite simple. A husband and wife are struggling to make ends meet. Hubby wants to buy his lovely bride a comb for her luxurious long hair. Wifey wants to buy a gold chain for her man's beloved pocket watch. In order to buy the items, the man sells his watch and the wife sells her hair. In the end both end up finding out that the best gift for the season are each other. There's been dozens of variants on this story. Perhaps the best known is from the 1950s short lived series, The Honeymooners.

This episode is not to be confused with the
Honeymooners Christmas Special that aired on ABC December 1978.

The Honeymooners was originally a skit on the Jackie Gleason Show. The show was about the misadventures of bus driver Ralph Kramden played by Gleason and his best buddy Ed Norton (Art Carney.) The two guys were married to Alice and Trixie, who often poo-pooed many of their harebrained schemes. Despite being hugely popular, the show only lasted 39 episodes.

Merry Christmas from the
Kramdens and Nortons!!!

I didn't realize that this episode surpassed the I Love Lucy Special by almost a full-year. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' aired on December 24, 1955. In this episode, filmed before a live audience, Ralph buys his wife a gift that he learns is pretty stupid. So he sells his beloved bowling ball to buy Alice something better. On Christmas Day, Alice surprises Ralph with a bowling ball bag to which Ralph has to admit what he did. Ralph finalizes the episode by making a huge speech about how Christmas is more than presents and Alice's heart melts realizing that despite his faults, Ralph loves her more than anything. 

Really, I don't think I can give this episode justice. So my Advent gift for you today is the episode in it's entirety. Enjoy... and until tomorrow- Merry Christmas!