Gold Key Comic: Walt Disney Presents Bullwhip Griffin (1967)

"On the trail of California gold, a boy and his family butler seek a lost map to the fabulous Mother Lode!"

That's Bullwhip Griffin in a nutshell, but there is much more to the story than that and this comic, from Gold Key publications, shows you just how entertaining the movie is. That's what these comics were for.... a little entertainment and a lot of promotion. The comic books were usually released as movie tie-ins just after the film was released in theatres. 

Gold Key and Dell Movie Classics were the two big comic book houses that issued all of the latest film releases in picture-story format. Gold Key was lucky enough to have a license from Walt Disney Productions, so they issued all of the Disney film adaptations, comic characters (like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse), as well as the Disney television adaptations (Zorro, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, The Hardy Boys, etc)....and they made them quite nicely. In fact, I think Gold Key's illustrations are a slight cut above Dell's quality. 

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, starring Roddy McDowall, Suzanne Pleshette, and Karl Malden, hit the theatres in 1967 and, shortly after, this wonderful little comic book arrived on the newsstands. It followed the film scene by scene and most of the characters were drawn to match the actors in the movie...with the exception of "Bullwhip" himself, Roddy McDowall. Bullwhip doesn't resemble Roddy in the least. 

Walt Disney presents Bullwhip Griffin sells for $2-$12 on average but could go up to $30 for a near mint condition comic. If you're a fan of the film, it is a nice collectible to own.