Dell Movie Classics: Master of the World (1961)

Dell comics were best known for their TV series tie-ins (click here to read an older post about them) but they gave Gold Key some competition in the 1960s with movie tie-ins as well. This series was known as the Dell Movie Classics and there were quite a few titles in their line-up, all of them featuring juicy painted illustrations or photo covers. 

This one - Master of the World (#1157) - was released in conjunction with the American International adventure film of the same name starring Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull. The film tried trying to capture the grandeur of Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days but since the studio had a smaller budget and the sets were limited, it came off as more of a B+ adventure flick....but an enjoyable one, nonetheless. Since I revisited it a few days ago, it seemed only fitting to feature its comic connection in our Dell series. 

The "madman" referred to on the cover is Robur the Conquerer, a Captain Nemo of the air. Jules Verne liked powerful men who destroyed warships and while Captain Nemo was busy sinking them with his submarine, Robur blasted them from above in his flying airship. 

This entry in the series features a fantastic painted cover by Don Spaulding depicting one of these warships being destroyed by the airship. Inside, the artwork and inking is very nice, too. Of course, the characters don't resemble the actors exactly but I do not think they were permitted to copy their likenesses. 

Today, this comic sells for $10-20 for a decent copy. If you want to read more about this fun flick, check out our review here. 

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. 

Dell Movie Classics: The Lost World ( 1960 )

In the 1950s, Dell Comics launched a fantastic movie tie-in series that featured comic books of current hit films. The majority of the titles they chose for this series were aimed at children, so Walt Disney titles often graced the cover of their comics, but also a good number of action and adventure films ( e.g. Hatari, Dr. Who and the Daleks, Jason and the Argonauts ). One favorite was Irwin Allen's The Lost World ( #1145 ).

This colorful comic cost a mere 10 cents when it was first released in 1960 and featured color photos from the film on the cover as well as black-and-white photos on the inside cover. The comic story follows the film quite closely and boasts some great artwork by Gil Kane. 

David Hedison and Jill St. John don't quite look like their normal selves, but he captured a good likeness of the dinosaur lizards mauling each other. 

Today, this comic sells for $20-$50 which may be a bit steep for the casual film fan, but if you are an Irwin Allen enthusiast, then it is well worth the buy. 

Dell Comics - The Universal Monsters Series

During the Halloween season, several television stations ( and streaming channels ) have been broadcasting the classic Universal monster movies. These include The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon. These films are considered classics because they were responsible for launching the entire "horror" movie genre.....or at least, they made the genre popular at the box office. And unlike most films of the 1930s and 1940s, they were brought back to the theatres every decade to be re-introduced to new generations of fans. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, most movie-going youngsters devored comic books, so in 1962 comic publisher Dell, hit on the brilliant idea of releasing a series of comics based on the Universal monster movie classics. They were issued under their "Movie Classics" series and featured some really top-notch cover art. 

The comics are collectible today and luckily, not overly rare. They can be easily found on auction sites and at various vintage comic shops. We don't have any full issues to share with you, but we do have some great pics of the covers that you can enjoy!

The Mummy ( Movie Classics #211 ) - Issued Nov. 1962

Dracula ( Movie Classics #212 ) - Dec 1962

The Creature ( Movie Classics #302 ) - Feb 1963 

Frankenstein ( Movie Classics #305 ) - May 1963

The Wolf Man ( Movie Classics #308 ) - Aug 1963

Happy Halloween to our readers! 

Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze ( 1975 )

Have no fear, Doc Savage is here! 

The intrepid Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five journey to the wilds of South America to investigate Doc's father's death in the jungles of Hidalgo. En route, they encounter numerous dangers as the maniacal Captain Seas tries to thwart them as they come closer to discovering his vast treasure of stolen Incan gold.

Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze is a delightful globe-trotting adventure film based on the popular 1930s pulp fiction character. It features some exotic locales, great set design, plenty of excitement, and loads of tongue-in-cheek humor...much in the vein of the original Batman! television series. 

Savage is indeed a "man of bronze". He's an American who has Herculean strength, shiny white teeth, perfectly groomed hair, and impeccable manners. He also has the morals of a Boy Scout and would never hesitate to aid an old lady crossing the street. When asked what he would like to be served onboard Captain Seas' yacht he responds, "A Coke, please". 

His Fabulous Five are equally honorable and, like typical comic book characters, have a range of capabilities to help their leader in times of trouble. There is Monk, a chemist ( Michael Miller ); Major Roberts, an electrical wizard ( Paul Gleason ); Littlejohn, an archeologist ( Eldon Quick ), Ham, the "brains" ( Darrell Zwerling ), and Colonel Renny, a construction engineer aka "the strongman" ( William Lucking ). Like Doc, these men, devote their lives to traveling around the world for the sake of justice. 

Also in the cast are Pamela Hensley as Mona, a love interest for Doc; Carlos Rivas, and Paul Wexler as the diabolical Captain Seas. 

The character of Dr. Clark Savage Jr. originally appeared in magazine format in 1933, written by Lester Dent under the pseudonym Kenneth Robeson. The series lasted for 181 issues and was brought to even greater fame in the 1960s when artist James Bama created new cover designs for the Bantam Books paperback re-issues. By the mid-1970s, over 20 million Doc Savage stories had been sold around the world. Hence, he was a fantastic character to bring to the silver screen. 

This idea was considered in 1966 after the James Bond films proved to be such box-office attractions. Chuck Connors was to star in the filming of the 1934 story "The Thousand-Headed Man", but the securing of the film rights failed and it was shelved. It was not until 1974 that producer George Pal decided to make a Doc Savage film and obtained both film and television rights with the plans of creating a televised adventure series after the picture was released. 

Pal originally hoped to cast Hercules-legend Steve Reeves as Savage. But he changed his mind eventually and selected Ron Ely ( Tarzan ) for the part instead, dying the man's hair blonde for the role. He was an excellent Doc, exuding charm and uttering his campy lines with dead seriousness. 

"Mona, you're a brick!"

However, in spite of all its merits, the film bombed at the box-office. The timing of its release was just a matter of ill fortune. This was the mid-1970s and not many people wanted to watch a 1930s-themed adventure film with such goody-two-shoes humor. By the late 1970s, the mood had changed and the similarly campy Wonder Woman did very well on television. Perhaps Doc Savage would have performed better if it was geared towards adults and made into a dramatic adventure flick instead. 

It truly is unfortunate that Doc Savage became such a loss for George Pal ( it was the last film he produced ) because, while it isn't a comedic gem, it really is colorful and quite entertaining. So entertaining, that it is disappointing to learn that the sequel  ( promised at the end of the credits ) was never put into production! It would have been great to see the follow-up. 

Dell TV Comics

Comic books have been around since the mid-1800s, originating from pulp magazines, but it wasn't until 1938 with the publication of Action Comics No. 1 feature "Superman" that comic books - as we know them today - took off in popularity.

All these years later, they are still popular amongst kiddies and the young at heart, not only for their colorful stories and great drawings, but because - in my own humble opinion - some of them featured covers that were simply irresistible. This is certainly true when it comes to the television and movie-themed comic books of the 1950s and 1960s. One of the big daddies of the TV comic book publishing world, Dell, released some of the most eye-catching covers. 

Dell Publishing originally began as a pulp magazine publisher in the 1920s and so when comic books started hitting the market, it was easy to them to transform their business into a picture-publisher. In the 1950s, when public criticism was attacking comic books for their unwholesome stories, Dell began printing a Pledge to Parents inside their books announcing that their editorial process "eliminates, rather than regulates, objectionable material". During this time most children were already glued to their television sets watching western series with wholesome heroes such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid, and so Dell Comics decided to put these same heroes into comic book form and began licensing television adaptations. With the success of these books, Dell expanded on the number of television titles that they licensed. 

Eventually, in the early 1960s, Western Publishing, with whom Dell was in partnership with, broke off and created their own label - Gold Key - which became Dell's key competitor. They too had some wonderful covers, especially among their movie titles. 

When the 1970s comic book slump came, both companies fizzled out and today these comic books are collector's items. Luckily, television-themed comics are not as pricey as some of the better known superhero comics so good deals can be had. We'd collect them for their covers alone...and for that reason, we thought we'd share with our dear readers - in gallery format - some of colorful covers Dell released between the mid-1950s and early 1970s. 

Westerns

                  

Colt .45 - July 1960 - A short-lived series dating from 1960 with Wayne Preston in the starring role.
Wagon Train - September 1961 - This issue includes the "Dell Trading Post of Great Values". Hot diggity dog!

                  

Maverick - November 1961 - A young Roger Moore is grinning on the cover of this western classic.
Buffalo Bill Jr. - April 1959  - Dick Jones is featured here when the books were "still 10 cents".

                  

The Monroes - April 1967 - Another short lived western series, this time with Michael Anderson Jr.
Gunsmoke - September 1960 - James Arness is looking cool as Marshal Matt Dillon.

                  

Bat Masterson - February 1960 - Gene Barry as the debonair crime-solver.
Bat Masterson - May 1960 - Here Gene flashes his silver Colt. 

Sitcoms

                  

The Beverly Hillbillies - July 1963 - Crank her up, Jethro!

The Beverly Hillbillies - October 1964 - A hillybilly wedding, yee-hah!

                  

I'm Dickens He's Fenster - July 1963 - John Astin and Marty Ingels teamed up for this series about two carpenters. 
Leave it to Beaver - July 1962 - Even the Beav got his own comic book.

                  

I Love Lucy - October 1957 - Lucille tooting on her favorite saxophone.
I Love Lucy - April 1958 - The classic fishing episode brought to comic-splendor.

                  

The Andy Griffith Show - March 1962 - Opie doesn't seem happy here.
Petticoat Junction - March 1964 - a nice group shot of the whole cast.

                  

Nanny and the Professor - October 1970 - "there's something in the air.." it's Nanny magic!
The Brady Bunch - February 1970  - the first issue released.

                  

The Courtship of Eddie's Father - May 1970 - a series that only lasted a few issues. Great show though.
Lassie - April 1957 - if Lassie didn't have enough trouble with Timmy, now he has to encounter more in this series.

World War II Series

                  

The Rat Patrol - April 1967 - Rat attacks on paper? I just can't imagine that being very exciting.
12 O'Clock High - January 1965 - Another short-lived series.

                  

Hogan's Heroes - December 1966 - Hogan's Heroes was quite popular in comic book format.
Hogan's Heroes - September 1966 - "when Klink's away Schultz will play..."

Criminal Catchers

                  

The Untouchables - July 1962 - Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.
Car 54, Where are You? - December 1962 - Ooo, ooo, it's Tooty and Francis!

                  

Burke's Law - May 1965 - The Hollywood Monsters, now that's an issue not to miss.
77 Sunset Strip - July 1962 - Kookie and the gang looking rad on the cover.

                  

87th Precinct - September 1962 - This issue promises a smashing saga of action and adventure. Too bad the series wasn't a smashing success itself.
The Mod Squad - May 1970 - Caution! Very mod.

Misc. Series

                  

Walt Disney's Spin and Marty - July 1962 - these chapters sound good! 
Sea Hunt - October 1960 - Lloyd Bridges looks like he may have lost something.

                  

The Twilight Zone - May 1962 - another dimension in comic book history.
Dr. Kildare - November 1963 - Richard Chamberlain is giving himself a bath in preparation of more medical work.

                  

Cain's Hundred - September 1962 - this series starring Mark Richard ran but one season.
McKeever and the Colonel - February 1963 - McKeever and the Colonel played out like Dennis the Menace at military school.

To browse more comic book covers or to buy one yourself check out these great sites : comicbookplus.com; eBay Silver Age comics; and the Comic Book Database.