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Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing cteated for comic books distributed to newstands. It was created in 1962, when Western switched to in-house publishing rather than packaging content for branding and distribution by its business partner, Dell Comics. This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ...
This is a page about the company Western Publishing. ...
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publications, which got its start in pulp magazines. ...
Gold Key featured a number of licensed properties and several original titles (including a number of publications that spun-off from Dells' Four Color series). It maintained decent sales numbers throughout the 1960s, thanks to its offering many titles based upon popular TV series of the day, as well as numerous titles based upon both Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers animated properties. It was also the first company to publish comic books based upon Star Trek. One of the earlier issues of Four Color, featuring Walt Disneys Donald Duck. ...
The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ...
Warner Bros. ...
Star Trek is an American science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series and ten feature films, in addition to hundreds of novels, computer and video games, fan stories, and other works of fiction. ...
Over the years it did lose several properties, including the King Features Syndicate characters (Popeye, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, etc) in 1966, the Hanna Barbera characters (to Charlton Comics) in 1970, and Star Trek (to Marvel Comics) in 1979. King Features Syndicate is a syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation; it distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to thousands of newspapers around the world. ...
A Popeye comic book cover shows Popeye, with his characteristic corncob pipe and single good eye, and his girlfriend Olive Oyl. ...
Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ...
The Phantom is a comic strip created by Lee Falk (also creator of Mandrake the Magician), recounting the adventures of a costumed crime-fighter called the Phantom. ...
Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ...
Big C logo, used from Sept. ...
Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ...
A stricking difference between Gold Key and other publishers (which had been done by Dell as well) was to publish most of their mystery, jungle, science-fiction, adventure and the like series with full color painted covers rather then the standard line-artwork.
In the 1970s, when the comics industry experienced a downswing, Gold Key was among the hardest hit. Its editorial policies had not kept pace with changing times and suffered erosion of its base of sales among children who could now instead watch cartoons and other entertainment on free television. By 1977, all of the company's original series had been cancelled (most had been dropped circa 1973-1974), and its licensed series were virtually all reprint-only, although Gold Key was still able to obtain the rights to publish a comic book series based upon Buck Rogers in the 25th Century between 1979 and 1981. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is the title of an American motion picture produced by Universal Studios and released in 1979, and is also the title of a television series based upon the film that was aired by NBC for two seasons between 1979 and 1981. ...
In this period Gold Key experimented with digests, to some success, and distributing comic books simultaneously both to newstands under the Gold Key label and — usually in plastic bags of three — in toy and department stores under the Whitman logo which it also used for such products as coloring books. Western at one point also distributed bagged comics from its rivals DC Comics and Marvel Comics under the Whitman logo. Continued declining sales forced Western in 1981 to cease newstand distribution and thereafter release all its comics solely in bags as "Whitman Comics". The "Gold Key" logo was discontinued. Eventually arrangements were made to distribute these releases to the nascent national network of comic book stores as part of the Whitman alternate methods of distribution. All these efforts proved unsuccessful, and by 1984 Western was out of the comic book business. A department store organizes its goods by departments, such as womens clothes, home furnishings, electronics, and the like. ...
DC Comics (originally called Detective Comics, Inc. ...
Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ...
Three of Gold Key's original characters — Magnus, Robot Fighter, Doctor Solar and Turok, Son of Stone — were used in the 1990s to launch Valiant Comics' "Valiant Universe". Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. #11 (August, 1965), Gold Key Comics Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional character who first appeared in #1, published by Gold Key Comics in February, 1963. ...
Solar was a fictional comic book character. ...
Turok is the name of a fictional comic book character. ...
Company logo. ...
Dark Horse Comics has published reprints, including several in hardcover collections, of such original Gold Key titles as Magnus, Robot Fighter, Doctor Solar, M.A.R.S. Patrol, and the Russ Manning-produced Tarzan series. The Checker Book Publishing Group, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, began reprinting the Gold Key Star Trek series in 2004. Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book publisher, one of the largest independent publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics. ...
Russell Manning (born 1929, California, United States; died 1981) was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars. ...
The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ...
Selected titles
Original Series Brothers of the Spear was a long-running comic book series created by Western Publishing, and published first for Dell Comics and then later for Gold Key Comics. ...
Cover to Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #15, December 1965. ...
Doctor Spektor was a comic book series created by writer Donald Glut and artist Jesse Santos for Western Publishing Gold Key Comics line. ...
Golden Comics Digest was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. ...
Jungle Twins was a comic book series published by Gold Key Comics in the 1970s. ...
M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War was a short-lived comic book series published by Gold Key Comics for 10 issues from July, 1965 to August of 1969. ...
Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. #11 (August, 1965), Gold Key Comics Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional character who first appeared in #1, published by Gold Key Comics in February, 1963. ...
Mighty Samson was an original comic book series from Gold Key Comics. ...
Mystery Comics Digest was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. ...
Space Family Robinson was an original science-fiction comic book series published by Gold Key Comics. ...
Dagar the Invincible was a comic book series created by writer Donald Glut and artist Jesse Santos for Western Publishing Gold Key Comics line. ...
Turok is the name of a fictional comic book character. ...
Tragg and the Sky Gods was a comic book title published by Gold Key Comics in the mid 1970s. ...
Licensed Series The Bonanza logo was superimposed upon a map of a wild west frontier area. ...
Korak is the ape name of Jack Clayton, son of Tarzan. ...
Image:Lulu cover. ...
The Phantom is a comic strip created by Lee Falk (also creator of Mandrake the Magician), recounting the adventures of a costumed crime-fighter called the Phantom. ...
Although books, comic books, video games, and other material based on Star Trek are generally considered to be non-canon, there are several which deserve mentioning. ...
James H. Pierce and Joan Burroughs Pierce starred in the 1932-34 Tarzan radio series Tarzan, a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1914 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-three sequels. ...
Rare childrens storybook based upon Left to right: David McCallum, Robert Vaughn, and the late Leo G. Carroll. ...
The Twilight Zone original opening The Twilight Zone was an anthology series created (and often written) by its narrator and host Rod Serling. ...
Uncle Scrooge #21 cover. ...
Walt Disney Comics Digest was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. ...
Walt Disneys Comics and Stories is a comic book that has an assortment of Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Chip n Dale, Lil Bad Wolf, Scamp, Bucky Bug, Grandma Duck, Brer Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, and others. ...
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