Roy Rogers Comics #1

(January 1948)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1)

Roy Rogers / illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

? (photo)

Inks

? (photo)

Characters

Roy Rogers (photo)

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover: B&W, posed photo, close-up, Roy and original Trigger

Roy Rogers in the Secret of Thunder River (Table of Contents: 2)

Roy Rogers / comic story / 24 pages (report information)

Script

Gaylord Du Bois

Pencils

Albert Micale

Inks

Albert Micale

Colors

?

Letters

?

Synopsis

Roy solves a murder mystery.

Indexer Notes

Original copyright, November 28, 1947, in name of Roy Rogers: B 109939.
Du Bois submitted story November 4, 1946.
Writer has Roy calling female "sister", a common terminology of the era.
Albert Micale has taken over as full-time artist.

John Slaughter of Tombstone. (Table of Contents: 3)

Great Lawmen of the Old West / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Colors

? (illustration)

Letters

Typeset

Indexer Notes

Two-pages, illustrated text, Western history. Submitted by writer, June 13, 1947.

Brownie (Table of Contents: 4)

Chuckwagon Charley's Tales / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Gaylord Du Bois

Pencils

Harry Parks [Harry Parkhurst] (signed, last panel)

Inks

Harry Parks [Harry Parkhurst] (signed, last panel)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Characters

Charley; Pat; Pete; Brownie; Hank Bigelow; Bruina

Synopsis

Brownie makes a mess of Hank's cabin. He leaves. Brownie and Bruina never see him again.

Indexer Notes

Brownie the Bear, Episode 2. Written to be illustrated as 8 6-panel pages in Animal Comics. Moving the series from the canceled Animal Comics to the new Roy Rogers Comics entailed a 2-page reduction in space allotted to the feature. The script editor sends it to the art editor (that's how Du Bois described the Western Publishing set-up in his ERB-Zine interview) with instructions for it to be illustrated in 6 pages but without panel reduction, hence there are 6 8-panel pages.

"Copr. 1948 Oskar Lebeck" ... Oscar Lebeck was the editor of this comic book series, and Gaylord Du Bois's editor and collaborator for comics and juvenile novels.

Gaylord Du Bois script credit confirmed as per page 6, Gaylord Du Bois's Account Books Sorted by Title compiled from the original account books by Randall W. Scott (1985). Script identification confirmed by David Porta, December 2013.

The genesis of the "Chuckwagon Charley's Tales" series dates to 1946, when Gaylord Du Bois, as he recorded in his account books at the time, sent off the script of the first episode of the series. One infers it would have gone to his editor at Western, Oskar Lebeck. That story appeared in Animal Comics #27 (June-July 1947). The next seven episodes of the series were recorded by Du Bois in his account books as "For Animal Comics," and the next three episodes (CCT#2, CCT#3, CCT#4) all did appear in Animal Comics (AC#28, AC#29, AC#30), but Animal Comics #30 was the last issue of that comic (it was canceled), and the four remaining scripts of Chuckwagon Charley's Tales episodes written for Animal Comics were published in the Roy Rogers Comics reboot series beginning with Roy Rogers Comics #1 here (as noted elsewhere, Roy Rogers Comics ran for 13 issues under the Four Color Comics numbering before the reboot under its own title and new numbering). Du Bois's account books reflected the transition with his entry for "Chuckwagon Charley #9. 6p. For Roy Rogers Comics, June issue. Sent October 27, 1947." (As it appears on page 95 of Gaylord Du Bois's Account Books Sorted by Title compiled from the original account books by Randall W. Scott.) >> The series ran for ten years in Roy Rogers Comics, straight on through Roy Rogers and Trigger #128 NovDec58, but remained true to its genesis as a feature in Animal Comics: Chuckwagon Charley's tales always concerned animals. It was an animal comics feature. >> Genesis of the "Chuckwagon Charley's Tales" feature provided by David Porta, December 2013.

It was anonymously noted here previously that "It is believed that the first three of these [Chuckwagon Charley] stories were either submitted as 'Bunkhouse Harmonies,' or the first four tales were not written by Du Bois, and his 'Bunkhouse Harmonies' were not used." While we now know that "the first four tales" of Chuckwagon Charley in Roy Rogers #1,2,3,4 (Chuckwagon Charley episodes #5,6,7,8) WERE written by Du Bois and were simply imported from the stock written for Animal Comics, that note reflected the fact that in the ROY ROGERS section of Randy Scott's "Gaylord Du Bois's Account Books, Sorted by Title, compiled from the original account books by Randall W. Scott (1985)" there appear on page 94 three entries of a feature entitled "Bunkhouse Harmonies," all of them being 6 page episodes. >> The title, "Bunkhouse Harmonies," suggests to this writer that it was in keeping with the theme of Roy Rogers as a singing cowboy. What were those 6-page episodes of Bunkhouse Harmonies? Santa Claus Funnies contained illustrated Christmas Carols. Might Bunkhouse Harmonies have involved traditional public domain western folk songs? Were those three "Bunkhouse Harmonies" episodes ever published in any venue? >> "Bunkhouse Harmonies" research and commentary provided by David Porta, December 2013.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5)

Roy Rogers / filler / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

? (photo)

Inks

? (photo)

Characters

Roy Rogers (Photo)

Indexer Notes

Inside back cover: B&W, posed-for-comics photo (as if film still), shows Roy, on filming location, entering cabin, six-shooter in hand. Photographer accidentally captured film crew man in background.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Roy Rogers / illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

? (photo)

Inks

? (photo)

Colors

? (photo)

Characters

Roy Rogers (photo)

Indexer Notes

Back cover: Color shot from series taken of Roy, in black hat, with daughters. Roy is explaining something about a lariat.