Dell
- Country:
- United States
- Indicia / Colophon Publishers:
- 9
- Brand Groups:
- 4
- Brand Emblems in Use:
- 38
- Total Number of Series:
- 520
- Total Number of Issues:
- 6774
- Show covers by month:
- using on-sale date or using publication date
- Notes:
- Info for Dell in the early years:
Dell Publishing Co. 100 Fifth Avenue, New York NY;
Harry Steeger (editor);
Abril Lamarque (comic art editor);
Edythe Seims (assistant editor);
George T. Delacorte, Jr. (managing editor).
(Information from "The American Comic Book: The Evolutionary Era, 1884-1939" by Denis Gifford.)
Dell was founded in 1921 and first published comics with the original 1929-30 run of "The Funnies", which looked like a newspaper insert but was distributed on newsstands. Eastern Color Printing Company was involved with several of Dell's earliest comic book ventures, although the exact nature of each partnership is not always clear. Later Dell worked closely with Western to produce a line a comics before Dell produced a line of comics wholly on their own for about a decade. The company's comic book division folded in 1973, although Dell continued to publish the occasional book with comics content, including newspaper strip collections. Dell became part of Bantam Doubleday Dell (http://www.comics.org/publisher/5554/) in 1988, ceasing to exist as an independent company.
Dell's first three regular titles -- Popular Comics (February 1936), The Funnies (October 1936), and The Comics (March 1937) -- were packaged and printed by M.C. Gaines at the McClure Syndicate offices. These followed Gaines' early format for Famous Funnies by using newspaper-strip reprints.
Around 1936, Dell started to work with Western (also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, a Racine, Wisconsin firm), first using Western's plant in Poughkeepsie, New York as their printer. Dell turned over production duties on Popular Comics and The Funnies to Western in 1939. In 1944 they formalized their arrangement, with Dell financing the comics and Western providing the editorial work and the printing. Western retained complete control over select titles such as Red Ryder and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, though even those titles carried the Dell emblem after 1948.
(Some of the information for the above from Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books by Michael Barrier and Mark Evanier's "News from Me" blog [http://www.newsfromme.com/iaq/iaq07/])
******* "© Robert S. Callender" Explained *******
When Western Printing produced comic book content that was not a licensed property, it was copyrighted in the name of Robert S. Callender (or, sometimes, Oscar Lebeck, e.g. Animal Comics, a Lebeck project). Callender was not the writer. He was Western Printing's copyright holder.
Robert S. (Bob) Callender, b. 1913, youngest child of Gene Callender of Racine, Wisconsin society, was an executive at Western Printing. On Oct. 9, 1937 Mr. Callender married Wynnefred Wadewitz, b. 1916, daughter of Edward H. Wadewitz.
Robert S. Callender's father-in-law, Edward H. Wadewitz, had risen by initiative to be the secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Western Printing & Lithographing Company: he was a moving spirit in the development, enlargement and control of that undertaking.
Robert S. Callender (Mr. Wadewitz's son-in-law) was the Managing Editor and Business Manager for Whitman Publishing Co., Poughkeepsie, N.Y., owned by Western Printing and Lithographing Company of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Editing
| Series | Year | # Issues | Covers | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Pages of Comics | 1937 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1937 |
| 1000 Jokes | 1939 | 116 issues (1 indexed) | Have 114 (Need 6) | 1938 - March-May 1969 |
| 1000 New Jokes | 1934 | 0 issues (0 indexed) | No Covers | 1934 |
| 12 O'Clock High | 1965 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | January -March 1965 - April-June 1965 |
| 3-D-ell | 1953 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | [1953] - [1953] |
| 77 Sunset Strip | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 |
| 87th Precinct | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 |
| Abraham Lincoln Life Story | 1958 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | [March] 1958 |
| Adlai Stevenson | 1966 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | [December] 1966 |
| The Adventures of Little Orphan Annie | 1941 | 3 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | 1941 - 1942 |
| The Adventures of M. G. M.'s Lassie. Presented by Red Heart Dog Food. | 1949 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | [February 1950] |
| Adventures of Mighty Mouse | 1959 | 12 issues (12 indexed) | Gallery | October-December 1959 - July-September 1962 |
| Air War Stories | 1964 | 8 issues (8 indexed) | Gallery | September - November 1964 - August 1966 |
| Alice in Wonderland | 1950 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1950 |
| Alley Oop | 1962 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | December 1962-February 1963 - September-November 1963 |
| Alvin | 1962 | 28 issues (28 indexed) | Gallery | October - December 1962 - October 1973 |
| Alvin and His Pals in Merry Christmas with Clyde Crashcup and Leonardo | 1963 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | December 1963-February 1964 |
| Alvin and His Pals in Merry Christmas with Clyde Crashcup and Leonardo | 1966 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | April 1966 |
| Alvin for President | 1964 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | August-October 1964 |
| Andy Hardy | 1954 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | February-April 1954 - September-November 1954 |
| Angel | 1954 | 15 issues (15 indexed) | Gallery | May-July 1955 - November 1958-January 1959 |
| Animal Comics | 1942 | 30 issues (30 indexed) | Gallery | 1942 [September 8] - December 1947-January 1948 |
| Annie Oakley & Tagg | 1955 | 15 issues (15 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1955 - January - March 1959 |
| Around the Block with Dunc & Loo | 1962 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | January-March 1962 - April-June 1962 |
| Around the Block [with Dunc & Loo] | 1961 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | October-December 1961 |
| Around the World Under the Sea | 1966 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | December 1966 |
| Bachelor Father | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | September-November 1962 |
| Backfield in Motion | 1974 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Add | 1974 |
| Ballyhoo | 1931 | 86 issues (0 indexed) | Have 88 (Need 12) | August 1931 - February 1939 |
| Ballyhoo | 1948 | 6 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1948 - Spring 1954 |
| Barbie and Ken | 1962 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | May-July 1962 - November 1963-January 1964 |
| Barry M. Goldwater | 1965 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | [March 1965] |
| Bat Masterson | 1960 | 8 issues (8 indexed) | Have 10 (Need 1) | February-April 1960 - November 1961-January 1962 |
| Battle of the Bulge | 1966 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | June 1966 |
| Beach Blanket Bingo | 1965 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1965 |
| Beany and Cecil | 1962 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 - July-September 1963 |
| The Beatles | 1964 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Have 2 (Need 1) | September-November 1964 |
| Beep Beep | 1960 | 11 issues (11 indexed) | Gallery | February-April 1960 - August-October 1962 |
| Beetle Bailey | 1956 | 34 issues (34 indexed) | Gallery | February-April 1956 - May-July 1962 |
| Beetle Bailey and Sarge | 1958 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | December 1958 |
| Ben Bowie and His Mountain Men | 1956 | 11 issues (11 indexed) | Gallery | May-July 1956 - November 1958-January 1959 |
| Ben Casey | 1962 | 10 issues (10 indexed) | Gallery | June-July 1962 - June-August 1965 |
| Best Cartoons of the Year | 1968 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Add | April 1968 |
| Beverly Hillbillies | 1963 | 21 issues (21 indexed) | Gallery | April-June 1963 - October 1971 |
| Bewitched | 1965 | 14 issues (14 indexed) | Gallery | April-June 1965 - October 1969 |
| The Big Valley | 1966 | 6 issues (6 indexed) | Gallery | June 1966 - October 1969 |
| The Blazing Forest | 1962 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1962 |
| The Blue Phantom | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | June-August 1962 |
| Boatniks | 1961 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Have 1 (Need 1) | June 1961 |
| Bodé's Cartoon Concert | 1973 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | September 1973 |
| Bonanza | 1962 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | May-July 1962 - August-October 1962 |
| Boys Love Girls...More or Less | 1970 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Have 1 (Need 1) | November 1970 |
| Bozo | 1952 | 4 issues (4 indexed) | Gallery | January-March 1952 - October-December 1952 |
| Bozo the Clown | 1951 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1951 - October-November 1951 |
| Bozo the Clown | 1962 | 4 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | May-July 1962 - October-December 1963 |
| The Brady Bunch | 1970 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | February 1970 - May 1970 |
| Brain Boy | 1962 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 - September - November 1963 |
| Brenda Lee Life Story | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 |
| Brenda Starr | 1963 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | October-December 1963 |
| Buck Jones | 1951 | 7 issues (7 indexed) | Gallery | April-June 1951 - October-December 1952 |
| Buffalo Bill Jr. | 1958 | 7 issues (7 indexed) | Gallery | February-April 1958 - August - October 1959 |
| Bug Movies | 1931 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1931 |
| Bugs Bunny | 1952 | 58 issues (58 indexed) | Gallery | December 1952-January 1953 - July-September 1962 |
| Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies | 1950 | 8 issues (8 indexed) | Gallery | November 1950 - December 1958 |
| Bugs Bunny's Christmas Party | 1955 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | November 1955 |
| Bugs Bunny's County Fair | 1957 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | September 1957 |
| Bugs Bunny's Halloween Parade | 1953 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | October 1953 - October 1954 |
| Bugs Bunny's Trick 'n' Treat Halloween Fun | 1955 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | [October] 1955 - 1956 |
| Bugs Bunny's Vacation Funnies | 1951 | 9 issues (9 indexed) | Have 12 (Need 1) | July 1951 - June 1959 |
| Bullwinkle | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 |
| The Bullwinkle Mother Moose Nursery Pomes | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | May - July 1962 |
| Burke's Law | 1964 | 3 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | January-March 1964 - March-May 1965 |
| Butterfly Comics | 1936 | 4 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1936 - 1936 |
| Cadet Gray of West Point | 1958 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | April 1958 |
| Cain's Hundred | 1962 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | May-July 1962 - September-November 1962 |
| Calling Nurse Nellie! | 1961 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | May 1961 |
| Calvin and the Colonel | 1962 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July-September 1962 |
| Camp Runamuck | 1966 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | April 1966 |
| Car 54, Where Are You? | 1962 | 6 issues (6 indexed) | Gallery | June-August 1962 - September-November 1963 |
| Car 54, Where Are You? [2nd Printing] | 1964 | 2 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | October-December 1964 - January-March 1965 |
| The Castilian | 1964 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | January 1964 |
| The Cat | 1966 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | December 1966 |
| Charlie Chan | 1965 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | October-December 1965 - March 1966 |
| Charlie McCarthy | 1949 | 9 issues (9 indexed) | Gallery | March-May 1949 - [July] 1952 |
| Cheyenne | 1957 | 22 issues (22 indexed) | Gallery | August-October 1957 - December 1961-January 1962 |
| Cheyenne Autumn | 1965 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | April-June 1965 |
| The Chief | 1951 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | [April-June] 1951 |
| Chip 'n' Dale | 1955 | 27 issues (27 indexed) | Gallery | December [1955] - February 1956 - June 1962 |
| Christmas In Disneyland | 1957 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | December 1957 |
| A Christmas Treasury | 1954 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1954 |
| Cicero's Cat | 1959 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | July-August 1959 - September-October 1959 |
| Cimarron Strip | 1968 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | January 1968 |
| Circus World | 1964 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | September-November 1964 |
| The Cisco Kid | 1951 | 40 issues (40 indexed) | Gallery | January 1951 - October-December [1958] |
| Clancy the Cop | 1930 | 2 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1930 - 1930 |
| Clementina, the Flying Pig | 1950 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Have 1 (Need 1) | 1950 |
| Clyde Crashcup | 1963 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | August -October 1963 - September-November 1964 |
| Colt .45 | 1960 | 6 issues (6 indexed) | Have 10 (Need 2) | February-April 1960 - 1961 |
| Combat | 1961 | 40 issues (39 indexed) | Gallery | October-November 1961 - October 1973 |
| Comic Album | 1958 | 18 issues (18 indexed) | Have 19 (Need 1) | March-May 1958 - June-August 1962 |
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