As most of you know, I’m a fan of the Dell Disney Comics published under various titles and formats in the 1940’s and 50’s. In the past, both on the Blog and the Podcast, I’ve covered my favorite characters, Uncle Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck, especially when rendered by the great Carl Barks.
In addition to the regular Disney titles, I’ve always loved the July 4th and vacation themed covers published by Dell under license from Disney. The July 4th covers on the early issues of Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories have been some of my favorites, especially issue #58 (July 1945) signed by some of America’s greatest generals and admirals of World War II.
Not only did Disney celebrate July 4th with some great covers, they generally celebrated the entire summer vacation season with several titles during the 1950’s. My favorites are Vacation Parade and Vacation in Disneyland. With these Dell Giants, not only did you get a lot of material for twenty-five cents, you also got some great stories by Carl Barks.
These were really fun comics for kids in the 1950’s. I can just imagine sitting in the family car on the way to the beach working the puzzles or doing the many activities that were in these comics. While there are many comics today, I don’t think any are as much fun as the Disney vacation themed books.
Happy Fourth of July!
Hi Bill,
As a kid (previous century), I bought mostly Disney comics and had quite a collection. I left home for college and my younger cousins ransacked my room with all my Disney treasures! I have just a few of the comics that I kept with me but I have been going crazy trying to find one particular comic. The one I’m thinking of had a page (probably the back cover) with a cutout of Grandma Duck’s electric car. It could be put together and powered by a wooden spool with a rubber band and matchstick. If I could find out which comic that was in, I’d look to see if it can be purchased. Any help you can offer will be appreciated.
Warmest regards,
Al Canales
Temecula, CA