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Four Color

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This article is about the comic book series. For the topological graph theory, seeFour color theorem.For the four color model, seeCMYK color model.
Four Color
One of the earlier issues ofFour Color(#9 from October 1942), featuringWalt Disney'sDonald DuckinDonald Duck Finds Pirate Gold(Four Colortitle below the price)
Publication information
PublisherDell Comics
ScheduleVarious
FormatOngoing series
Publication dateJuly–September 1939[1]– April–June 1962[2]
No.of issues1,354

Four Color,also known asFour Color ComicsandDell Four Color,is an Americancomic book anthologyseries published byDell Comicsbetween 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to thefour basic colorsused when printing comic books (cyan,magenta,yellowandblackat the time).[3]The first 25 issues (1939–1942) are known as "series 1". In mid-1942, the numbering started over again, and "series 2" began.[4]After the first hundred issues of the second series, Dell stopped putting the "Four Color Comics" designation on the books, but they continued the numbering system for twenty years.[4]

More than 1,000 issues were published, usually with multiple titles released every month.[5]An exact accounting of the actual number of unique issues produced is difficult because occasional issue numbers were skipped and a number of reprint issues were also included. Nonetheless, theOverstreet Comic Book Price Guidelists well over 1,000 individual issues, ending with #1354.[6]Comics historian Alberto Becattini cites 1332 issues.[5]It currently holds the record for most issues produced of an American comic book title;[3]its nearest rival,DC'sAction Comics,reached the1,000-issue milestonein 2018.[7]

Four Colorpublished many of the first licensedDisney comics;about 20 percent of theFour Colorissues were devoted to Disney characters.[5]

History

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Unlike most comic book series of the day, which were either devoted to one character, or were anthologies with collections of stories starring the cartoon characters of a particular studio,Four Colorinstead devoted each individual issue to different characters. One issue might feature a popular cartoon character, while the next might be an adaptation of a popular movie or TV series.[5]Thus the phrase "one shot" which was used in the publisher's code in the first interior page of the first story. For example, issue 223 (1949) was denoted DDOS 223 which translates as Donald Duck One-Shot #223. MostFour Colortitles featured licensed properties; relatively few original characters were created for the line. The firstFour Colorcomic featuredcomic stripandmovie serialheroDick Tracy;the last (issue number 1,354, series 2, dated April–June 1962) was based upon the TV seriesCalvin and the Colonel.[2]

Comics historian Gary Brown wrote, "In theFour Color Series,you get a good sense of what America was like in the 1950s. Admittedly, it might be a white, middle-class version of the country, but the series hit on every fad, every icon, and every popular piece of culture that America embraced during this time span. Dell comics released anywhere from one to a half dozenFour Colortitles a month, touching on topics such as the Old West, animation characters, newspaper comic strips, radio programs, TV programs, movies, and even pop music. For the most part, the series reflected what entertained America in the 1950s — and not just kids, but adults, as well. "[8]

Many of the earlyFour Colorissues were reprints of newspaper comic strips; the first series includedDick Tracy,Little Orphan Annie,Mickey Mouse,Donald DuckandTerry and the Pirates,among others.[1]The only two issues from the first series that published comic book stories were based on new Walt Disney films. Issue #13 featured an adaptation ofThe Reluctant Dragon,[9]and aDumboadaptation was the focus of issue #17.[10]

The comic strip reprints continued well into the 1942 second series. Of the first ten issues, eight are strip reprints, includingLittle Joe,Harold Teen,Alley OopandFlash Gordon.The first two original stories in the second series are issue #5,Raggedy Ann and Andy,and issue #9,Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold.The series continued strip reprints ofDick Tracyuntil issue #163 (Sept 1947),Little Orphan Annieuntil issue #206 (Dec 1948) andHarold Teenuntil issue #209 (Jan 1949).[2]

But the focus of the series moved to original comic book stories, and soon the primary purpose behindFour Colorwas as a try-out showcase for potential new Dell Comics series.[3]For example,TarzanandLittle Luluin early 1948 launched their own titles (starting with no. 1) after proving themselves via a number ofFour Colortry-out issues. However, during the 1940s, the transition was not always so prompt, as a number of prominent funny animal characters starred in 20–30 issues ofFour Color(these includeMickey Mouse,Donald DuckandPorky Pig).[3]Comic book historianMichael Barriernotes that by the early 1950s, Dell seemed to be giving more emphasis to subscription sales (promoted via premium giveaways as part of the Dell Comics Club), which necessitated stable series instead of one-shots.[11]

At one point in 1951, some issues ofFour Colorwere double-numbered, reflecting the issuances for particular characters; thus issues 318 and 328, featuring Donald Duck, carried the notation "nos. 1–2" on the cover underneath theFour Colorseries number. Indeed, beginning in the early 1950s, it became more prevalent than previously forFour Colortitles, if they proved popular enough, to become ongoing, independent series. In some cases, the issue numbering of these spin-offs took into account any previousFour Colorissues (albeit sometimes miscounting the one-shots;Donald Duckstarted with #26 despite the publication of twenty-nineFour Color issueswith the character preceding it).

Only issues published between c.1940 and 1946 actually carried the titleFour Color Comicson the cover.[a]

Four Colorended its run around the same time Dell's partnership withWestern Publishingcame to an end. Western subsequently formed a competing company,Gold Key Comics,and took over a number of licenses previously held by Dell. This included numerous titles featured under theFour Colorbanner that were then continued as ongoing series under Gold Key; this included most of the Disney and Hanna-Barbera properties.

Notes

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  1. ^Documenting the extent of theFour Colorseries was among the bibliographic tasks undertaken in the early 1960s by emerging comic book fandom. FansDonaldandMaggie Thompsontook the lead in this endeavor and, in 1968, finally issuedA Listing of Dell Special Series Comic Books (and a Few Others)as Bibliographic Supplement no. 1 to their fanzineComic Art.In its 35 pages, it listed not only individual titles of comic books published in theColor/Four Colorseries, but those in these series:Black and White, Large Feature, United Feature Single Series, Comics on Parade, McKay Feature Books, Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated,andClassics Illustrated(Classic Comics).[12]

Citations

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  1. ^ab"Four Color (1939 series)".Grand Comics Database.Retrieved10 August2019.
  2. ^abc"Four Color (1942 series)".Grand Comics Database.Retrieved10 August2019.
  3. ^abcdBooker, M. Keith, ed.Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas.Greenwood, 2014, p. 6.ISBN978-0-313-39750-9.
  4. ^abBarrier, Michael (2014). "Carl Barks Makes His Break".Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books.University of California Press.ISBN978-0520283909.
  5. ^abcdBecattini, Alberto (2016). "Four-Color Daydreams: The U.S. Disney Comic Books".Disney Comics: The Whole Story.Theme Park Press.ISBN978-1683900177.
  6. ^Overstreet, R.M. (2011).The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide(41st ed.). Gemstone Publishing.ISBN978-1603601306.
  7. ^Davison, Joshua (April 19, 2018)."Action Comics#1000 Review: Happy Birthday, Superman ".Bleeding Cool.RetrievedMay 29,2018.
  8. ^Brown, Gary (2011).The Four-Color Four Color Index, vol 2.G. Brown. p. 4.
  9. ^"One-Shots (series 1) #13".Inducks.Retrieved8 August2019.
  10. ^"One-Shots (Series 1) #17".Inducks.Retrieved8 August2019.
  11. ^"MichaelBarrier (column):" And of Comic Books "(Feb. 15, 2008), by Michael Barrier".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-05-26.Retrieved2010-08-13.
  12. ^"Fanzine Library: Comic Art #1 (Spring 1961)".Maggiethompson.Retrieved10 August2019.

References

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