''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American
comic book anthology series published by
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the
four basic colors used when printing comic books (
cyan
Cyan () is the color between blue and green on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 500 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue.
In the subtractive color system, or CMYK c ...
,
magenta
Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...
,
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
and
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
at the time).
[Booker, M. Keith, ed. ''Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas.]
Greenwood, 2014, p. 6. . The first 25 issues (1939–1942) are known as "series 1". In mid-1942, the numbering started over again, and "series 2" began.
After the first hundred issues of the second series, Dell stopped putting the "Four Color Comic" designation on the books, but they continued the numbering system for twenty years.
[
More than 1,000 issues were published, usually with multiple titles released every month.] 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, the '' Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'' lists well over 1,000 individual issues, ending with #1354. Comics historian Alberto Becattini cites 1332 issues.[ It currently holds the record for most issues produced of an American comic book title;] its nearest rival, DC's ''Action Comics
''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
'', reached the 1,000-issue milestone in 2018.
''Four Color'' published many of the first licensed Disney comics; about 20 percent of the ''Four Color'' issues were devoted to Disney characters.[
]
History
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 Color'' instead 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.[ 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. Most ''Four Color'' titles featured licensed properties; relatively few original characters were created for the line. The first ''Four Color'' comic featured ]comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
and movie serial hero Dick Tracy; the last (issue number 1,354, series 2, dated April–June 1962) was based upon the TV series '' Calvin and the Colonel''.[
Comics historian Gary Brown wrote, "In the ''Four 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 dozen ''Four Color'' titles 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."
Many of the early ''Four Color'' issues were reprints of newspaper comic strips; the first series included '' Dick Tracy'', '']Little Orphan Annie
''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James ...
'', ''Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
'', ''Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
'' and '' Terry and the Pirates'', among others.[ 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 of '' The Reluctant Dragon'', and a '' Dumbo'' adaptation was the focus of issue #17.
The comic strip reprints continued well into the 1942 second series. Of the first ten issues, eight are strip reprints, including '' Little Joe'', '' Harold Teen'', '' Alley Oop'' and '' Flash 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 of ''Dick Tracy'' until issue #163 (Sept 1947), ''Little Orphan Annie'' until issue #206 (Dec 1948) and ''Harold Teen'' until issue #209 (Jan 1949).][
But the focus of the series moved to original comic book stories, and soon the primary purpose behind ''Four Color'' was as a try-out showcase for potential new Dell Comics series.] For example, Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Creat ...
and Little Lulu in early 1948 launched their own titles (starting with no. 1) after proving themselves via a number of ''Four Color'' try-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 of ''Four Color'' (these include Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
, Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
and Porky Pig
Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...
). Comic book historian Michael Barrier notes 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.
At one point in 1951, some issues of ''Four Color'' were 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 the ''Four Color'' series number. Indeed, beginning in the early 1950s, it became more prevalent than previously for ''Four Color'' titles, if they proved popular enough, to become ongoing, independent series. In some cases, the issue numbering of these spin-offs took into account any previous ''Four Color'' issues (albeit sometimes miscounting the one-shots; ''Donald Duck'' started with #26 despite the publication of twenty-nine ''Four Color issues'' with the character preceding it).
Only issues published between c.1940 and 1946 actually carried the title ''Four Color Comic'' on the cover.
''Four Color'' ended its run around the same time Dell's partnership with Western Publishing
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...
came 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 the ''Four Color'' banner that were then continued as ongoing series under Gold Key; this included most of the Disney and Hanna-Barbera properties.
Notes
Citations
References
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External links
*{{Inducks publication, us, OS
Contents of the issues in the first series
Contents of the issues in the second series
Chronological listings of all Four-Colors
Dell Comics titles
Comics magazines published in the United States
1939 comics debuts
1962 comics endings
Magazines established in 1939
Magazines disestablished in 1962
Disney comics titles
Mickey Mouse
Donald Duck
Porky Pig