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WDC&S 674.jpg|{{Gallery note|Issue #674}}November 2006 |
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WDC&S 699A.jpg|{{Gallery note|Issue #699 (Cover A)}}October 7, 2009 |
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Waltdisneycomicsultraheroes.jpg|{{Gallery note|Issue #701 (Cover B)}}December 16, 2009 |
Waltdisneycomicsultraheroes.jpg|{{Gallery note|Issue #701 (Cover B)}}December 16, 2009 |
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WDC&S 711.jpg|{{Gallery note|Issue #711}}September 29, 2010 |
WDC&S 711.jpg|{{Gallery note|Issue #711}}September 29, 2010 |
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Revision as of 01:02, 2 July 2015
The 550th issue, published under Disney Comics, featured a special wrap-around cover.
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, also known as Walt's Disney Comics and sometimes abbreviated WDC or WDC&S, is a long-running anthology comic book series that stars an assortment of Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chip 'n Dale, Li'l Bad Wolf, Scamp, Bucky Bug, Grandma Duck, Brer Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, and others. It is considered one of the "core four" Disney comic book titles, alongside Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Uncle Scrooge.
Publication history
The precursor to WDC was Mickey Mouse Magazine, published in several incarnations from 1933 to 1940. WDC itself was launched in October 1940, and initially consisted of reprints taken from the Disney comic strips Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Silly Symphonies, reformatted for comic books and colored. The first original story created for WDC was an adaptation of The Flying Gauchito, illustrated by Walt Kelly, in issue #24 (Aug. 1942).
To facilitate birthday and holiday gift giving to youngsters, Western Publishing offered to send subscription recipients illustrated letters that announced the gift. Various premiums were also offered for new subscribers, including a mini-poster attributed to Pogo creator Walt Kelly advertised on the back cover of issue #100 (Jan. 1949). Walt Kelly would do the cover art for many issues between #34 and #118 and provided interior art for issues # 34-41 and 43.
The anthology format usually began with a 10-page story featuring Donald Duck and for most of the run ended with a serial or single story featuring Mickey Mouse. The most popular issues featured the Donald Duck 10-pagers written and drawn by Carl Barks, who began the run with issue #31 (April 1943) and ended with original stories in issue #312 (September 1966) but have been continually reprinted up to the present. Almost all of these stories co-starred Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, with frequent guest appearances by Barks' most famous creation, Scrooge McDuck, as well as the Beagle Boys, Gyro Gearloose, and Gladstone Gander.
Many 1940s issues featured Mickey Mouse serials by Floyd Gottfredson which were reprinted from newspaper daily comic strips; later, Paul Murry took over drawing original Mickey Mouse serials, with stories written by Carl Fallberg and Don Christensen among others. The 1980s saw numerous Murry reprints; the 1990s and more recent times have seen new Mickey Mouse stories by Noel Van Horn and (usually only drawn by) Cesar Ferioli, as well as some Gottfredson serials not previously anthologized in comic book format.
Li'l Bad Wolf stories began in issue #52 (January 1945) and remained a regular feature for more than ten years, continuing to appear in the majority of issues even after the continuous run stopped. Carl Buettner (1945–1946), Gil Turner (1948–1956), and Dick Matena (2005–2008) are generally regarded as the most notable Wolf creators featured in the title. In the 2000s, Big Bad Wolf often supplanted his son as title character of the stories.
Bucky Bug stories began in issue #20 (May 1942) with a series of newspaper reprints; original Bucky stories started awhile later, in issue #39 (December 1943). Bucky stories were monthly through 1950; were not seen for several decades, then returned on an occasional basis from 1988 to the present, with a mixture of old and new material.
By the mid-1950s, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories was the best selling comic book in the United States, with a monthly circulation of over three million. Mark Evanier describes the high circulation as the product of "an aggressive subscription push."
In many 1980s issues, as well as scattered issues from 2006 onward, new Donald Duck stories by Daan Jippes and/or Freddy Milton would lead off the title. Issues #523, 524, 526, 528, 531, and 547 (all 1987-1990) featured lead-off stories drawn (and usually written) by Don Rosa, while most issues from 1993-2005 featured lead-offs by William Van Horn.
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories has been the longest running Disney-based comic book in history, making it their flagship title. After reaching its 600th issue, it converted to prestige format and remained that way until the end of Gemstone's run at issue #698.
Issue #699, the first issue published by Boom! Studios, featured the first installment of the infamous "Ultraheroes" arc.
In September 2009, with the publishing rights of the "core four" comics being moved to Boom! Studios, the comic was cut down to 24 pages per issue and began focusing on printing multi-part story arcs that would run for about four issues each, the first being the infamous Ultraheroes arc (which would be concluded in its own series that ran for eight issues). As with all of Boom!'s Disney comics, each issue had at least two different variant covers, though this was eventually stopped at issue #709. At the start of 2011, to celebrate the comic's 70th anniversary, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories returned to its original anthology format. However, due to The Incredibles comic book being cancelled on a cliffhanger the previous year, coupled with Disney having acquired Marvel Comics two years earlier, Disney opted not to renew their deal with Boom! Studios, forcing Boom! to abruptly end their run with the title at issue #720.
On October 8, 2014, IDW Publishing announced that they will be bringing Disney comics back to print in early 2015.[1] It was later announced that their first issue of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories will be published on July 29, 2015.[2] Unlike the other three "core four" comics, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories will retain its original numbering system. Similar to the Boom! issues, each of IDW's issues will be published with at least three different variant covers, including special retailer incentive "legacy" covers based on Disney theme parks and attractions.
Publishing history
| Publisher | Run | Issues published |
|---|---|---|
| Dell Comics | October 1940–July 1962 | #1-263 |
| Gold Key Comics | August 1962–1984 | #264-510 |
| Gladstone Publishing | July 1986–January 9, 1990 | #511-547 |
| Disney Comics | April 1990–May 1993 | #548-585 |
| Gladstone Publishing | June 1993–December 1998 | #586-633 |
| Gemstone Publishing | June 2003–November 2008 | #634-698 |
| Boom! Studios | September 2009–June 2011 | #699-720 |
| IDW Publishing | July 2015–present | #721- |
Cover gallery
References
See also
- Other notable Disney comic titles in the USA:
- Mickey Mouse (since 1933; originally Mickey Mouse Magazine)
- Donald Duck (1952–1984, 1986–1997, 2003–2008, 2009-June 2011)
- Uncle Scrooge (1952–1984, 1986–1998, 2003-November 2008, September 2009-June 2011)
- Uncle Scrooge Adventures (1987–1990, 1993–1997)
- Donald Duck Adventures (1988–1990, 1993–1997)
- Mickey Mouse Adventures (1990-1991)
- Other Disney anthology comic books in the USA:
External links
- Walt Disney's Comics and Stories on Disney Comics Worldwide (DCW)
- Cover of all issues of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories on outducks.org (click on issue numbers)
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |
