# Gold Key comics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182 "2015-12-02T02:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![escaped](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@escaped](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escaped)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/1 "2015-12-02T02:43:30Z")
Any one remember Gold key comics?/ ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/2 "2015-12-02T02:45:59Z")
Yep, Pretty sure they used to publish a lot of the Disney comics back in the 60’s and 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/3 "2015-12-02T03:05:36Z")
Were they the ones who did a line of Star Trek comics? I know they did Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. I had a few of these when I was a lad, but they didn’t survive. Alas, got thrown out lang and lang ago. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/4 "2015-12-02T03:14:47Z")
Yeah, I remember them. They always seemed 3rd tier to me. DC and Marvel were first tier. Charlton Comics was a big drop down to 2nd tier. Gold Key, Classic Comics, and everything else aimed at kids was 3rd tier. Their stuff just didn’t appeal to me. The only times I read them was while waiting at the barber shop. My barber had piles of them to keep his juvenile customers occupied. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/5 "2015-12-02T03:16:30Z")
They kind of pioneered painted covers for comics. Russ Manning’s **Magnus Robot Hunter** was a big highlight! I liked **Dr. Spektor** , mainly for the Jesse Santos artwork. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/6 "2015-12-02T03:40:08Z")
[Carl Barks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barks), who invented Scrooge McDuck, is considered one of the titans of the comics medium. His entire run of Disney comics, including the Gold Key stuff, was reprinted between 1983 and 1990, in a ten volume hardcover set. So, yeah, they’re remembered. Some of them, pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/7 "2015-12-02T03:47:24Z")
The Star Trek comics were trash. They were written and drawn by people who had never seen one episode of the show. I remember _Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories_ fondly. Although Gold Key is defunct, they’re still in publication. I thought the _Duck Tales_ animated series was well done and quite faithful to the comics it was adapted from. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/8 "2015-12-02T03:49:59Z")
When I was a kid, we had some Gold Key comics collected as [Dynabrite Comics](http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/09/28/scotts-classic-comics-corner-shedding-some-light-on-dynabrite/) collections, including classics like Mickey Mouse in “Island in the Sky”, Donald Duck in “The Golden Helmet” and Scrooge McDuck in “The Golden Fleecing”. I remember them very fondly; they were great stories! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/9 "2015-12-02T03:53:45Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > They kind of pioneered painted covers for comics. Russ Manning’s **Magnus Robot Hunter** was a big highlight! I liked **Dr. Spektor** , mainly for the Jesse Santos artwork. No. Dell comics was doing it long before. Of course, both Dell and Gold Key were Western Publishing, just with different people running the presses. Most of Dell’s titles went over to Gold Key after GK was founded, including the movie adaptations, the Walt Disney comics, Tarzan, and Turok Son of Stone. I still have quite a stack of Gold Key comics. Their 1960s science fiction lines – Magnus, Dr. Solar – were pretty good, and their continuing Turok was great. After Tarzan moved to Gold Key they started doing adaptations of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books. If you’re interested, the Dell and Gold Key Tarzan comics are available free online, here: [http://www.erbzine.com/mag56/5660.html](http://www.erbzine.com/mag56/5660.html) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/10 "2015-12-02T04:07:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > . . . I thought the _Duck Tales_ animated series was well done and quite faithful to the comics it was adapted from. The whole Disney Afternoon line-up was great! Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers was super, and Tailspin was great, and Duck Tales was the best of the bunch. Brilliant. Later, Goof Troop was pretty good. Not super great, but very good. Quack Pack was a horrid failure, just a ghastly monstrous flub of a blunder. As Don Karnage might have said, “Zat is zee way the cookie, he crumbles.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/11 "2015-12-02T05:21:19Z")
I remember Gold Key comics. They were a staple of my childhood–all kinds of stories involving Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, Warner Brothers cartoon characters, Walt Disney characters, and whatever live-action shows they could adapt (for example, “Captain Nice” and “My Favorite Martian”). I never really got into their more “older” material though, such as Turok, or Magnus. I wasn’t limited to Gold Key as a child, and also read Batman and Superman and so on. But what always struck me about Gold Key was that there was no advertising–not like in DC or Marvel comics, where we heard about Daisy BB guns and Raleigh bicycles, or we could win prizes for selling greeting cards or Grit. Rather, Gold Key filled in single pages with jokes, or brief articles on things kids might find interesting. I also noticed, that unlike DC, Marvel, and even Archie, Gold Key never carried the Comics Code Authority stamp. Gold Key comics were good entertainment when I was a kid. I probably still have a few kicking around somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/12 "2015-12-02T05:38:01Z")
I think they also did a “Twilight Zone” comic, as well. Anybody remember Carlton comics? Characters like the Fly, Blue Beetle, and a Captain America knockoff called The Shield. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/13 "2015-12-02T09:04:21Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Anybody remember Carlton comics? Characters like the Fly, Blue Beetle, and a Captain America knockoff called The Shield. No, those were MLJ/Archie/Red Circle. Charlton did the Action Heroes (Blue Beetle, The Question, Peacemaker), a bunch of crappy horror comics, E-Man and the Phantom. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/14 "2015-12-02T09:25:27Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Charlton did the Action Heroes (Blue Beetle, The Question, Peacemaker) AKA Nite Owl, Rorschach, and The Comedian. Yes, _Watchmen_ was originally going to be a resurrection of the Charlton Action Heroes. DC balked at a resurrection which would lead off with one of their recently-purchased characters being killed off and the situation deteriorating from there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/15 "2015-12-02T12:18:00Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I think they also did a “Twilight Zone” comic, as well. Anybody remember Carlton comics? Characters like the Fly, Blue Beetle, and a Captain America knockoff called The Shield. “Charlton Comics Give You More!” Charlton gave us comics based on the movie _Reptilicus_ (changed after the first couple of issues to _Reptisaurus_) and _Gorgo_. Some of these were actually drawn by the great comic boo=k artist Steve Ditko, who was better known for his work at Marvel (where he had been the original _Spiderman_ artist) For obscure comics, how about American Comics Group, which had a lot of supernatural titles (where ghosts were always depicted as having dashed outlines, and colored green) and the wonderfully offbeat _Herbie_: > **[Herbie Popnecker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Popnecker)** > > Herbie Popnecker is a fictional comic book character who first appeared in Forbidden Worlds #73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group. He was created by Richard E. Hughes (using the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea") and Ogden Whitney. > Herbie is an atypical hero - a short, obese, unemotional, terse, unstylish boy who is nonetheless nearly omnipotent. Deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops he obtains from a salesman from a mysterious realm called "the Unkn... ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/16 "2015-12-02T13:42:29Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Characters like the Fly, Blue Beetle, and a Captain America knockoff called The Shield. As mentioned, only Blue Beetle was Charlton (actually, the original was Fox, but the more popular Ted Kord version was created for Charlton). And The Shield predated Captain America by about a year, which is why Cap has had a round shield for most of his existence (his original was too evocative of The Shield’s look, so they changed it to avoid MLJ suing them). ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/17 "2015-12-02T14:01:01Z")
[The Digital Comics Museum.](http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php) Say goodbye to hours and hours of your life. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/18 "2015-12-02T14:55:09Z")
[Here](http://www.newsfromme.com/iaq/iaq07/) is a thorough, and fairly easy to follow explanation of Gold Key, Dell, Western Printing, and how they all fit together. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/19 "2015-12-02T18:40:05Z")
I’ve seen some fanzines from the 60s that actually referred to Gold Key as one of “The Big Three.” Historically, there’s always been a bit of a drop-off after the “big two.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182/20 "2015-12-02T19:30:06Z")
When I was growing up in the 60s, Charlton was definitely third tier behind DC. (Marvel was unavailable in my area until I was well into my teens.) Dell/Gold Key was second tier, though it didn’t try to hard to compete with Superhero comics. They did do _Little Lulu_, one of the great comic books of all time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-key-comics/739182.md?page=2)