Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

, created for

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned by Gold Key Entertainment LLC, which consists of business partners and comic book enthusiasts Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes, and Arnold Guerrero.

History

Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when its parent,

Western Publishing Company Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

, switched to in-house publishing rather than packaging content for branding and distribution by its business partner,

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 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...

. Hoping to make their comics more like traditional children's books, they initially eliminated panel line-borders, using just the panel, with its ink and artwork evenly edged, but not bordered by a "container" line. Within a year, they had reverted to using inked panel borders and oval balloons. They experimented with new formats, including ''Whitman Comic Book'', a black-and-white, 136-page, hardcover series consisting of reprints, and ''Golden Picture Story Book'', a tabloid-sized, 52-page, hardcover containing new material. In 1967, Gold Key reprinted a number of selected issues of their comics under the title ''Top Comics''. They were packaged in plastic bags containing five comics each and were sold at gas stations and various eateries. Like Dell, Gold Key was one of the few major American comic book publishers never to display the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

seal on its covers.

Properties

Gold Key featured a number of licensed properties and several original titles, including a number of publications that were spun off from Dell's ''

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

'' series, or were published as stand-alone titles. Gold Key maintained decent sales numbers throughout the 1960s, due to its offering of many titles based upon popular TV series of the day, as well as numerous titles based on both Walt Disney Studios and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

animated properties. It was also the first company to publish comic books based upon the current NBC TV series '' Star Trek''. While some titles, such as ''Star Trek'' and ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'', were published for many years, many other licensed titles were characterized by short runs, sometimes publishing no more than one or two issues. Gold Key considered suing over the similarly themed television series ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' for its resemblance to the preexisting ''Space Family Robinson'', but decided their business relationship with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and

Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen, June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genr ...

was more important than any monetary reward resulting from such a suit; as a result, the Gold Key series adopted the branding ''Space Family Robinson Lost in Space'' with issue #15 (Jan. 1966), though its narrative had no connection to the TV series. Editor Chase Craig stated that Gold Key would launch titles with Hanna-Barbera characters with direct adaptations of episodes of the program because " e studio had approval rights and the people there could get pointlessly picky about the material ... but they rarely bothered looking at any issue after the first few. Therefore, it simplified the procedure to do the first and maybe the second issue as an adaptation. They couldn't very well complain that a plot taken from the show was inappropriate". Over the years, Gold Key lost several properties, including the King Features Syndicate characters (

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Flash Gordon,

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

, etc.), to

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

in 1966, numerous, but not all, Hanna-Barbera characters also to Charlton Comics in 1970, and ''Star Trek'' to

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

in 1979.

Creators

The stable of writers and artists built up by Western Publishing during the Dell Comics era mostly continued into the Gold Key era. In the mid-1960s, a number of artists were recruited by the newly formed Disney Studio Program and thereafter divided their output between the Disney Program and Western. Writer/artist

Russ Manning Russell George Manning (January 5, 1929"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VMMT-NZN : accessed 28 Aug 2014), Russell Manning, Dec 1981; citing U.S. Social Security Administration ...

and editor

Chase Craig Wingate Chase Craig (August 28, 1910 – December 2, 2001) was an American writer-cartoonist who worked principally on comic strips and comic books. From the mid-1940s to mid-1970s he was a prolific editor and scripter for Western Publishing' ...

launched the ''

Magnus, Robot Fighter Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional superhero, appearing in comic books created by writer/artist Russ Manning in 1963.Steve Holland, ''Sci-Fi Art : a graphic history''. Lewes : ILEX, 2009. (pp. 102-3) Magnus first appeared in ''Magnus Robot Fight ...

'' science-fiction series in 1963.

Jack Sparling John Edmond Sparling (June 21, 1916 – February 15, 1997), was a Canadian comics artist. Biography Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sparling moved to the United States as a child. He received his early arts training at the Arts and Crafts Club in New ...

co-created the superhero Tiger Girl with

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...

in 1968, drew the toyline tie-in ''Microbots'' one-shot, and illustrated comic book adaptations of the television series ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempte ...

'' and '' Adam-12''.

Dan Spiegle Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Com ...

worked on ''

Space Family Robinson ''Space Family Robinson'' was an original science-fiction comic-book series published by Gold Key Comics. It predates the ''Lost in Space'' television series. Both are loosely based on the 1812 novel by Johann David Wyss and similarly named movi ...

'', ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of med ...

'', ''

The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science-fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invas ...

'', '' Korak, Son of Tarzan'', ''

Brothers of the Spear "Brothers of the Spear" was a long-running backup feature in the ''Tarzan'' comic-book series created by American company Western Publishing and published first through Dell Comics and then through Gold Key Comics. Though published as part of a li ...

'', and many of Gold Key's mystery/occult titles. Among the other creators at Gold Key were writers Donald F. Glut, Len Wein,

Bob Ogle Robert Allen Ogle (May 28, 1926 – February 25, 1984), known as Bob Ogle, was an American voice actor, animator and writer. Most characters he voiced are performed in the style of Bill Thompson's character Wallace Wimple from ''Fibber McGee and ...

, John David Warner,

Steve Skeates Steve Skeates (; born 1943) is an American comic book creator known for his work on such titles as ''Aquaman'', '' Hawk and Dove'', ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', and ''Plop!'' He has also written under the pseudonyms Chester P. Hazel and Warren Savin ...

, and

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and b ...

; and artists Cliff Voorhees, Joe Messerli,

Carol Lay Carol Lay (born 1952) is an American alternative cartoonist best known for her weekly comic strip, ''Story Minute'' (later to evolve into the strip ''Way Lay''), which ran for almost 20 years in such US papers as the ''LA Weekly'', the ''NY Press' ...

Jesse Santos Jesse Santos (June 24, 1928 – April 27, 2013) was a Filipino comic-book artist. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Dagar the Invincible'' and ''Tragg and the Sky Gods'' with writer Donald F. Glut. Biography Jesse Santos was born in Tere ...

, and

Mike Royer Michael W. Royer (; born June 28, 1941) is an American comics artist and inker, best known for his work with pencilers Russ Manning and Jack Kirby. In later life Royer became a freelance product designer and character artist for The Walt Disney C ...

. Glut created and wrote several series including ''

The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', ''

Dagar the Invincible ''Tales of Sword and Sorcery Featuring Dagar the Invincible'' is a comic-book series created by writer Donald F. Glut and artist Jesse Santos for Western Publishing's Gold Key Comics line. Publication history The first issue had the cover date of ...

'', and ''

Tragg and the Sky Gods ''Tragg and the Sky Gods'' was a comic-book title published by Gold Key Comics in the mid-1970s. The series was created by writer Donald F. Glut and artist Jesse Santos. Later, artist Dan Spiegle would work on the title. Appearances The character ...

''. Also in the 1970s, writer Bob Gregory started drawing stories, mostly for ''Daisy and Donald''. Artist/writer

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

had his first published comic book artwork in ''

'' for Gold Key in 1978.

Diana Gabaldon Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the ''Outlander'' series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantas ...

began her career writing for Gold Key, initially sending a query that stated, "I’ve been reading your comics for the last 25 years, and they’ve been getting worse and worse. I’m not sure if I could do better myself, but I’d like to try." Editor Del Connell provided a script sample and bought her second submission. According to former Western Publishing writer Mark Evanier, during the mid-1960s, comedy writer

Jerry Belson Jerry Belson (July 8, 1938 – October 10, 2006) was a writer, director, and producer of Hollywood films for over 40 years. Career Belson's writing credits include the Steven Spielberg films '' Always'' and ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ...

, whose writing partner at the time was

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...

, also did scripts for Gold Key while writing for leading TV sitcoms like ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...

''. Among the comics for which he wrote were ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'', ''

Uncle Scrooge ''Uncle Scrooge'' (stylized as ''Uncle $crooge'') is a Disney comic book series starring Scrooge McDuck ("the richest duck in the world"), his nephew Donald Duck, and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and revolving around their adventures in ...

'', ''

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...

'', ''

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...

'', ''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

'', and ''

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

''.

Leo Dorfman Leo Dorfman (February 17, 1914 – July 9, 1974) (also credited as Geoff Brown and David George) was an American writer of comic books throughout the Silver Age. Although the majority of his work was for DC Comics, he also wrote for Dell Comics ...

, creator of '' Ghosts'' for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, also produced supernatural stories for Gold Key's similarly themed ''Twilight Zone'', ''Ripley's Believe it or Not'', ''Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery'', and ''Grimm's Ghost Stories''. One of Gold Key's editors at the time told Mark Evanier, "Leo writes stories and then he decides whether he's going to sell them to DC or ''Ghosts''or to us. He tells us that if they come out good, they go to us and if they don't, they go to DC. I assume he tells DC the opposite." Editor Frank Tedeschi, who left in 1973 for a job in book publishing, helped bring in such new comics professionals as

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

, Gerry Boudreau, and John David Warner.

Later years

During the 1970s, the entire comics industry experienced a downswing and Gold Key was among the hardest hit. Its editorial policies had not kept pace with the changing times, and suffered an erosion of its base of sales among children, who instead of buying comic books, could now watch cartoons and other entertainment on television for free. It is also alleged by Carmine Infantino that in the mid to late 1960s, DC Comics attempted to pressure Gold Key from the comics business through sheer volume of output. Among the original titles launched by Gold Key in the 1970s were ''Baby Snoots'' and ''Wacky Witch''. By 1977, many of the company's series had been cancelled and the surviving titles featured more reprinted material, although Gold Key was able to obtain the rights to publish a comic book series based upon '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' between 1979 and 1981. It also lost the rights to publish ''Star Trek''-based comic books to

just prior to the revival of the franchise via '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', with the final Gold Key-published ''Star Trek'' title being issued in March, 1979. In this period, Gold Key experimented with digests with some success. In a similar manner, to explore new markets in the mid-1970s, it produced a four-volume series, with somewhat better production values and printing aimed at the emerging collector market, containing classic stories of the Disney characters by Carl Barks and

Floyd Gottfredson Arthur Floyd Gottfredson (May 5, 1905July 22, 1986) was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip, which he worked on from 1930 until his retirement in 1975. His contribution to Mickey Mouse comi ...

(''Best of Walt Disney's Comics''). In the late 1970s, somewhat higher-grade reprints of various licensed characters were also aimed at new venues (''Dynabrites''), plus ''Starstream'', a four-issue series adapting classic science fiction stories by authors such as Isaac Asimov and

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

. Golden Press released trade paperback reprint collections such as ''Walt Disney Christmas Parade'', ''Bugs Bunny Comics-Go-Round'', and ''Star Trek: The Enterprise Logs''. In the late 1970s, the distribution of comic books on spinners and racks at newsstands, drug stores, and supermarkets continued, but Western Publishing also sold packages of three comics in a plastic bag to toy and department stores, gas stations, airports, and bus/train stations, "as well as other outlets that weren't conducive to conventional comic racks". The newsstand comics were returnable; the dealer could return unsold copies to the distributor for a refund, but the bagged comics were not. To discourage unscrupulous dealers from opening the plastic bags and returning the nonreturnable issues, Western published the newsstand versions under the Gold Key Comics label, and put the Whitman Comics logo on the bagged versions, although otherwise the issues were identical. Western, at one point, also distributed bagged comics from its rival DC Comics under the Whitman logo. Former DC Comics executive

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

stated, " heWestern program was enormous — even well into the 1970s, they were taking very large numbers of DC titles for distribution (I recall 50,000+ copies offhand)." In 1979, Western ceased to be an independent company when

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

Inc. purchased the company. The new management stopped selling returnable comics at newsstands, preferring the nonreturnable bagged comics sold at toy stores. In a 1993 interview, Del Connell, the managing editor at Western's West Coast office in the late 1970s, recalled, Eventually, arrangements were made to distribute these releases to the nascent national network of comic-book stores. Western also prepared a prospectus in the early 1980s for a deluxe Carl Barks reprint project aimed at the collector market that was never published. In December 1983, a struggling Mattel sold Western Publishing to real-estate investor Richard A. Bernstein. Bernstein closed Western's comic-book publishing division in 1984.

Relaunches, reprints, and legacy

Three of Gold Key's original characters,

, Doctor Solar, and

Turok, Son of Stone Turok is a fictional character who first appeared in American comic books published by Western Publishing through licensee Dell Comics. He first appeared in ''Four Color Comics'' #596 (October/November 1954). After a second ''Four Color'' appea ...

, were used in the 1990s to launch

Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim E ...

' fictional universe.

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

(and later,

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...

) have published reprints, including several in hardcover collections, of such original Gold Key titles as ''Magnus, Robot Fighter''; ''Doctor Solar''; ''Mighty Samson''; '' M.A.R.S. Patrol''; ''Turok: Son of Stone''; '' The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor''; ''

''; ''Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery''; ''Space Family Robinson''; '' Flash Gordon''; the Jesse Marsh drawn ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal 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 adv ...

''; and some of the

-produced ''Tarzan'' series. They started several revivals of characters under

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

, including ''Doctor Solar'', ''Magnus'', ''Turok'', and '' Mighty Samson''. The

Checker Book Publishing Group Checker or chequer or ''variant'', may refer to: People *Chubby Checker (born 1941), American singer-songwriter best known for popularizing The Twist * Tarasha Checker, prettiest girl in West Delhi Arts, entertainment, and media * Checker, a ga ...

, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, began reprinting the Gold Key ''Star Trek'' series in 2004. Hermes Press reprinted the three series based on

's science-fiction TV series, as well as Gold Key's ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...

'', ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...

'', and the Phantom.

Bongo Comics Bongo Comics Group was a comic book publishing company founded in 1993 by Matt Groening along with Steve & Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison. It published comics related to the animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama'', as well a ...

published a parody of Gold Key in '' Radioactive Man'' #106 (volume 2 #6, Nov. 2002) with script/layout by

Batton Lash Batton Lash (October 29, 1953 – January 12, 2019) was an American comics creator who came to prominence as part of the 1990s self-publishing boom. He is best known for the series ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'' (a.k.a. ''Supernatur ...

and finished art by

Mike DeCarlo Mike DeCarlo (born March 14, 1957) is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work for DC Comics in the 1980s inking the artwork of such artists as George Pérez, Greg LaRocque, Keith Giffen, and Jim Aparo. DeCarlo has worked on v ...

that

Tony Isabella Tony Isabella (born December 22, 1951) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as ...

dubbed "a nigh-flawless facsimile of the Gold Key comics published by Western in the early 1960s...from the painting with tasteful come-on copy on the front cover to the same painting, sans logo or other type, presented as a "pin-up" on the back cover". In June 2001,

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production com ...

announced they would purchase Golden Books Family Entertainment for million (equivalent to $ million in ) and take it out of bankruptcy. However, DIC would pass off the purchase due to high costs and instead Golden Books Family Entertainment was eventually acquired jointly by

Classic Media Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...

, owner of the catalog of

United Productions of America United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio active from the 1940s through the 1970s. Beginning with industrial and World War II training films, UPA eventually produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Picture ...

, and book publisher

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in a bankruptcy auction for the lower $84.4million (equivalent to $ million in ) on August 16, 2001. In turn, Random House, and Classic Media gained ownership of Golden Books' entertainment catalog (including the family entertainment catalog of

Broadway Video Broadway Video is an American multimedia entertainment studio founded by Lorne Michaels, creator of the sketch comedy TV series ''Saturday Night Live'' and producer of other television programs and movies. Broadway Video also held the rights to ...

which includes the pre-1974 library of Rankin/Bass Productions and the library of

Total Television Total Television was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover,p.478 Erickson,Hal ''Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003'' McFarland & Co., 2005 Joe Harris, and Trea ...

), as well as production, licensing, and merchandising rights for Golden Books' characters and the Gold Key Comics catalogs, while Random House gained Golden Books' book publishing properties. Random House had previously acquired Dell Publishing though a series of mergers since 1976, effectively reuniting the remnants Gold Key Comics and

. On July 23, 2012, Classic Media was acquired by DreamWorks Animation for $155million (equivalent to $ million in ) and renamed

DreamWorks Classics Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...

. On July 1, 2013, Random House merged with the

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initi ...

, forming a new company called

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

. In April 2016, the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation (owner of DreamWorks Classics) by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

was announced. In 2021, comics creator and hacker Robert Willis obtained the trademark. Later that year the trademark was purchased by the newly-formed Gold Key Entertainment LLC. The new ownership consists of comic book enthusiasts Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes, and Arnold Guerrero. Gold Key Entertainment is currently working with creators to produce new titles as well as reviving some familiar titles, all staying true to the classic Gold Key aesthetic.

Titles include

Original series

Licensed series

Movie Comics

In addition to ongoing series, Gold Key also published many standalone single-issue film adaptations, primarily based on titles from Walt Disney Studios.

References

External links

Western (publisher)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

* * * * {{Authority control Penguin Random House Gold Key Comics American companies established in 1962 American companies disestablished in 1984 Comic book publishing companies of the United States Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Western Publishing Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Publishing companies based in New York City Publishing companies established in 1962 Publishing companies disestablished in 1984 1962 establishments in New York City 1984 disestablishments in New York (state) Disney comics publishers DreamWorks Classics Lists of comics by publisher