King Comics, a short-lived comic book imprint of

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

, was an attempt by King Features to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. A few King Comics titles were picked up from Gold Key Comics. King Features placed former Gold Key editor Bill Harris in charge of the line.John Wells and Keith Dallas, ''American comic book chronicles: the 1960s,1965-1969'' Raleigh, North Carolina : TwoMorrows Publishing, 2014. (p. 141-5, 150-2) The line ran for approximately a year and a half, with its series cover-dated from August 1966 to December 1967.

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 ...

,"Introduction" to ''Flash Gordon Comic-Book archives:Volume 2''. Milwaukie, Or. :Dark Horse Books, 2010. (p.6-7). The King Comics ''Flash Gordon'' title was well-received, winning three

Alley Awards The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with the ...

in 1966 and another in 1967. The series had distribution problems throughout its run. Several distributors refused to take the King Comics because their first issues lacked a Comics Code Authority seal; King subsequently obtained a CCA seal on all later King Comics issues. King Features tried to overcome the distribution problem by selling its titles in special "King Paks" of three to variety stores and supermarkets. This tactic failed to gain more readers, and the King Comics line was discontinued. Many stories created for King Comics were later published in the continuation of most of King's titles by Charlton Comics.Griffin, Bob and John. "The Phantom: A Publishing History in the U.S.A."
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Titles

* '' Beetle Bailey'' #54-65 (Aug. 1966 - Dec. 1967), continued from Gold Key, continued by Charlton with #67 (#66 sold overseas only by King) * '' Blondie Comics'' #164-175 (Aug. 1966 - Dec. 1967), continued from Harvey Comics, continued by Charlton with #177 (no #176 was published) * ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

'' #1-11 (Sept. 1966 - Dec. 1967), continued by Charlton * '' Jungle Jim'' #5 (Dec. 67), reprinted Dell Comics' issue #5, continued by Charlton using Dell's numbering * ''

Mandrake the Magician ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloon ...

'' #1-10 (Sept. 1966 - Nov. 1967) * '' The Phantom'' #18-28 (Sept. 1966 - Dec. 1967), continued from Gold Key, continued by Charlton * '' Popeye'' #81-92 (Sept. 1966 - Nov. 1967), continued from Gold Key, continued by Charlton

References

Publishing companies established in 1966 Publishing companies disestablished in 1967 Publishing companies based in New York City 1966 comics debuts Comic book publishing companies of the United States Defunct comics and manga publishing companies {{comics-company-stub

Titles

See also

References