''March of Comics'' was a

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 ...

series published by

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 ...

. 488 issues were published from 1946 to 1982. Comic book writer Mark Evanier has described it as "...one of the most widely-circulated comic books in the history of mankind ... some issues reportedly were issued in quantities of five million and up".News from Me (column): "Incessantly Asked Questions"
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110175347/http://povonline.com/iaq/IAQ07.htm , date=2006-01-10 The comic was not in a standard comic format. All issues were smaller (in page count and eventually in size) than normal and at one point printed in an oblong format. None were sold. The series was published as a "giveaway" premium and sold to vendors who would stamp their name on it (or arranged for their logo to be printed on the cover) and given away to children who shopped at their store. A prominent outlet for the series was through shoe departments at

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

stores. No publisher logo was on the cover. It was published under Western's "K.K. Publishing" subsidiary through the mid-1960s, then by just Western. Many of the characters published by Western for

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"Wh ...

and their own

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

, both licensed and original, appeared in the comic. Characters published included Walt Disney characters, Warner Brothers characters, Walter Lantz Studio characters,

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 ...

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

(with art by

Walt Kelly Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), commonly known as Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip ''Pogo (comic strip), Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at The Walt ...

Little Lulu ''Little Lulu'' is a comic strip created in 1935 by American author Marge (cartoonist), Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character, Lulu Moppet, debuted in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 23, 1935, in a single panel, appearing as a flower ...

, and Western's own

Turok 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'' appear ...

and

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 ...

. Issues of the March of Comics series are typically harder to find for collectors than other comics published in the same period, given their method of distribution and as a giveaway more prone to be thrown away by recipients (or their parents). The three most sought-after March of Comics issues are those featuring long

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

stories by Carl Barks. These are no. 4 from 1947 (''Maharajah Donald''), no. 20 from 1948 (''Darkest Africa''), and no. 41 from 1949 (''Race to the South Seas''). This latter story is the very first where Gladstone Gander's extravagant good luck is revealed. Comics historian Michael Barrier has posted on his website circulation figures supplied by Disney Archivist David R. Smith for some early issues of March of Comics, derived from royalty statements Western submitted to the Disney studios: *Donald Duck March of Comics No. 20: 278,200 *Donald Duck March of Comics No. 56: 572,450 *Mickey Mouse March of Comics No. 27: 471,900

References

March of Comic's cover art

External links

Page on Tarzan March of Comics

March of Comics
at Comic Book Realm Comics publications