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Gold Key Comics

{{short description|American comic book publisher}}

{{redirect|Gold Key Entertainment|the former television company|Four Star Television}}

{{Infobox publisher

| name = Gold Key Comics

| image = Goldkeycomics.jpeg

| caption =

| parent =

| founded = 1962

| defunct = 1984

| traded_as =

| predecessor =

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| country = United States

| headquarters =

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| keypeople =

| publications = Comic books

| topics =

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| revenue =

| owner = Western Publishing

| numemployees =

| website =

}}

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

History

Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when its parent, Western Publishing Company, switched to in-house publishing rather than packaging content for branding and distribution by its business partner, Dell Comics.{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/goldkey.htm |title=Gold Key Comics |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2010 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527142217/https://www.webcitation.org/6cdAoHJdv?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/goldkey.htm |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=live }} 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,{{gcdb series|id= 27964|title= A Whitman Comic Book}} and Golden Picture Story Book, a tabloid-sized, 52-page, hardcover containing new material.{{cite web |url=http://www.mouseplanet.com/8234/The_Biggest_Disney_Comic_Book_in_the_World |title=The Biggest Disney Comic Book in the World |first=Wade |last=Sampson |date=February 6, 2008 |publisher=Mouse Planet |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411100342/http://www.mouseplanet.com/8234/The_Biggest_Disney_Comic_Book_in_the_World |archive-date=April 11, 2013 |url-status=live }} 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 seal on its covers, trading instead on the reputation of its child-friendly stories.{{cite book|last= Booker|first= M. Keith|title= Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas|publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group|year= 2014|location= Santa Barbara, California|page= xxviii|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hnuQBQAAQBAJ&q=Gold+Key+Top+Comics+bags&pg=RA1-PR28|isbn= 978-0313397509}}

=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 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. animated properties. It was also the first company to publish comic books based upon the then current NBC TV series Star Trek.{{cite web |url= http://comicsalliance.com/star-trek-comic-book-guide-dc-marvel-idw-john-byrne/|title= A Navigational Guide To 45 Years Of Star Trek Comics|first= Kevin|last= Church|date= August 27, 2013|publisher= ComicsAlliance|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052324/http://comicsalliance.com/|archive-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status= live}} While some titles, such as Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, 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 for its resemblance to the preexisting Space Family Robinson, but decided their business relationship with CBS and Irwin Allen 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/spacefam.htm |title=Space Family Robinson |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2007 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6cdAX3bIM?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/spacefam.htm |archive-date=October 29, 2015 |url-status=live |quote=Gold Key didn't sue, because it had some very lucrative licensing deals going with various TV producers and didn't want to upset any apple carts. }}[https://www.comics.org/series/89145/ Space Family Robinson Lost in Space] at the Grand Comics Database.

Editor Chase Craig stated that Gold Key would launch titles with Hanna-Barbera characters with direct adaptations of episodes of the program because "[t]he 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".{{cite web |url= http://www.newsfromme.com/2006/04/25/goodbye-charlie/|title= Goodbye, Charlie!|first= Mark|last= Evanier|author-link= Mark Evanier|date= April 25, 2006|publisher= News From ME|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185405/http://www.newsfromme.com/2006/04/25/goodbye-charlie/|archive-date= September 5, 2015|url-status= live}}

Over the years, Gold Key lost several properties, including the King Features Syndicate characters (Popeye, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, etc.), to Charlton Comics in 1966, numerous, but not all, Hanna-Barbera characters also to Charlton Comics in 1970,{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/charlton.htm |title=Charlton Comics |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2010 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20180708063151/http://www.toonopedia.com/charlton.htm |archive-date=July 8, 2018 |url-status=dead |quote=After abandoning licensing for a decade or so, Charlton re-entered that field in 1967, by picking up the titles of King Comics — Flash Gordon, Popeye, The Phantom, Blondie, Jungle Jim, and Beetle Bailey...In 1970, most of the Hanna-Barbera characters, including Yogi Bear and The Flintstones, went from Gold Key to Charlton. }} and Star Trek to Marvel Comics 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 and editor Chase Craig launched the Magnus, Robot Fighter science-fiction series in 1963.{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/magnus.htm |title=Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 AD |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2005 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6cg5PtKBN?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/magnus.htm |archive-date=October 31, 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url= https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/manning_r.htm|title= Russell Manning|date= March 22, 2015|publisher= Lambiek Comiclopedia|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151015132946/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/manning_r.htm|archive-date= October 15, 2015|url-status= live|quote= Russ Manning also created...Magnus, Robot Fighter (1963-68) for the Gold Key comic books. Especially Magnus, stood out for its excellent artwork.}} Jack Sparling co-created the superhero Tiger Girl with Jerry Siegel in 1968,{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/tigrgrl2.htm |title=Tiger Girl |first=Don |last=Markstein |year=2010 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140609041729/http://www.toonopedia.com/tigrgrl2.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2014 |url-status=live |quote=Tiger Girl's comic was drawn by Jack Sparling...The writer was no less a personage than Jerry Siegel, who co-created Superman himself. }} drew the toyline tie-in Microbots one-shot,{{cite journal|last= Friedt|first= Stephan|title= Here Come the Microbots|journal= Back Issue!|issue= 76|pages= 11–13|publisher= TwoMorrows Publishing|date= October 2014|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}} and illustrated comic book adaptations of the television series Family Affair and Adam-12.{{gcdb|type=credit|search= Jack+Sparling|title= Jack Sparling}}{{cite web |url= https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/sparling_jack.htm|title= Jack Sparling|date= 2015|publisher= Lambiek Comiclopedia|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151002113636/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/sparling_jack.htm|archive-date= October 2, 2015|url-status= live}} Dan Spiegle worked on Space Family Robinson, The Green Hornet, The Invaders, Korak, Son of Tarzan, Brothers of the Spear, and many of Gold Key's mystery/occult titles.{{gcdb|type=credit|search= Dan+Spiegle|title= Dan Spiegle}}{{cite web |url= https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/spiegle_d.htm|title= Dan Spiegle|date= July 7, 2013|publisher= Lambiek Comiclopedia|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150919072310/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/spiegle_d.htm|archive-date= September 19, 2015|url-status= live|quote= He also did fillers and issues of Space Family Robinson, Magnus Robot Fighter, Maverick, Tarzan, Brothers of the Spear, Flipper, and Lassie. When Russ Manning left Dell in 1967, Spiegle took over the Korak title.}} Among the other creators at Gold Key were writers Donald F. Glut, Len Wein, Bob Ogle, John David Warner, Steve Skeates, and Mark Evanier; and artists Cliff Voorhees, Joe Messerli,{{cite web|url= http://www.newsfromme.com/2010/06/30/joe-messerli-r-i-p/|first= Mark|last= Evanier|title= Joe Messerli, R.I.P.|publisher= NewsFromMe|date= June 30, 2010|archive-date= October 29, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151029022447/http://www.newsfromme.com/2010/06/30/joe-messerli-r-i-p/}} Carol Lay, Jesse Santos,{{cite web |url= https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/santos_jesse.htm|title= Jesse Santos|date= May 9, 2013|publisher= Lambiek Comiclopedia|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151005002607/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/santos_jesse.htm|archive-date= October 5, 2015|url-status= live|quote= He began an association with Western Publications in 1970...and illustrated Gold Key titles like Brothers of the Spear, Dagar, Dr. Spektor, and Tragg.}} and Mike Royer. Glut created and wrote several series including The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor,{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/spektor.htm |title=Doctor Spektor |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2007 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527141216/https://www.webcitation.org/6cYejQCYV?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/spektor.htm |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=live |quote=Dr. Adam Spektor, a researcher of the supernatural, was introduced in Mystery Comics Digest #5 (July, 1972)...The story was written by Don Glut...and drawn by Dan Spiegle. }} Dagar the Invincible,{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/dagar.htm |title=Dagar the Invincible |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2009 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527141336/https://www.webcitation.org/6cYg2VYxK?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/dagar.htm |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=live |quote=Dagar started as a non-series character, the hero of a story that writer Don Glut...wrote for Gold Key's Mystery Comics Digest. }} and Tragg and the Sky Gods.{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/tragg.htm |title=Tragg and the Sky Gods |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2007 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527141258/https://www.webcitation.org/6cYfVO45h?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/tragg.htm |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=live |quote=Writer Don Glut...and artist Jesse Santos...supplied the comic, in which aliens from interstellar space had a profound effect on a tribe of Stone Age people. }} Also in the 1970s, writer Bob Gregory started drawing stories, mostly for Daisy and Donald. Artist/writer Frank Miller had his first published comic book artwork in The Twilight Zone for Gold Key in 1978.{{cite web|url= http://moebiusgraphics.com/comics/twilightzone.php|title= The Complete Works of Frank Miller|date= n.d.|publisher= Moebiusgraphics.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150908170318/http://www.moebiusgraphics.com/comics/twilightzone.php|archive-date= September 8, 2015|url-status= dead}}

Diana Gabaldon 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.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2011/11/26/diana-gabaldon-on-her-favorite-and-least-favorite-books-the-ew-book-quiz |title=Diana Gabaldon on her favorite and least-favorite books: The EW Book Quiz! |first=Stephan |last=Lee |date=November 26, 2011 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924104006/http://www.ew.com/article/2011/11/26/diana-gabaldon-on-her-favorite-and-least-favorite-books-the-ew-book-quiz |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live }}

According to former Western Publishing writer Mark Evanier, during the mid-1960s, comedy writer Jerry Belson, whose writing partner at the time was Garry Marshall, also did scripts for Gold Key while writing for leading TV sitcoms like The Dick Van Dyke Show. Among the comics for which he wrote were The Flintstones, Uncle Scrooge, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, The Three Stooges, and Woody Woodpecker.{{cite web |url= http://www.newsfromme.com/2006/10/12/jerry-belson-r-i-p/|title= Jerry Belson, R.I.P.|first= Mark|last= Evanier|date= October 12, 2006|publisher= News From ME|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151029002525/http://www.newsfromme.com/2006/10/12/jerry-belson-r-i-p/|archive-date= October 29, 2015|url-status= live}}

Leo Dorfman, creator of Ghosts for DC Comics, 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 [for 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."{{cite web

|url = http://www.newsfromme.com/2009/05/29/more-on-leo-dorfman/

|title = More on Leo Dorfman

|first = Mark

|last = Evanier

|date = May 29, 2009

|publisher = News From Me

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006230000/http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_05_29.html

|archive-date = October 6, 2012

|url-status = live

|access-date = November 3, 2012

}}

Editor Frank Tedeschi, who left in 1973 for a job in book publishing, helped bring in such new comics professionals as Walt Simonson, Gerry Boudreau, and John David Warner.{{cite news | url = http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k3LU_mn6j74/UyZYTR-S5rI/AAAAAAAACgo/v8LSY3Ckj_I/s1600/comcreader96-eman.jpg| title = Gold Key & Charlton [News] | work = The Comic Reader | issue=96 | date=April 1973 | access-date= March 17, 2014|archive-date= March 17, 2014 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140317072916/http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k3LU_mn6j74/UyZYTR-S5rI/AAAAAAAACgo/v8LSY3Ckj_I/s1600/comcreader96-eman.jpg}}

=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.{{cite book|last= Ro|first= Ronin|title= Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing|year= 2004|location= London, United Kingdom|page= 158|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CFhbqswztWkC&q=Ronin+Ro+Tales+to+Astonish+Gold+Key+Comics&pg=PA158|isbn= 978-1422359013}} Among the original titles launched by Gold Key in the 1970s were Baby Snoots{{cite web |url=http://toonopedia.com/snoots.htm |title=Baby Snoots |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2007 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150307142415/http://toonopedia.com/snoots.htm |archive-date=March 7, 2015 |url-status=dead |quote=Baby Snoots, a Gold Key original launched with an August, 1970 cover date, was a young elephant...Snoots lasted a respectable 22 issues. }} and Wacky Witch.{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/wackywit.htm |title=Wacky Witch |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2007 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160414214622/http://www.toonopedia.com/wackywit.htm |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |url-status=live |quote=Wacky ran 21 issues, ending with a December, 1975 cover date. }} 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 Marvel Comics 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.{{cite web |url= http://sequart.org/magazine/20548/on-the-very-first-star-trek-1/|title= On the Very First Star Trek #1|first= Julian|last= Darius|date= May 13, 2013|publisher= Sequart Organization|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150912101750/http://sequart.org/magazine/20548/on-the-very-first-star-trek-1/|archive-date= September 12, 2015|url-status= live}}

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 (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),{{cite web |url= http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/09/28/scotts-classic-comics-corner-shedding-some-light-on-dynabrite/|title= Scott's Classic Comics Corner: Shedding Some Light on Dynabrite|date= September 28, 2010|publisher= Comic Book Resources|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110609181229/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/09/28/scotts-classic-comics-corner-shedding-some-light-on-dynabrite/|archive-date= June 9, 2011|url-status= live}}{{cite web |url= http://bp0.blogger.com/_tHVfHpnv17g/RlWykja3F3I/AAAAAAAAAXE/isC8abuotjE/s1600-h/dyna.jpg|title= The Last Word in Comics...Dynabrite!|date= n.d.|publisher= Gold Key Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150905122330/http://bp0.blogger.com/_tHVfHpnv17g/RlWykja3F3I/AAAAAAAAAXE/isC8abuotjE/s1600-h/dyna.jpg|archive-date= September 5, 2015|url-status= live}} plus Starstream, a four-issue series adapting classic science fiction stories by authors such as Isaac Asimov and John W. Campbell.{{gcdb series|id= 2341|title= Starstream}} Golden Press released trade paperback reprint collections such as Walt Disney Christmas Parade,{{gcdb series|id= 2416|title= Walt Disney Christmas Parade}} Bugs Bunny Comics-Go-Round,[http://www.comics.org/issue/393789/ Bugs Bunny Comics-Go-Round] at the Grand Comics Database and Star Trek: The Enterprise Logs.{{gcdb series|id= 13518|title= Star Trek: The Enterprise Logs}}{{cite web|url= http://curtdanhauser.com/Logs.html|title= Guide to the Gold Key Star Trek Comics|first= Curt|last= Danhauser|date= n.d.|publisher= Curtdanhauser.com|archive-url= https://archive.today/20190828022515/http://curtdanhauser.com/Logs.html|archive-date= August 28, 2019|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|access-date= June 29, 2009}}

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".{{cite web |url= http://www.newsfromme.com/2007/05/02/more-on-comicpacs/|title= More on Comicpacs|first= Mark|last= Evanier|date= May 2, 2007|publisher= News From ME|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151029004708/http://www.newsfromme.com/2007/05/02/more-on-comicpacs/|archive-date= October 29, 2015|url-status= live}} 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, as well as that of Marvel Comics, with its diamond (before the direct market even arrived).{{Cite web |title=BIP Comics: Marvel Diamond Issues, 1977-1979 |url=https://www.bipcomics.com/showcase/Direct/index.php |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=www.bipcomics.com}}{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=John Jackson |date=2020-08-01 |title=Jim Shooter on Marvel Whitmans, the direct market, and more |url=https://comichron.com/blog/2010/04/19/jim-shooter-on-marvel-whitmans-direct/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |language=en-US}} Former DC Comics executive Paul Levitz stated, "[The] Western 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 Inc. purchased the company.{{cite book|last=Marcus|first=Leonard S.|title=Golden Legacy|url=https://archive.org/details/goldenlegacyhowg0000marc|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-375-82996-3|year=2007|publisher=Golden Books}} The new management stopped selling returnable comics at newsstands, preferring the nonreturnable bagged comics sold at toy stores.{{cite book |last1=Becattini |first1=Alberto |title=Disney Comics: The Whole Story |date=2016 |publisher=Theme Park Press |isbn=978-1683900177 |page=78}}

In a 1993 interview, Del Connell, the managing editor at Western's West Coast office in the late 1970s, recalled,

{{blockquote|...the Western comics line was killed by distribution. Perhaps you know that by early 1980 our comics were only being distributed in bagged sets of three. The Whitman label replaced the Gold Key imprint at that time as the comics could no longer be found on the newsstands, but in department, variety, and grocery stores. Our new management assumed that comics could be treated like coloring books or puzzles. That proved an ill-fated decision. The following years were characterized by delays and erratic distribution.{{cite book |last1=Becattini |first1=Alberto |title=Walt's People: Volume 12 |date=2016 |publisher=Xlibris |isbn=978-1477147894}}}}

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.{{cite web |url= http://sekvenskonst.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-collectors-editions-that-never-was.html|title= The Collectors Editions that never was|first= Joakim|last= Gunnarsson|date= March 31, 2013|publisher= Sekvenskonst|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033150/http://sekvenskonst.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-collectors-editions-that-never-was.html|archive-date= May 2, 2014|url-status= live}}

In December 1983, a struggling Mattel sold Western Publishing to real-estate investor Richard A. Bernstein.{{cite web|title=History of Western Publishing|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/western-publishing-group-inc-history/|publisher=Funding Universe, citing International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 13 (St. James Press, 1996)|access-date=August 12, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120724052813/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/western-publishing-group-inc-history/ | archive-date= July 24, 2012| url-status=live}} Bernstein closed Western's comic-book publishing division in 1984.

=Relaunches, reprints, and legacy=

Three of Gold Key's original characters, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Doctor Solar, and Turok, Son of Stone, were used in the 1990s to launch Valiant Comics' fictional universe.{{cite journal |last=Samsel |first=Robert |date=January 1993 |title=The State of Valiant Address |journal=Wizard |issue=17|pages=47–54|publisher=Wizard Entertainment}}

Dark Horse Comics (and later, Dynamite Entertainment) 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; Dagar the Invincible; Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery; Space Family Robinson; Flash Gordon; the Jesse Marsh drawn Tarzan;{{cite web |url= http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-793/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Tarzan-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-1-HC|title= Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 1|publisher= Dark Horse Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140728230116/http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-793/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Tarzan-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-1-HC|archive-date= July 28, 2014|url-status= live|access-date= October 7, 2012}}{{cite web |url= http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-794/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Tarzan-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-2-HC|title= Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 2|publisher= Dark Horse Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140728230202/http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-794/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Tarzan-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-2-HC|archive-date= July 28, 2014|url-status= live|access-date= October 7, 2012}}

{{cite web |url= http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-795/Tarzan-Archives-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-3-HC|title= Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 3|publisher= Dark Horse Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140706074841/http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-795/Tarzan-Archives-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-3-HC|archive-date= July 6, 2014|url-status= live|access-date= October 7, 2012}}{{cite web |url= http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-796/Tarzan-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-4-HC|title= Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 4|publisher= Dark Horse Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140728230648/http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-796/Tarzan-The-Jesse-Marsh-Years-Volume-4-HC|archive-date= July 28, 2014|url-status= live|access-date= October 7, 2012}} and some of the Russ Manning-produced Tarzan series.{{cite web |url= http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/21-264/Tarzan-The-Russ-Manning-Years-Volume-1-HC|title= Tarzan: The Russ Manning Years Vol. 1|publisher= Dark Horse Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130721042633/http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/21-264/Tarzan-The-Russ-Manning-Years-Volume-1-HC|archive-date= July 21, 2013|url-status= live|access-date= October 7, 2012}} They started several revivals of characters under Jim Shooter, including Doctor Solar, Magnus, Turok, and

Mighty Samson.{{cite web |url= http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22234|title= CCI: Jim Shooter Talks Gold Key at Dark Horse|first= Shaun|last= Manning|work= Comic Book Resources|date= July 25, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150610195440/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22234|archive-date= June 10, 2015|url-status= live}} The Checker Book Publishing Group, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, began reprinting the Gold Key Star Trek series in 2004.{{cite web |url= http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=3089|title= Checker collects Gold Key Star Trek issues|first= Jonah|last= Weiland|date= January 29, 2004|publisher= Comic Book Resources|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151029013540/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=3089|archive-date= October 29, 2015|url-status= live}} Hermes Press reprinted the three series based on Irwin Allen's science-fiction TV series,{{cite web |url=http://www.newsarama.com/1297-hermes-to-collect-irwin-allen-comics.html |title=Hermes to Collect Irwin Allen Comics |date=October 16, 2008 |publisher=Newsarama |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090723/http://www.newsarama.com/1297-hermes-to-collect-irwin-allen-comics.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=live }} as well as Gold Key's Dark Shadows,{{cite web|url= http://www.comicsbeat.com/coming-attractions-fall-2011-hermes-press/|title= Coming Attractions: Fall 2011: Hermes Press|first= Torsten|last= Adair|date= December 10, 2011|publisher= ComicsBeat|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150928073147/http://www.comicsbeat.com/coming-attractions-fall-2011-hermes-press/|archive-date= September 28, 2015|url-status= live}} My Favorite Martian,{{gcdb series|id= 78593|title= My Favorite Martian The Complete Series}} and the Phantom.

Bongo Comics published a parody of Gold Key in Radioactive Man #106 (volume 2 #6, Nov. 2002) with script/layout by Batton Lash and finished art by Mike DeCarlo that Tony Isabella 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".{{cite web |url= http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/back20030517.shtml|title= Tony's Online Tips|first= Tony|last= Isabella|author-link= Tony Isabella|date= May 17, 2003|publisher= World Famous Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150906064237/http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/back20030517.shtml|archive-date= September 6, 2015|url-status= live|access-date= June 20, 2014}}

In June 2001, DIC Entertainment announced they would purchase Golden Books Family Entertainment for {{US$|170|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|170|2001|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) and take it out of bankruptcy.{{Cite news|url=http://kidscreen.com/2001/07/01/30920-20010701/|title = DIC gets busy in books and vids}} However, DIC would pass off the purchase due to high costs{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/08/16/goldenbooks.re/ |title=CNN.com - Golden Books sold for poky little $84M |date=August 16, 2001 |publisher=CNN |access-date=2022-06-10}} and instead Golden Books Family Entertainment was eventually acquired jointly by Classic Media, owner of the catalog of United Productions of America, and book publisher Random House in a bankruptcy auction for the lower $84.4{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|84.4|2001|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) on August 16, 2001.{{cite press release|author=Spectrum Equity Investors |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spectrum-equity-investors-takes-majority-stake-in-classic-media-americas-largest-independent-family-entertainment-company-54208397.html |title=Spectrum Equity Investors Takes Majority Stake in Classic Media, America's Largest Independent Family Entertainment Company |publisher=PR Newswire |date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=August 17, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=DeMott|first1=Rick|title=Classic Media Gets Monetary Backing |url=http://www.awn.com/news/classic-media-gets-major-monetary-backing |website=Animation World Network |publisher=Awn.com |access-date=August 17, 2015}} In turn, Random House, and Classic Media gained ownership of Golden Books' entertainment catalog (including the family entertainment catalog of Broadway Video which includes the pre-1974 library of Rankin/Bass Productions and the library of Total Television), 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.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/08/16/goldenbooks.re/ |title= 'Poky Little' $84M deal| date= August 16, 2001 |publisher=CNN| agency=Reuters |access-date=July 3, 2014| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121007004416/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/08/16/goldenbooks.re/ | archive-date= October 7, 2012|url-status=live}} Random House had previously acquired Dell Publishing through a series of mergers since 1976, effectively reuniting the remnants Gold Key Comics and Dell Comics.

On July 23, 2012, Classic Media was acquired by DreamWorks Animation for $155{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|155|2012|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) and renamed DreamWorks Classics.{{cite web|last=Kung |first=Michelle |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444025204577543182673790416 |title=DreamWorks Buys Classics Studio Expands Library With Staples Such as Casper, Boosting Its IP Portfolio |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 22, 2012 |access-date=September 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814195046/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444025204577543182673790416 |archive-date=August 14, 2015 |url-status=live }} Additional on August 14, 2015. Opening paragraphs only without subscription. On July 1, 2013, Random House merged with the Penguin Group, forming a new company called Penguin Random House.{{cite news|title=Penguin and Random House Merge, Saying Change Will Come Slowly|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/media/merger-of-penguin-and-random-house-is-completed.html?_r=0 |website=The New York Times |date = July 2013|access-date=August 17, 2015|last1 = Bosman|first1 = Julie}} In April 2016, the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation by NBCUniversal was announced.{{cite web|title=Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-nbcuniversal-buys-dreamworks--20160428-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=28 April 2016|access-date=28 April 2016}}

In 2021, comics creator and hacker Robert Willis obtained a trademark registration for a logo identical to the original Gold Key logo.{{cite web|title=GOLD KEY Trademark of Willis, Robert. Serial Number: 90218909 :: Trademark Elite Trademarks|url=https://www.trademarkelite.com/trademark/trademark-detail/90218909/GOLD-KEY|access-date=2021-09-10|website=www.trademarkelite.com}}{{cite web |date=2020-10-01 |title=Privacy in Action: Robert Willis, Hacker & Author |url=https://www.startpage.com/privacy-please/uncategorized/privacy-in-action-robert-willis-hacker-author |access-date=2021-09-10 |website=Startpage.com Blog}} Later that year the trademark registration was purchased by the newly-formed Gold Key Entertainment LLC. Gold Key Entertainment LLC consists of comic book enthusiasts Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes, and Arnold Guerrero. Linderman describes trading a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 to Willis for the rights to Gold Key, in a YouTube interview with Carlos Collects Comics. Gold Key Entertainment is currently working with creators to produce new titles.{{cite web |title=Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries #1 |url=https://goldkeycomics.com/products/boris-karloffs-gold-key-mysteries-1-10-18-2023-diamond |website=Gold Key Comics |publisher=Gold Key Entertainment LLC |access-date=18 October 2023}}

List of titles

=#=

=A=

=B=

=C=

=D=

=E=

=F=

=G=

=H=

=I=

=J=

=K=

=L=

=M=

=N=

=O=

=P=

=R=

=S=

=T=

=U=

  • UFO Flying Saucers #1–25 (October 1968–February 1980, retitled UFO and Outer Space from #14)
  • Uncle Scrooge #40–209 (January 1963–March 1984)
  • Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck #1 (June 1965)
  • Uncle Scrooge and Money (March 1967)
  • Underdog #1–23 (March 1975–February 1979)

=V=

=W=

=X=

=Y=

=Z=

  • Zody the Mod Rob #1 (July 1970)

Collected editions

Several classic Gold Key titles have been archived in high quality

Hardcover Collected editions : Beginning with Dark Horse comics in 2007

=Dark Horse=

  • Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom archives volume 1 {{ISBN|1-59307-285-6}} (reprints #1–7)
  • Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom archives volume 2 {{ISBN|1-59307-327-5}} (reprints #8–14)
  • Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom archives volume 3 {{ISBN|1-59307-374-7}} (reprints #15–22)
  • Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom archives volume 4 {{ISBN|1-59307-825-0}} (reprints #23–31, including The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor issue #14) as well.
  • Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives volume 1 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives volume 2 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives volume 3 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives volume 4 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Dagar the Invincible Archives Vol. 1 October 2011 ISBN 1595828184 (reprints #1–9)

The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor

  • The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor Archives volume 1 {{ISBN|1-59582-600-9}}
  • The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor Archives volume 2 {{ISBN|1-59582-667-X}}
  • The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor Archives volume 3 {{ISBN|1-59582-819-2}}
  • The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor Archives volume 4 {{ISBN|1-59582-852-4}}
  • Magnus, Robot Fighter Archives (volume 1) #1–7 {{ISBN|978-1593072698}} November 2004
  • Magnus, Robot Fighter Archives (volume 2) #8–14 {{ISBN|978-1616552947}} July 2005
  • Magnus, Robot Fighter Archives (volume 3) #15–21 {{ISBN|978-1593073398}} October 2006
  • Turok: Son of Stone Archives:
  • Volume 1 (collects Four Color Comics #596 and 656 and Turok #3–6, 224 pages, March 2009, {{ISBN|1-59582-155-4}})
  • Volume 2 (collects Turok #7–12, 224 pages, July 2009, {{ISBN|1-59582-275-5}})
  • Volume 3 (collects Turok #13–18, 224 pages, August 2009, {{ISBN|1-59582-281-X}})
  • Volume 4 (collects Turok #19–24, 224 pages, November 2009, {{ISBN|1-59582-343-3}})
  • Volume 5 (collects Turok #25–30, 224 pages, March 2010, {{ISBN|1-59582-442-1}})
  • Volume 6 (collects Turok #31–35,37, 224 pages, July 2010, {{ISBN|1-59582-484-7}}) (#36 reprinted issue #14)
  • Volume 7 (collects Turok #38–43, 216 pages, November 2010, {{ISBN|1-59582-565-7}})
  • Volume 8 (collects Turok #44–50, 232 pages, April 2011, {{ISBN|1-59582-641-6}})
  • Volume 9 (collects Turok #51–53, 55–56, 58–59, 232 pages, November 2010, {{ISBN|1-59582-789-7}})
    (#54 reprinted issue #26 and #57 reprinted issue #17)
  • Volume 10 (collects Turok #60–67, March 2012, {{ISBN|1-59582-861-3}})
  • Space Family Robinson-Lost in Space Archives volume 1 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Space Family Robinson-Lost in Space Archives volume 2 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Space Family Robinson-Lost in Space Archives volume 3 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Space Family Robinson-Lost in Space Archives volume 4 {{ISBN missing}}
  • Space Family Robinson-Lost in Space Archives volume 5 {{ISBN missing}}

=IDW Publishing=

  • Star Trek Gold Key Archives Volume 1
    April 2014 {{ISBN|1613779224}} (hardcover)( Reprinting issues 1-6 )
  • Star Trek Gold Key Archives Volume 2
    October 2014 {{ISBN|1631401084}} (hardcover)( Reprinting issues 7-12 )
  • Star Trek Gold Key Archives Volume 3
    April 2015 {{ISBN|1631402315}} (hardcover)( Reprinting issues 13-18 )
  • Star Trek Gold Key Archives Volume 4
    December 2015 {{ISBN|1631404490}} (hardcover)( Reprinting issues 19-24 )
  • Star Trek Gold Key Archives Volume 5
    June 2016 {{ISBN|1631405985}} (hardcover) ( Reprinting issues 25-31 )
  • Star Trek Gold Key Archives Volume 6
    July 2017 {{ISBN|1631407422}} (hardcover)( Reprinting issues 32-39 )

=Hermes Press=

  • I SPY: The Complete Gold Key Comics Collection Archives (volume 1)
    Hardcover – October 30, 2013 {{ISBN|978-1613450604}} Hermes Press
  • Dark Shadows: The Complete Series Volume One Archives (volume 1)
    second printing Hardcover – March 2, 2021 {{ISBN|978-1613452233}}
  • The Phantom Omnibus: The Complete Gold Key Comics
    Hardcover – July 7, 2015 {{ISBN|978-1613450765}}
  • The Phantom The Complete Series: The Gold Key Years Volume 2
    Hardcover – March 11, 2014 Hermes Press ISBN {{ISBN|978-1613450239}}
  • The Phantom the Gold Key Years Volume One (Phantom the Gold Key Years, 1)
    Hermes Press (March 11, 2014) {{ISBN|978-1613450239}}
    second printing Hardcover (September 12, 2023) ISBN 978-1613452820
  • The Phantom the Gold Key Years Volume Two (Phantom the Gold Key Years, 2)
    second printing Hardcover (September 19, 2023) {{ISBN|978-1613452837}}
  • Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea: The Complete Series Volume 2
    Hardcover – Hermes Press; First Edition (January 19, 2010) {{ISBN|978-1932563368}}
  • Zorro: The Complete Pre-Code Comics Hardcover – Hermes Press
    Hermes Press; First Edition(November 25, 2014) {{ISBN|978-1613450666}}

References

{{Reflist|35em}}

External links

{{Commonscat|Gold Key Comics}}

  • [http://www.comics.org/publisher_details.lasso?id=286 Western (publisher)] at the Grand Comics Database
  • {{Inducks publisher|Gold+Key}}
  • {{cite web|url= http://www.newsfromme.com/2007/04/29/its-in-the-bag/|first= Mark|last= Evanier|title= It's in the Bag!|publisher= NewsFromMe|date= April 29, 2007|archive-date= October 29, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151029022218/http://www.newsfromme.com/2007/04/29/its-in-the-bag/}}
  • {{cite web|editor-first= Rob|editor-last= Kelly|title = Other [Golden Picture Story Book #1-4]|url= http://www.treasurycomics.com/gallery/galleryOTHERgolden.htm|publisher= TreasuryComics.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151026023843/http://www.treasurycomics.com/gallery/galleryOTHERgolden.htm|archive-date= October 26, 2015|url-status= live|access-date= March 17, 2014}}
  • {{cite web |url= http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aI6KMv8i9Q4/UiwBPIBqPGI/AAAAAAAALp0/e2JCp6i0OaU/s1600/DaDc.jpeg|title= 1964 Gold Key subscription advertisement|publisher= Gold Key Comics|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131020164045/http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aI6KMv8i9Q4/UiwBPIBqPGI/AAAAAAAALp0/e2JCp6i0OaU/s1600/DaDc.jpeg|archive-date= October 20, 2013|url-status= live}}

{{Gold Key Comics}}

{{Comic book publishers in North America}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Penguin Random House

Category:American companies established in 1962

Category:American companies disestablished in 1984

Category:Comic book publishing companies of the United States

Category:Defunct comics and manga publishing companies

Category:Western Publishing

Category:Book publishing companies based in New York (state)

Category:Publishing companies based in New York City

Category:Publishing companies established in 1962

Category:Publishing companies disestablished in 1984

Category:1962 establishments in New York City

Category:1984 disestablishments in New York (state)

Category:Disney comics publishers

Category:DreamWorks Classics

Category:Lists of comics by publisher