Reading Room: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER "Rudolph's Swelled Head" Part 1

Despite his immense popularity in the '40s, Rudolph didn't appear in a comic until 1950...

...when he finally received the first in a series of annual comic books from DC Comics!

To be continued...

Tomorrow!

Written by Sy Reit and illustrated by Rube Grossman, this 1950 annual was the first of a series that ran until 1963.

The concept was revived in the tabloid-sized "Treasury" (10" x 14") format in 1972 and was published annually (except in '75 and '77) until 1978.

(Both DC and Marvel experimented in the 1970s with the over-sized format.

They were much bigger than normal comics with cardstock covers, though the interior pages were printed on the usual comic book paper stock.)

The series was a more-or-less sequel to the original story (which we presented HERE.) and song.

(The animated TV special that tells a totally-different version of the tale didn't appear until 1964.)

One thing you'll note is the unique idea of including activity pages as part of the story, giving us perfect chapter enders and openers in our serial presentation format.

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Design of the Week Redux: SANTA'S SURPRISE!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another (unless it does really well, like this one).

This week, for the second (and last) time,we take a look at a Santa Claus who's been naughty, not nice, in this vintage saucy 1930s comic cover!
Available on mugs, blankets, t-shirts, and many other kollectible goodies

Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "What Happened at the Snow Queen's Palace and What Happened Afterwards"

It's all been leading up to this...

...the reunion of Gerda and Kay, the boy spirited away by the Snow Queen and taken to her icy palace in the Arctic!

Now, the conclusion...

THE END

Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale that serves as the (very loose) basis of the current Disney movie Frozen!

Adaptation writer Gaylord DuBois was one of the most prolfic (yet unknown) scribes in comics history with over 3,000 tales to his credit.

Artist Lea Bing was one of the few women working as a creative (instead of an editorial or production staffer) during the Golden Age.
From 1940 to 1954, she rendered several stories a year, usually adaptations of classic novels or fairy tales, with an occasional funny animal story.
Regrettably, nothing is known of her pre or post-comics career.

Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "Lapp Woman and the Finn Woman"

When Last We Left Our Heroine...

Kay, an innocent little boy, was affected by tiny shards of an evil mirror accidentally imbedded in his skin.

Now cruel and mean, the lad tormened his playmates, including his best friend Gerda, who, though confused by his actions, still loved Kay.

While involved in a snowball fight, Kay was swept away by the immortal Snow Queen, who took him to her ice palace.

Gerda, worried and despondent, decided to go in search of Kay, and, after various perils, nears her destination...

Tomorrow, the Conclusion:

What Happened at the Snow Queen's Palace and What Happened Afterwards

Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale that serves as the (very loose) basis of the current Disney movie Frozen!

In December 2011, following the success of Tangled, Disney announced a revival of the project with both a new title, Frozen, and new creative team.
The film would be computer-animated in stereoscopic 3D, with Chris Buck (Tarzan) directing and John Lasseter (Toy Story and Monsters, Inc film) producing.
The main problem confronting the creatives was the character of the Snow Queen, which in the earlier version of the film, was an out-and-out villain.
The team decided to reconceive the film's protagonist, Anna (based on Gerda), as the younger sibling of the now-misunderstood Elsa (based on the Snow Queen), effectively establishing a family dynamic.

The results can currently be seen on movie screens all over the planet...

Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "Little Robber Girl"

What Has Gone Before...

Kay, an innocent little boy, was affected by tiny shards of an evil mirror accidentally imbedded in his skin.

Now cruel and mean, the lad tormened his playmates, including his best friend Gerda, who, though confused by his actions, still loved Kay.

While involved in a snowball fight, Kay was swept away by the immortal Snow Queen, who took him to her ice palace.

Gerda, worried and despondent, decided to go in search of Kay, and, after meeting an old witch and young prince & princess, she encounters even more danger...

Tomorrow:

The Lapp Woman and the Finn Woman

Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale that serves as the (very loose) basis of the current Disney movie Frozen!

In the late 1990s, buoyed by the incredible success of their adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, Disney started work on an adaptation of Snow Queen, but the project was scrapped completely in late 2002, despite the fact it was headed by Glen Keane, who had directed Little Mermaid!

The project was revived again around 2008 under the title of Anna and the Snow Queen, and was planned to be traditional cel animation.

Less than two years later, the project was abandoned when the writers and artists failed to find a way to make the story and the Snow Queen character "work" for a modern audience.

More tomorrow...