Howdy Doody

Based on the classic children’s television show, Dell’s Howdy Doody comic ran for 38 issues from 1950 to 1956, bringing the freckle-faced marionette and his Doodyville friends—including Clarabell, Flub-a-Dub, and Mr. Bluster—to the printed page. The series was shaped by television writer Edward Kean, along with comics talents like John Stanley and Mel Crawford, who adapted the show’s gentle slapstick and moral lessons into a comic format. With painted covers and a mix of photo features, the title stands as a fond, period-specific artifact of early TV’s crossover into comics.