WDC 164

[Rob Klein]

Regarding the blank inside cover pages in Walt Disney's Comics & Stories No. 
164:

ALL of the more than 100 copies of that issue that I have seen had the blank 
pages.  I asked malcom Willits about that in 1965.  He told me that someone who 
had worked at Western Publishing at the time (perhaps Chaise Craig?) had told 
Willits that the pagges had been reserved for advertising, but that a mixup in 
the work process caused delays so long that the adverts weren't ready to go on 
time. They printed the great bulk of them without putting the adverts in.  I 
don't know why they didn't add them later for the second run. Perhaps they 
STILL were not ready. I have never heard of ANY copies that had non-blank 
(printed) pages in WDC & S 164.  Have any of you list members?

It is noteworthy that there were several other Disney comics printed in the 
1950s that had one version WITH an advert, and one WITHOUT.  However, instead 
of being blank, the pages without the adverts had a gag page printed.  I bought 
several Disney comics in the 1950s in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which had a 
gag page or 2 on pages which contained adverts in SOME later US distributed 
batches.  This indicates that either the advertising wasn't ready at the time 
of initial printing, but WAS ready later.  Shipments to Canada went FIRST, as 
they had to clear international customs, and in those ancient days, mail took 
much longer to get to the "boonies", like Saskatchewan and Manitoba. 
Apparently, some of the USA-distributed comics were also part of the earliest 
comics off the presses.

I can't remember all of the comics issues involved, but 3 of the 5 Gyro 
Gearloose series with Barks art in them had these "rare" one-page gags.  Also, 
Donald Duck No. 45, two of the Daisy Duck's Diary issues that had Barks art, 
and one Grandma Duck's Farm Friends. There were more, but I can't remember 
them.  All the gags that were originally printed in the earliest versions of 
those issues were printed in the Carl Barks Library, as well as a few of the 
one-pagers that had originally been scheduled for printing, but NEVER appeared, 
as the adverts were ready for the first printings of those issues.

Rob Klein


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