Gold Key Comic 1964 Walt Disney The Horse Without a Head TRIM ERROR ISSUE For Sale

Vintage Treasures from the ComicsHistory Vault... from the Worldwide Collectible Specialists of Saturday'sToys

Item: Walt Disney's "The Horse Without a Head"

Date: December 1963 / January 1964 (notably, sent to press only days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy)

Issue #: 10109-401

Original retail price: 12 cents

Description: FeaturesWalt Disney's The Horse Without a Head- a 1963 Gold Keymovie comic adaptation of the live-action Disney film first broadcast in two parts on WaltDisney’s Wonderful World of Color (Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, 1963)

Comic Overview

• Publisher: Gold Key Comics
• Publication Date: Late 1963 / January 1964
• Cover Price: 12 cents
• Issue Number: One-shot (No. 10109-401)
• Contents: Features an adaptation of the Disney film about a group of children whose toy riding horse gets mixed up in a train robbery plot by local crooks. It also includes a secondary Captain Nemo backup story titled "Dr. Neptune's Sea Monsters" and a text feature on John Muir.

The primary artist for the movie adaptation story in thisissue was Dan Spiegle.

Spiegle was a highly prolific comic creator known for hisrealistic art style, which made him Western Publishing's go-to illustrator forGold Key and Dell comic adaptations of live-action Disney films and televisionseries.

Issue Breakdown

• Main Story (The Horse Without a Head): Illustrated by Dan Spiegle.
• Backup Story (Dr. Neptune's Sea Monsters): Featured artwork by veteran comic artist Jack Sparling.
• The Cover: Features illustration art (consistent with the style of promotional illustrations created by Disney illustrator Paul Wenzel), along with an actual photo of the cast of children featured in the film (including Pamela Franklin, Vincent Winter and Denis Gilmore).

Notably, Walt Disney'sThe Horse Without a Head, while largely forgotten today even by the most experienced Disney fans, was in production at the Pinewood Studio in London (with an experienced British cast and crew) just as "Mary Poppins" was deep into production at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Even though they were consumed with development on Poppins, the Sherman Brothers also found time to provide a title song for this British production for Walt Disney. Without the necessary attention to blending animated characters and live-action actors (as was essential to Walt's presentation of "Mary Poppins), The Horse Without a Headwas ready to be introduced to American television audiences in the Fall of 1963... nearly a year before Poppins premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in August 1964.
So many great stories... hidden between the pages on a single Disney comic book!

Measurement: 7 1/8" x10.25"

Condition:Good condition / no writing within; clean throughout; clean staples but cover is pulling away from staples. Stamped as "DEC 10 REC'D" at unconfirmed location (indicating December 10, 1963). Also of note, issue was incorrectly cut at top, bottom and side margins as impacted during production. We wouldn't be surprised to learn that this ERROR cut may have been provided to merchandising officials responsible for product quality control prior to release of this comic to stores and newsstands.

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