Adaptation to Comics

 From the 1930s through the 1970s, comic-book adaptations of movies and TV shows were common place. Until the mid-1960s, the best-selling comic book in the United States was Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, featuring tales of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the gang. That title and scores more like it were created by the staff at Western Publishing, better known for the Little Golden Books, but published and distributed by Dell, a major magazine publisher of the time. In the mid-1960s, Dell cancelled its deal with Western and Western--who had always held the actual licenses from Disney, Warner Bros., etc.--began publishing under its own imprint, Gold Key. (Later, in the 1970s, some of these titles were also published with a Whitman imprint--another Western Publishing branch, best known for coloring books--and sold through places like Kmart and the surviving 5&10 stores.)

Western also did the occasional movie adaptation and lots of titles based on Western and situation-comedy TV series. Other publishers got in the game as well--DC had series featuring Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and others. Marvel/Atlas had a few. Even tiny Charlton got into the mix, with titles based on B- and C-level movies like Gorgo.

The trend had virtually died by the late '70s (though Gold Key continued to publish its long-running titles), until Marvel's deal with Lucasfilm and 20th Century-Fox for Star Wars changed everything. Suddenly licensed properties were seen as profitable again. But it's remained as tied to blockbuster movies in the SF, fantasy, and horror genres.

Which is a shame--DC Comics, a sister company to Warner Bros., producer and distributor of The Big Bang Theory, might have had a hit comic book based on that show. Marvel, owned by Disney, might be cashing in on Duck Tales even now.

But, today, all the action seems to flow in the other direction, as the film and TV companies see their sister comics publishers as sources for intellectual property and little more.