If you missed the last one…
Walt Kelly led the artists and writers for Dell’s Fairy Tale Parade from June-July 1942-March 1944. Much of his work with cute fairyland creatures would serve him well as the cartoonist who created Pogo. Fairy Tale Parade ran for nine issues then Dell moved on to Don Gunn’s The Brownies. But FTP did not exactly disappear. It appeared six times in Dell’s Four Color Comics in 1945-1946. These issues feature the same wonderful collection of fairy tales and heroic fantasy that Sword & Sorcery fans might have grown up on.
Four Color Comics‘ Fairy Tale Parade doesn’t try to re-invent itself but continues on where it left off. The artist roster no longer includes Jon Small, L. Bing or Casper Emerson. Now we have among the new cartoonists George Kerr, Dan Noonan, Morris Gollub and “The Great Unknown”. Arthur Jameson, who appeared in the original run, moves to the place of prominence as Walt Kelly fades away. The authors of these scripts are mostly unknown but indicated where possible.
“The Magic Garden”
“The Nightingale” is adapted from Hans Christian Andersen.
“The Stolen Princess”
“The Fourth Voyage of Sinbad” was adapted by Gaylord Du Bois. Previous segments had been drawn by Arthur Jameson.
“The Brave Little Tailor” was adapted from the Brothers Grimm.
Four Color Comics #50 (September 1944)
“The Enchanted Head”
“Tiny Folk and the Giant” was written by Walt Kelly.
“The Giant With Three Golden Hairs”
“The Golden Ball” was a text story by an unknown writer.
“The Three Wishes”
Four Color Comics #69 (June 1945)
“Tiny Folk and the Dragon” was probably written by Walt Kelly.
“The Broomstick Ride”
“The Emerald Incense Burner”
“The Frog Prince”
Four Color Comics #87 (December 1945)
“Tiny Esmeralda”
“The Kingdom of the Thousand Mountains”
“The Wee Man” was written by Walt Kelly.
“Melisandra”
Four Color Comics #104 (May-June 1946)
“The Sleeping Giant”
“Leonora the Beautiful”
“Goblin Glen” was written by Walt Kelly.
“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
Four Color Comics #114 (July-August 946)
“The Dragon Knight”
“The Magic Forest”
“Water Sprite Baby”
“Twilight in the Country”
“Tweedle-Dum-Dee”
Four Color Comics #121 (October 1946)
Conclusion
Of course Four Color Comics’ Fairy Tale Parade isn’t Sword & Sorcery anymore than the original was. But in the 1940s, that pretty much meant Prince Valiant comic strips. (Gardner Fox’s Crom the Barbarian was still four years away. The Viking Prince was nine away.) For the reader who liked some Fantasy in their comics, there was not much to choose from so FTP provided a small amount of relief. Walt Kelly’s cute elves and sprites would return to us later as The Land of Harvey for kids and in other forms by Wally Wood for adults. Those waiting for Tolkien comics you would have to wait a long, long time…
