King of the Royal Mounted
Encyclopedia
King of the Royal Mounted is a fictional series featuring the character Dave King, created by Stephen Slesinger
in 1936. Slesinger licensed popular Western
writer Zane Grey's byline and marketed the character as Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted.
Corporal, and later Sergeant, Dave King is a Canadian Mountie who always gets his man. King has appeared in newspaper strips, comics, Big Little Books
and other ancillary items.
Zane Grey
's son Romer and Slesinger collaborated on many of the stories, and the artwork was produced by Allen Dean, Charles Flanders and Jim Gary in Slesinger's New York studio. A movie serial was produced in 1942.
from King Features Syndicate
on Sunday, February 17, 1935. The strip was initially drawn by the comics artist
Allen Dean.
Allen Dean previously collaborated with Zane Grey on the original King of the Royal Mounted in 1935 but quit when Romer Grey/Slesinger later took over production, as told to son Allen M. Dean Jr, who was born in 1942.
A daily version was added in March 1936, at which point the Sunday strip was passed on to Charles Flanders, who took over the daily strip as well in April 1938. From 1939, Jim Gary became the artist, creating King until it ended in March 1955. In the end, it was Jim Gary who became the artist most closely associated with the strip. In David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview #17, Nov. 1984, in an interview, Gaylord Du Bois states, "In 1939 I worked as a script writer on King of the Royal Mounted, when Jim Gary was doing the art work."
Footnotes
Stephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger , was an American radio/television/film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry...
in 1936. Slesinger licensed popular Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
writer Zane Grey's byline and marketed the character as Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted.
Corporal, and later Sergeant, Dave King is a Canadian Mountie who always gets his man. King has appeared in newspaper strips, comics, Big Little Books
Big Little Books
The Big Little Books, first published during 1932 by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin, were small, compact books designed with a captioned illustration opposite each page of text...
and other ancillary items.
Zane Grey
Zane Grey
Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the Old West. Riders of the Purple Sage was his bestselling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, they later had second lives and continuing influence...
's son Romer and Slesinger collaborated on many of the stories, and the artwork was produced by Allen Dean, Charles Flanders and Jim Gary in Slesinger's New York studio. A movie serial was produced in 1942.
Newspaper strip
King of the Royal Mounted started as a Sunday comic stripSunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
from King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
on Sunday, February 17, 1935. The strip was initially drawn by the comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
Allen Dean.
Allen Dean previously collaborated with Zane Grey on the original King of the Royal Mounted in 1935 but quit when Romer Grey/Slesinger later took over production, as told to son Allen M. Dean Jr, who was born in 1942.
A daily version was added in March 1936, at which point the Sunday strip was passed on to Charles Flanders, who took over the daily strip as well in April 1938. From 1939, Jim Gary became the artist, creating King until it ended in March 1955. In the end, it was Jim Gary who became the artist most closely associated with the strip. In David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview #17, Nov. 1984, in an interview, Gaylord Du Bois states, "In 1939 I worked as a script writer on King of the Royal Mounted, when Jim Gary was doing the art work."
Film
- King of the Royal Mounted, 20th Century Fox, September 11, 1936, starred Robert Kent. The feature was retitled Romance of the Royal Mounted when it was released on video.
- King of the Royal MountedKing of the Royal Mounted (serial)King of the Royal Mounted is a Republic Pictures northern serial based on the King of the Royal Mounted Comic strip directed by William Witney and John English....
, Republic, September 20, 1940, 12-part serial, starred Allan "Rocky" LaneAllan LaneAllan "Rocky" Lane was a studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966... - The Yukon PatrolKing of the Royal Mounted (serial)King of the Royal Mounted is a Republic Pictures northern serial based on the King of the Royal Mounted Comic strip directed by William Witney and John English....
, Republic, April 30, 1942, Republic 12-part serial released as a feature again starring Allan "Rocky" Lane - King of the MountiesKing of the MountiesKing of the Mounties is a Republic film serial.-Cast:* Allan Lane as Sgt Dave King* Gilbert Emery as Commissioner Morrison* Russell Hicks as Marshal Carleton* Peggy Drake as Carol Brent* George Irving as Prof Marshall Brent...
, Republic Oct. 17, 1942, 12-part serial, also starring Allan "Rocky" Lane
Big Little Books
- King of the Royal Mounted, 1936 , Big Little Book GW138-1103
- King of the Royal Mounted and the Northern Treasure, 1937, Big Little Book GW180-1179
- King of the Royal Mounted Gets His Man, 1938, Big Little Book GW230-1452
- King of the Royal Mounted and the Great Jewel Mystery, 1939, Better Little Book SW32-1486
- King of the Royal Mounted and the Long Arm of the Law, 1942, Better Little Book SW119-1405
Comic books
- Feature Book #1 (May 1937), published by David McKay Publications from 1937 through 1948
- King ComicsKing ComicsKing Comics, a short-lived comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, was an attempt by King Features to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. The line ran for approximately a year-and-a-half, with its series cover-dated from August 1966 to December 1967...
(1937) - Dell ComicsDell ComicsDell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
' Famous Feature Stories (1938) - Red RyderRed RyderRed Ryder was a popular long-running Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman. Beginning Sunday, November 6, 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten languages and...
(1940) strip reprints - Between 1948 and 1952, he appeared in Four Color Comics (Dell's catch-all title) #207,265,283,310,340,363,384, all of these consisting of newspaper comic strip reprints, with Jim Gary cover art. Beginning in 1952, King appeared under his own numbering with King of the Royal Mounted #8 (June, 1952) through #28 (March, 1958). King's final Dell comic book issue was Four Color #935 (April, 1958). Dell's King of the Royal Mounted #8-19 were drawn in the Jim Gary style. All of the non-reprint issues were written by Gaylord Du Bois.
Sources
Footnotes