Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales

Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales is an American Disney comic strip, which ran on Sundays in newspapers from July 13, 1952, until February 15, 1987.^[1] It was distributed by King Features Syndicate. Each story adapted a different Disney film, such as Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Peter Pan, or Davy Crockett. It was run in relatively few papers, with 58 in 1957^[2] and 55 in 1966,^[3] and was principally a vehicle for promoting new and re-released Disney films.^[4]

Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales
Author(s)	Various
Illustrator(s)	Various
Current status/schedule	Concluded
Launch date	July 13, 1952
End date	February 15, 1987
Syndicate(s)	King Features Syndicate
Genre(s)	Funny animals

Publication history

From March 8 to June 18, 1950, Disney distributed a limited-time Sunday strip adaptations of their new animated feature Cinderella, written by Frank Reilly, with art by Manuel Gonzales and Dick Moores.^[5] The same team followed the next year with Alice in Wonderland, which ran from September 2 to December 16, 1951.^[6] Judged a success, the experiment was turned into an ongoing feature in 1952, beginning with The Story of Robin Hood.

The strip featured a wide variety of Disney stories. The animated features adapted for the strip include Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1958), The Sword in the Stone (1963) and The Jungle Book (1968). Classic Tales also featured animated shorts, including Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1956) and Ben and Me (1953), and featurettes like Peter & The Wolf (1954) and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966).

Treasury of Classic Tales also adapted live-action films like Old Yeller (1957–58), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), Mary Poppins (1964) and The Love Bug (1969). The strip transitioned from historical dramas like The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Kidnapped (1960) to comedies like The Shaggy Dog (1959) and The Parent Trap (1961).

The 1979–80 adaptation of The Black Hole was particularly notable for featuring pencil art by comics icon Jack Kirby, with Mike Royer inking.

Some of the stories created toward the end of the strip's run in the 1980s were original stories featuring characters from different Disney animated movies, including The Return of the Rescuers (1983), Dumbo, the Substitute Stork (1984) and Cinderella: Bibbidi-Bobbodi-Who? (1984).

Most stories ran for thirteen weeks. A total of 129 stories were created between 1952 and 1987.

List of story titles

Title	Year	Dates	Writing	Art	INDUCKS link
The Story of Robin Hood	1952	July 13 – Dec 28	Frank Reilly	Jesse Marsh	ToCT 1
Peter Pan	1953	Jan 4 – June 14		Manuel Gonzales & Dick Moores	ToCT 2
The Sword and the Rose		June 21 – Oct 25		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 3
Ben and Me		Nov 1 – Dec 27		Manuel Gonzales & Dick Moores	ToCT 4
Rob Roy	1954	Jan 3 – May 30		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 5
Peter & The Wolf		June 6 – July 25		Manuel Gonzales & Dick Moores	ToCT 6
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea		Aug 1 – Dec 26		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 7
Lady and the Tramp	1955	Jan 2 – July 10		Manuel Gonzales & Dick Moores	ToCT 8
The Legends of Davy Crockett	1956	July 7, 1955 – Jan 8		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 9
The Littlest Outlaw		Jan 15 – March 26			ToCT 10
The Great Locomotive Chase		April 2 – July 29			ToCT 11
Lambert the Sheepish Lion		Aug 5 – Sep 30		Floyd Gottfredson	ToCT 12
Westward Ho, the Wagons!'	1956–1957	Oct 7 – Jan 27		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 13
Gus & Jaq	1957	Feb 3 – March 31		Ken Hultgren	ToCT 14
Johnny Tremain		Apr 7 – June 30		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 15
Perri		July 7 – Nov 24			ToCT 16
Old Yeller	1957–1958	Dec 1 – Feb 23			ToCT 17
The Seven Dwarfs & The Witch Queen	1958	March 2 – Apr 27		Julius Svedsen	ToCT 18
The Light in the Forest		May 4 – July 27		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 19
Sleeping Beauty		Aug 3 – Dec 28		Julius Svedsen	ToCT 20
The Shaggy Dog	1959	Jan 4 – Apr 26		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 21
Darby O'Gill and the Little People		May 3 – Aug 3			ToCT 22
Third Man on the Mountain		Sept 6 – Dec 27			ToCT 23
Toby Tyler	1960	Jan 3 – Mar 27			ToCT 24
Kidnapped		Apr 3 – June 26			ToCT 25
Pollyanna		July 3 – Sep 25			ToCT 26
Swiss Family Robinson		Oct 2 – Dec 25			ToCT 27
101 Dalmatians	1961	Jan 1 – Mar 26		Bill Wright & Chuck Fuson, Manuel Gonzales & Floyd Gottfredson	ToCT 28
Nikki, Wild Dog of the North		Apr 2 – June 25		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 29
The Parent Trap		July 2 – Sep 25			ToCT 30
Babes in Toyland		Oct 1 – Dec 31		Joseph Hale	ToCT 31
Moon Pilot	1962	Jan 7 – Mar 25		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 32
Bon Voyage!		Apr 1 – June 24		John Ushler	ToCT 33
Big Red		July 1 – Sep 30		Jesse Marsh	ToCT 34
In Search of the Castaways		Oct 7 – Dec 30		John Ushler	ToCT 35
Son of Flubber	1963	Jan 6 – Mar 31			ToCT 36
Miracle of the White Stallions		Apr 7 – June 30			ToCT 37
Savage Sam		July 7 – Sep 29			ToCT 38
The Sword in the Stone		Oct 6 – Dec 29			ToCT 39
A Tiger Walks	1964	Jan 5 – March 29			ToCT 40
The Three Lives of Thomasina		Apr 6 – June 28			ToCT 41
The Moon-Spinners		July 5 – Sep 27			ToCT 42
Mary Poppins		Oct 4 – Dec 27			ToCT 43
Those Calloways	1965	Jan 3 – Mar 28			ToCT 44
The Monkey's Uncle		Apr 4 – June 27			ToCT 45
Dumbo		July 4 – Sep 26			ToCT 46
That Darn Cat!		Oct 3 – Dec 26			ToCT 47
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree	1966	Jan 2 – Mar 27			ToCT 48
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.		Apr 3 – June 26			ToCT 49
The Fighting Prince of Donegal		July 3 – Sep 25			ToCT 50
Follow Me, Boys!		Oct 2 – Nov 27			ToCT 51
Monkeys, Go Home!	1966–1967	Dec 4 – Jan 29			ToCT 52
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin	1967	Feb 5 – Apr 30			ToCT 53
The Gnome-Mobile		May 7 – July 30			ToCT 54
The Happiest Millionaire		Aug 6 – Oct 29			ToCT 55
The Jungle Book	1967–1968	Nov 5 – Jan 28			ToCT 56
Blackbeard's Ghost	1968	Feb 4 – Apr 28			ToCT 57
Never A Dull Moment		May 6 – July 28			ToCT 58
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day		Aug 4 – Sep 29			ToCT 59
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit		Oct 6 – Dec 29			ToCT 60
Smith!	1969	Jan 5 – Feb 23			ToCT 61
The Love Bug		Mar 2 – May 25			ToCT 62
Hang Your Hat on the Wind!		June 1 – Aug 31			ToCT 63
My Dog, The Thief		Sept 7 – Nov 30			ToCT 64
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes	1969–1970	Dec 7 – Feb 22	ToCT 65
King of the Grizzlies	1970	Mar 1 – May 31	ToCT 66
The Boatniks		June 7 – Aug 30	ToCT 67
The Aristocats		Sept 6 – Dec 27	ToCT 68
The Barefoot Executive	1971	Jan 3 – Mar 28	ToCT 69
The Million Dollar Duck		Apr 4 – June 27	ToCT 70
Bedknobs and Broomsticks		July 4 – Oct 31	ToCT 71
The Living Desert		Nov 7 – Dec 26	ToCT 72
Napoleon and Samantha	1972	Jan 2 – Mar 26	ToCT 73
Now You See Him, Now You Don't		Apr 2 – June 25	ToCT 74
The Legend of Lobo		July 2 – Sep 24	ToCT 75
Snowball Express		Oct 1 – Dec 31	ToCT 76
The World's Greatest Athlete	1973	Jan 7 – Mar 26	Mike Arens	ToCT 77
Cinderella		Apr 1 – June 24		ToCT 78
One Little Indian		July 1 – Sep 30		ToCT 79
Robin Hood	1973–1974	Oct 7 – Jan 27		ToCT 80
Alice in Wonderland	1974	Feb 3 – Apr 28		ToCT 81
Herbie Rides Again		May 5 – July 28		ToCT 82
The Bears and I		Aug 4 – Sep 29		ToCT 83
The Island at the Top of the World	1974–1975	October 6, 1974 – January 26, 1975		ToCT 84
Escape to Witch Mountain	1975	Feb 3 – Apr 27		Carl Fallberg	ToCT 85
The Apple Dumpling Gang		May 4 – June 29		Frank Reilly	ToCT 86
One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing		July 6 – Sep 28			ToCT 87
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too		Oct 5 – Nov 30			ToCT 88
No Deposit, No Return	1975–1976	December 7, 1975 – February 29, 1976		Frank Reilly & Carl Fallberg	ToCT 89
Gus	1976	Mar 7 – May 30		Carl Fallberg	ToCT 90
Treasure of Matecumbe		June 6 – Aug 29			ToCT 91
The Shaggy D.A.		Sept 5 – Nov 28	Richard Moore		ToCT 92
Freaky Friday	1976–1977	Dec 5 – Feb 27		Al Stoffel	ToCT 93
The Rescuers	1977	Mar 6 – May 29		Carl Fallberg	ToCT 94
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo		June 5 – Aug 28		Al Stoffel	ToCT 95
Pete's Dragon		Sept 4 – Nov 27		Carl Fallberg	ToCT 96
Candleshoe	1977–1978	December 4, 1977 – Feb 26		Carl Fallberg & Al Stoffel	ToCT 97
The Cat from Outer Space	1978	Mar 5 – May 28		Carl Fallberg	ToCT 98
Hot Lead and Cold Feet		June 4 – Aug 27		Al Stoffel	ToCT 99
Pinocchio		Sept 3 – Nov 26		Carl Fallberg	ToCT 100
The North Avenue Irregulars	1978–1979	Dec 3 – Feb 25			ToCT 101
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again	1979	Mar 4 – May 27		Al Stoffel	ToCT 102
Unidentified Flying Oddball		June 3 – Aug 26			ToCT 103
The Black Hole	1979–1980	Sept 2 – Feb 24	Carl Fallberg	Jack Kirby & Mike Royer	ToCT 104
The Watcher in the Woods	1980	Mar 2 – May 25		Richard Moore	ToCT 105
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark		June 1 – Aug 24	Al Stoffel		ToCT 106
The Devil and Max Devlin		Aug 31 – Nov 23			ToCT 107
Condorman	1980–1981	Nov 30 – Apr 12	Greg Crosby	Russ Heath	ToCT 108
The Fox and the Hound	1981	Apr 19 – Aug 30	Jeannette Steiner	Richard Moore	ToCT 109
Night Crossing	1981–1982	Sept 6 – Jan 17			ToCT 110
Tron	1982	Jan 24 – June 6			ToCT 111
Tex	1982	June 13 – Sep 26			ToCT 112
Mickey's Christmas Carol		Oct 3 – Dec 26	Carl Fallberg	Richard Moore & Frank Johnson	ToCT 113
Ferdinand the Bull & The Robbers	1983	Jan 2 – Mar 6		Richard Moore	ToCT 114
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs		Mar 13 – June 26			ToCT 115
The Adventures of Mr. Toad		July 3 – Sep 25	Tom Yakutis		ToCT 116
The Return of the Rescuers		Oct 2 – Dec 25			ToCT 117
Dumbo, the Substitute Stork	1984	Jan 1 – Mar 25			ToCT 118
Robin Hood in: Rich John, Poor John		Apr 1 – June 24			ToCT 119
Cinderella: Bibbidi-Bobbodi-Who?		July 1 – Sep 23			ToCT 120
Pinocchio & Jiminy Cricket: A Coat Tale		Sept 30 – Dec 30	Carl Fallberg		ToCT 121
Black Arrow	1985	Jan 6 – Mar 31	Tom Yakutis		ToCT 122
Return to Oz		Apr 7 – July 14	Carl Fallberg		ToCT 123
The Black Cauldron		July 21 – Oct 27	Tom Yakutis		ToCT 124
The Journey of Natty Gann	1985–1986	Nov 3 – Jan 26	Don Dougherty		ToCT 125
The Search For Sleeping Beauty	1986	Feb 2 – Apr 27	Carl Fallberg		ToCT 126
The Great Mouse Detective		May 4 – July 27			ToCT 127
Song of the South		Aug 3 – Nov 16			ToCT 128
Tramp's Cat-astrophe	1986–1987	Nov 23 – Feb 15			ToCT 129

Reprintings

In 2016, IDW Publishing and their imprint The Library of American Comics (LoAC) began to collect all the Treasury of Classic Tales stories in a definitive hardcover reprint series.^[7] As of 2019, three volumes have been published, reprinting all the stories from Robin Hood (1952) through In Search of the Castaways (1962). In April 2018, it was announced that, due to the sales goal of the series not being met, the third volume may be the last one to be published.^[8][9]

Notes and references

1. Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. pp. 393–394. ISBN 9780472117567.
2. A Revolutionary Story
3. Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. Remembered
4. "The Black Hole: How Deep Is it?" by David E. Jefferson. The Collected Jack Kirby Collector v.2. p.96 Raleigh, NC: TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004. "... Disney used their Treasury of Classics Sunday comics strip as a vehicle to promote new films..."
5. Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780472117567.
6. Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780472117567.
7. https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2016/1219/Gift-needed-for-comics-fan-Try-Walt-Disney-s-Treasury-of-Classic-Tales CS Monitor – Retrieved March 30, 2018
8. "Episode 006 with special guest Michael Barrier". loac.idwpublishing.com. from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
9. "Episode 006 with special guest Michael Barrier 2018-04-10 at the Wayback Machine." The Library of American Comics. April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018

External links

• Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales (samples of 1970s strips)
• INDUCKS database of credits for Treasury of Classic Tales