DC Comic Books Based on Sitcoms

When comic book fans think of comics and licensed properties, they are inclined to think of Dell Comics or Gold Key, both of which published several titles based on licensed properties over the years (most famously, those based on various Disney cartoons). While Dell and Gold Key may have been the undisputed kings of comic books based on licensed properties, DC Comics (back when it was still officially known as National Comics Publications and later National Periodical Publications), published a good number of comic books based on licensed properties from the Golden Age into the Silver Age. And while DC Comics has always been best known for such superheroes as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, over the years they did publish titles based on radio and television sitcoms.

DC Comics' first comic book based on a radio sitcom also proved to be its most successful title based on a situation comedy. The radio show A Date with Judy debuted on NBC Red on June 24 1941 as a summer replacement for The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope. It centred on teenager Judy Foster (initially played by Anne Gillis and later Dellie Ellis and Louise Erickson). A Date with Judy proved to be highly successful, running until May 4 1950. A movie based on the radio show, A Date with Judy (1948), starred Jane Powell as Judy Foster. There were two television adaptations of the radio show. The first was a daytime version that debuted on ABC on June 2 1951 and ran until February 23 1952. The second was a prime time version that also aired on ABC and ran from July 15 1952 to September 30 1953.

As to the DC Comics version of A Date with Judy, its first issue was dated October/November 1947. Henry Boltinoff, who wrote several of DC Comics' humour titles and fillers over the years, wrote the comic book A Date with Judy throughout its run. Bob Oskner, who would work on several other DC comics based on licensed properties (including The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and The Adventures of Bob Hope), provided much of the artwork throughout its run. A Date with Judy ultimately lasted longer than the sitcom upon which it was based. It ran for 79 issues until October–November 1960, a full 13 years.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is still a familiar name today, but the comic book based on the popular sitcom did not prove to be a hit. The radio show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuted on October 8 1944 on CBS. It centred on the lives of performers Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and their sons David and Ricky. The radio show proved to be a hit, running until June 18 1954. The television version of the show proved even more successful, running from October 3 1952 to April 23 1966. Running for 14 seasons, it was the longest running live-action sitcom until it was surpassed by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The comic book The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet did not last nearly as long as the radio show or television show. Its first issue was dated November 1949. It only ran for five issues until July 1950.

Curiously, this was not the last time Ricky Nelson would be seen in a comic book. Dell Comics published an issue of their long-running title Four Colour (dated June-August 1959) starring Ricky Nelson. It seems pretty obvious that this comic book was meant to capitalize on the popularity of Ricky Nelson, who was then both a pop star and a teen idol. Regardless, it would not lead to a regular title starring Ricky Nelson.

It would be several years before DC Comics attempted another title based on a sitcom. This time it would star a big name actor and comedian. When DC Comics' Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners hit newsstands, Jackie Gleason was not a newcomer to comic books. St. John had published a Jackie Gleason comic book from September 1955 to December 1955, only four issues. DC Comics would have a bit more success.

The comic book Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners was based on Jackie Gleason's most famous creation. The Honeymooners originated as a series of sketches on Cavalcade of the Stars on the Dumont Network. Jackie Gleason took the "Honeymooners" sketches with him when he moved to CBS for The Jackie Gleason Show. It was in 1955 that the sketches were spun off as a sitcom. As a sitcom The Honeymooners proved to be very popular. The sitcom ended after one season not because of low ratings, but because Jackie Gleason wanted to end the show while it was on top. He did not think they could sustain the quality of the series following the first season. Regardless, the "Honeymooners" sketches would return on The Jackie Gleason Show and would continue to be seen until The Jackie Gleason Show ended its run in 1970. As to the comic book, the first issue of Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners was dated July 1956. It ran for twelve issues until May 1958.

It was while Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners was still being published that DC Comics came out with their next title based on a sitcom. Sgt. Bilko was based on the popular sitcom The Phil Silvers Show. The Phil Silvers Show focused on Master Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko, who spent his time in the peace-time Army coming up with various get-rich-quick schemes. The Phil Silvers Show debuted on September 20 1955 on CBS under the title You'll Never Get Rich (it was retitled only a few weeks into its run). It was still doing well in the ratings when it ended its run on September 11 1959.

DC Comics' Sgt Bilko hit newsstands with its first issue dated June 1957. The title proved to be relatively successful, running for 18 issues until April 1960. Sgt. Bilko would be unique among DC Comics' comic books based on sitcoms in that it is the only one to have a spinoff. Private Doberman, played by Maurice Gosfield, had proven to be the breakout character on The Phil Silvers Show. It is perhaps for that reason he received his own comic book, Sgt. Bilko's Pvt. Doberman, the first issue of which was dated July 1958. It ultimately ran for eleven issues, until March 1960.

DC Comics' next sitcom title would prove to be even more successful than Sgt. Bilko The TV show The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was based on Max Shulman's popular short stories that had also inspired the musical The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953). Like Max Shulman's short stories, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis centred on love crazy teenager Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman). On the TV show he was the son of independent grocer Herbert T. Gillis (Frank Faylen). His best friend was television's first beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver).  The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis debuted on September 29 1959 and proved to be popular. It ended its run on June 5 1963 after four seasons, having been toppled in the ratings by NBC's hit Western The Virginian. Curiously, while the title of the sitcom would be shortened to Dobie Gillis in its second season and then changed to Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis in its fourth season, the comic book would always be titled The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

The first issue of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was cover dated June 1960. It ran for 26 issues until October 1964, so that the comic book ultimately ran as long as the sitcom had. While The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ended with no. 26 (October 1964), it would have something of a strange afterlife. In the Sixties DC Comics had a title called Showcase, in which they published trial runs of new features. If a feature proved popular, it would receive its own title. It was with Showcase no. 81 (March 1968) that they introduced Windy and Willy. That having been said, Windy and Willy was nothing new. The stories were nothing more and nothing less than stories from the run of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis re-lettered and redrawn. Dobie Gillis became Willy Newton, while Maynard G. Krebs became Windy Wiggs. The trial run in Showcase proved successful enough that Windy and Willy received its own title, the first issue cover dated June 1969. Windy and Willy did not last long. It only ran for four issues, until December 1969.

It would be twelve years after DC Comics' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ended before they would attempt another title based on sitcom. In some respects, DC Comics' Welcome Back, Kotter was something of an anomaly. DC Comics had cancelled their humour titles in  the early Seventies and in the mid-Seventies they published little in the way of comic books based on licensed properties. Regardless, the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter had proven to be a hit, particularly popular with younger viewers. For its first season it came in at no. 18 in the Nielsen ratings for the year. Welcome Back, Kotter debuted on September 9 1975. It starred Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter, a teacher who returns to teach remedial students known as "the Sweathogs' at his old high school.  The show turned John Travolta into a star and ultimately ran for four seasons.

The first issue of DC Comics' Welcome Back, Kotter was dated November 1976. Writers on the title varied for the entirety of its run. Elliot S. Maggin wrote the first two issues. Over the years he would write stories for Superman, Batman, Adam Strange, and other DC characters. Later Tony Isabella, Mark Evanier, and others would write for the series. Some of the covers were drawn by the aforementioned Bob Oskner, who had worked on several of DC's humour titles and their titles based on licensed properties. Welcome Back, Kotter ran for ten issues, ending its run in April 1978. After the title had been cancelled, DC Comics issued a  Limited Collectors' Edition that featured a look behind the scenes on the sitcom.  Limited Collectors' Editions were over-sized comic books published by DC Comics in the Seventies, mostly containing reprints of older material.

On the surface it might look as if DC Comics had little success with adaptations of radio and television sitcoms, with the exception of the long-running  A Date with Judy. The same might be said of Dell Comics and Gold Key if one looks at how long many of their sitcom titles ran. In many cases, comic books based on sitcoms continued being published only as long as the sitcom was still running. Sgt. Bilko and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ended their runs a little after both shows ended their network runs. Over at Dell Comics, their comic book based on The Beverly Hillbillies ended its run in 1971, only a little before the show was cancelled by CBS. It would seem that in many cases comic books based on sitcoms would seem to remain popular only as long as that sitcom is on the air.

Regardless, DC Comics' comic books based on sitcoms are fondly remembered by many and of interest to fans of those shows, even ones like me who weren't around when the TV shows were first on the air and the comic books were being published. Indeed, I would be very happy if DC Comics published collections of Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners, Sgt. Bilko, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, giving many fans of those shows a chance to read their comic book adventures.