Dell Giant #44
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDell Giant #44 — titled 'Around the World with Huckleberry and His Friends' — stands as a meaningful crossroads moment in Silver Age licensed comics because it delivered the first comics appearance of Yakky Doodle, the little yellow duckling who would soon anchor his own segment on The Yogi Bear Show, and also the second comics appearance of both Hokey Wolf and Snagglepuss, two characters then at the very leading edge of Hanna-Barbera's television expansion. The issue also captures the Dell Giant format at full creative stretch: rather than simple TV adaptations, it built an original globe-trotting anthology premise to give each Hanna-Barbera cast member a distinct international setting, demonstrating how Dell's Western Publishing talent could use licensed properties as a springboard for fresh storytelling. As one of the final entries in the numbered Dell Giant run — a 'showcase' umbrella title that housed most of Dell's giant-size books across three years — the issue sits at the twilight of Dell's Western Publishing partnership, just months before Gold Key was formed and the landscape of licensed comics was permanently reshaped.
In "Algeria!; Italy!", Snagglepuss trades his usual antics for the spotlight of the bullring, donning the role of matador to help his nervous friend Bandero impress the lovely Estelitta. But when Bandero's reckless bravado backfires and turns Estelitta against him, the friendship takes a sharp turn—leaving Snagglepuss caught in the aftermath. Penciled and inked by Pete Alvarado, with a cover by Harvey Eisenberg, this 1961 Dell Giant delivers a flamboyant, high-stakes twist on courage and showmanship.
In "Algeria!; Italy!", two quick, clever gags from Dell Giant #44 showcase the humor of anthropomorphic animals: in one, a Legionnaire joins the French Foreign Legion hoping to forget his past, only to forget *everything*—including why he joined; in the other, Huck the tourist marvels at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, only to realize he’s leaning too.
In "Spain," Snagglepuss takes on the role of matador to help his nervous friend Bandero put on a show that’ll win over Estelitta—only to find that Bandero’s bravado backfires when he defeats Bernard with brutal flair. As Estelitta’s admiration shifts and Bandero turns on him, Snagglepuss must navigate the chaos of pride, performance, and unexpected betrayal.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Dell Giant #44 was on sale in July 1961, published by Dell Publishing Co. and produced through the company's long-running Western Publishing arrangement, with Chase Craig serving as editor. The cover art and key story splash pages were penciled by Harvey Eisenberg, a former animator whose background gave the Hanna-Barbera characters an unusually fluid, on-model quality; additional interior stories carried pencil credits for Pete Alvarado and others. The issue appeared at a turbulent moment for Dell: 1961 was the year Dell became the first comic publisher to raise its cover prices, and the Western Publishing partnership that had produced the entire Dell giant line was roughly one year from dissolving into the competing Gold Key imprint.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Full title: 'Around the World with Huckleberry and His Friends'; on-sale date recorded as July 1961 by the Library of Congress copyright record.
- Confirmed first comics appearance of Yakky Doodle, the small yellow duckling who debuted as a TV character on The Yogi Bear Show in 1961 — his comics origin appears in an Australia-set story within this issue.
- Contains the second comics appearances of both Hokey Wolf and Snagglepuss, two characters then brand-new to Hanna-Barbera's television lineup.
- Principal cover and splash-page artist: Harvey Eisenberg, a former animator whose work on the Hanna-Barbera Dell books is noted for capturing the cartoon characters' on-screen energy in print. Interior stories also carry credits for Pete Alvarado and John Carey.
- Editor: Chase Craig, Dell/Western's longtime senior editor for licensed animated properties.
- Anthology format: each story sends a different Hanna-Barbera character — Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Doggie Daddy, Snagglepuss, Hokey Wolf, and Yakky Doodle — to a specific international destination, from Africa and Egypt to Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, and Australia.
- The Dell Giant numbered series (issues #21–#55, September 1959 – September 1961) was a squarebound, standard Silver Age U.S. format showcase title; issue #44 sits near the end of that run, with the series concluding just two issues later at #55.
- At least one story from this issue — the Africa segment — was later reprinted in the Australian Murray Comics publication 'Super Stars by Hanna-Barbera' (c. September 1980), and the full issue content was reprinted as a Murray title, 'Around the World with Huckleberry and His Friends' #1.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Familien Flint #21/1962 (1962), Top Cat #[1964] (1963), Familien Flint #32/1963 (1963), Flintstones en andere verhalen #6/1968 (1968), Familien Flint #11/1968 (1968)
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