Four Color #1028

Sep 1959 · Dell · 0.10 USD

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About this Issue

Four Color #1028 is the first comic book appearance of the characters Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates — the central figures of CBS's Rawhide, one of the defining TV Westerns of the late 1950s and early 1960s. It arrived almost simultaneously with the show's January 9, 1959 premiere, making it an immediate tie-in artifact at the exact cultural moment when the Western genre was at its peak on American television. The issue is also historically significant as the first comics work to put a young Clint Eastwood's likeness on a cover — well before his international stardom — capturing him at the very start of his career in the role that made his name. As the first of six Rawhide Dell Four Color issues, it established the template for the short-run comic series that documented the show's run through the early 1960s.

"Trail to Freedom" is a gripping Western tale from Four Color #1028 (1959), a 10-cent comic that delivers a powerful story of redemption and survival. Written by Eric Freiwald and Robert Schaefer and illustrated by Warren Tufts—whose work spans pencils, inks, and letters—this issue follows a fugitive father and his son during a perilous trail drive, where a chance encounter with a marshal sets off a chain of events testing loyalty, justice, and courage. The cover by Warren Tufts captures the tension of the moment, perfectly setting the tone for a story where the line between guilt and innocence is as fragile as the trail itself.

Contains 2 stories

Trail to Freedom

21 pp · Western-Frontier

Rowdy YatesGil FavorWishbone

In "Trail to Freedom," a weary father and his son struggle to keep pace on a grueling trail drive, quietly slipping away when a marshal begins asking questions. When trail boss Gil Favor tracks them down, he discovers the older man is an escaped convict—wrongly imprisoned by a corrupt judge—setting off a tense journey back to camp. As the herd faces a sudden attack by Indians, the convict’s actions in the fray begin to shift the lawman’s judgment, testing old beliefs and forging unexpected bonds.

A Town Full of Trouble

11 pp · Western-Frontier

Rowdy YatesGil FavorWishbone"Mushy" Mushgrove

In the harsh winter of 1959, trail boss Gil Favor sends Wishbone and Mushy to the Clanton General Store for supplies—only to have them beaten and turned away without a word. When Gil and Rowdy arrive, they learn the town’s hostility stems from a previous herd’s violent rampage that left three men dead, and now the townsfolk won’t trade with any cattle drivers. As tensions flare, the townspeople try to drive the herd off by stampeding it—only to find the cattle heading straight for town, forcing Gil and Rowdy to act fast to prevent disaster.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $37

CGC 9.8 · 1 in census $6,286*

CGC 9.6 · 1 in census $1,961

CGC 9.4 · 2 in census $1,004*

CGC 9.2 · 2 in census $582*

CGC 9.0 · 5 in census $395*

CGC 8.5 · 3 in census $270*

Show all 15 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 7 in census $211

CGC 7.5 · 3 in census $165*

CGC 7.0 · 3 in census $139*

CGC 6.5 · 2 in census $64*

CGC 6.0 · 3 in census $57*

CGC 5.5 · 3 in census $45*

CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $45*

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $36*

CGC 4.0 · 2 in census $35*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The Rawhide TV series was created and produced by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of Gunsmoke, and premiered on CBS on January 9, 1959. Dell, which by this period was using its Four Color anthology series as a vehicle for licensing popular TV and film properties, moved quickly to produce a comic tie-in. The copyright on the issue's indicia is held by Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., reflecting the standard Dell licensing practice of the era. Interior art credits are unconfirmed in major databases (the Grand Comics Database lists pencils and inks as unknown), though Wikipedia's entry on the Rawhide TV series identifies Dan Spiegle as the artist on the Dell comic adaptations.

Trivia · 8 facts

First comic book appearance of Gil Favor (played by Eric Fleming) and Rowdy Yates (played by Clint Eastwood), the lead characters of the CBS TV series Rawhide.
Photo cover features both Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood, making it one of the earliest comics covers to bear Eastwood's likeness.
Published by Dell in 1959 as part of the long-running Four Color anthology series (Series II), which Dell used as a showcase for licensed TV, film, and cartoon properties.
Indicia title is 'RAWHIDE, No. 1028'; copyright is held by Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS).
The issue is the first of six Rawhide Four Color issues; the subsequent issues are #1097, #1160, #1202, #1261, and #1269.
The CBS TV series Rawhide premiered January 9, 1959, and ran for eight seasons and 217 black-and-white episodes, making it the sixth-longest-running American TV Western.
Interior stories feature trail boss Gil Favor and ramrod Rowdy Yates navigating cattle drive conflicts — consistent with the show's format of drovers encountering trouble on the trail or in nearby towns.
The TV series' comic adaptations are attributed to artist Dan Spiegle, though interior art credits for this specific issue are listed as unknown in the Grand Comics Database.