Four Color #1271
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFour Color #1271 — titled 'Yogi Bear Birthday Party' in its indicia — stands as a snapshot of Hanna-Barbera's television empire at its early-1960s peak, assembling virtually the entire studio roster onto the same pages at precisely the moment Yogi had graduated from a supporting segment on The Huckleberry Hound Show to headlining his own Kellogg's-sponsored series. As the fourth Yogi Bear one-shot in Dell's Four Color line, it demonstrates how Dell and Western Publishing used the long-running anthology format as a flexible, low-risk showcase for licensed cartoon properties, mirroring the characters' real-time rise in American pop culture. The issue is also a curiosity of publication history: carrying no month on its cover or indicia, it can only be date-placed through Library of Congress copyright records, making it a small case study in the idiosyncratic release practices of the late Dell era.
In "Yogi Bear Birthday Party," a 1961 Four Color comic, Yogi Bear and his friends make a daring escape to Jellystone Park, where a surprise celebration awaits—though not for the reasons Go Go thinks. With clever tricks and a little help from Cindy, the gang outwits the circus owners, leading to a heartwarming twist on the birthday theme. Harvey Eisenberg handles both the interior art and the cover, bringing the whole escapade to life in a vibrant, classic style.
Yogi Bear’s birthday party in Jellystone Park is in full swing—until two men show up with guns and whisk Yogi and Boo Boo away, intending to make them the stars of their traveling circus. The duo’s sudden disappearance throws the park into chaos, but the real question is: can the birthday celebration go on without its guest of honor?
In "Lost by a Nose," Huck’s attempt to rescue a fellow animal goes awry when he’s captured instead. Now, with enough performers gathered, the circus owners plan to pack up and head to the city.
In "Go Go Goes Goody Goody," Cindy outsmarts the circus truck with a clever tangle of tacks, then convinces Go Go to hand over the cage keys—setting off a wild escape to Jellystone Park. There, they stumble upon Yogi’s birthday party, and when Go Go mistakenly believes it’s for him, the moment sparks a surprising shift in loyalty.
In "The Strange Ranger," Go Go’s desire to stay in Jellystone Park puts him at odds with Ranger Smith, who fears his unusual appearance might frighten the park’s visitors. When Yogi Bear steps in with a clever idea, the trio faces a new kind of challenge—keeping the park peaceful while welcoming something truly different.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was produced under license from Hanna-Barbera Productions, which held copyright, and published by Dell Comics through its arrangement with Western Publishing — the same production pipeline that had been turning Hanna-Barbera animation properties into Four Color one-shots since Four Color #990 (the first Huckleberry Hound issue) in 1959. Interior art credits in the Grand Comics Database are attributed to Tony R. Rose, though the GCD notes this data may be incomplete. The Four Color series itself was winding down by late 1961, and when the Dell–Western Publishing partnership dissolved shortly afterward, the Yogi Bear title and most other Hanna-Barbera licenses passed to the newly formed Gold Key Comics, which continued the Yogi Bear numbering from where Dell left off.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Official indicia title is 'YOGI BEAR BIRTHDAY PARTY, No. 1271'; it was copyrighted 1961 by Hanna-Barbera Productions and published by Dell Comics.
- No cover month is printed; based on Library of Congress copyright records and comparison with contemporaneous Four Color issues, it aligns with a December 1961–February 1962 on-sale window.
- This is the fourth Yogi Bear one-shot in Dell's Four Color line, following #1067 (1959), #1104 (1960), and #1162 (April 1961).
- The main story centers on the kidnapping of Yogi and Boo Boo by circus operators, with a rescue effort involving Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey, Snooper, and Blabber — making it one of the most character-dense single issues in Dell's Hanna-Barbera output.
- Snagglepuss, Yakky Doodle, Chopper, Hokey Wolf, Ding-a-ling, Pixie, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Cindy Bear, Augie Doggie, and Doggie Daddy all appear, most in cameo roles throughout the story chapters.
- Snagglepuss had debuted as a named character in his own animated segment on The Yogi Bear Show in January 1961 — the same year as this comic — making his cameo appearances here among his earliest in print.
- Interior art is credited by the Grand Comics Database to Tony R. Rose; no writer credit is confirmed in the GCD listing.
- Shortly after this issue, Dell's partnership with Western Publishing ended and Gold Key Comics took over the Yogi Bear license, continuing the title's numbering — meaning this issue falls near the very end of Dell's Hanna-Barbera publishing run.
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