Four Color #187
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFour Color #187, titled 'Bugs Bunny and the Dreadful Dragon,' is a representative example of Dell's long-running Warner Bros. licensing partnership — the pipeline through which Looney Tunes stars crossed from the screen into comic book form across dozens of Four Color one-shots throughout the 1940s. It appeared during a pivotal year for the anthology: 1948 was the same season Dell spun Tarzan and Little Lulu into standalone ongoing titles, demonstrating the Four Color format's role as the proving ground for American licensed comics. While #187 does not introduce a new character, it reflects the fully matured creative machinery — Dell's story-and-art shops adapting theatrical cartoon personalities into print with original scenarios — that helped shape the industry model for licensed funny-animal comics well into the following decade.
In "Beware of Dog" Sign, Bugs the turtle takes a surprising turn when he wins some money and sets out to buy a new car—only to discover his dream ride is two years away. With time running short, he settles on a rather unusual alternative: a turtle with a seat strapped to its back. Written and illustrated by Ralph Heimdahl in a delightfully quirky 1948 Four Color comic, this offbeat tale delivers charm and humor in every panel, with Heimdahl handling art, inks, and lettering across both story and cover.
When Porky tries to keep peddlers at bay, Bugs cleverly hangs a "Beware of Dog" sign by his sidewalk—only to accidentally lure a parade of salesmen eager to sell goods to the dog.
In "Stuff 'n' Nonsense," Bugs finds himself working at Elmer's taxidermy shop, where his nap takes a hilarious turn when Mrs. Van Pester mistakes him for a stuffed rabbit and orders Elmer to deliver him to her home that afternoon. The story unfolds with classic 1948 charm, blending slapstick and whimsy as Bugs tries to avoid becoming a display piece.
Bugs, thrilled after winning some money, sets out to buy a new car—only to learn the model he wants won’t arrive for two years. Instead, he settles on the dealer’s only available option: a turtle with a seat strapped to its back.
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The issue was published by Dell Publishing Co. and carries a 1948 copyright registered to Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc., confirming the formal licensing arrangement under which all Dell/Looney Tunes comics of this era were produced. The GCD's credits research (drawing on Alberto Becattini's foundational Dell index work) indicates pencils and inks credits exist for this issue, but the specific artists are not publicly named in currently accessible sources. Like all Four Color issues of this period, #187 carried no cover date on its indicia — publication timing is established from the Library of Congress copyright registration rather than printed date information, a common production characteristic of Dell one-shots before mid-1951.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Full indicia title: 'Bugs Bunny and the Dreadful Dragon, No. 187' — the title changes with every issue of the Four Color anthology, as each book was effectively a self-contained one-shot.
- Copyright 1948 by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc., published by Dell Publishing Co. — part of the formal studio licensing arrangement covering all Looney Tunes characters in Dell comics.
- Porky Pig appears in a backup story alongside Bugs Bunny, consistent with the era's practice of pairing Looney Tunes co-stars in single issues.
- Publication date established via Library of Congress copyright registration, not a printed cover date — Four Color issues before mid-1951 carried no dates on their covers or indicia.
- Bugs Bunny had been appearing in Dell's Four Color anthology since #33 (December 1943), making #187 part of an established multi-year run rather than a debut.
- The Four Color series functioned as Dell's primary vehicle for Warner Bros. licensed comics at this time; no separate ongoing Bugs Bunny title yet existed — that ongoing series launched later.
- The series overall holds the record for most issues produced by an American comic book title, with 1,354 issues published between 1939 and 1962.
- The Four Color format was structured as rotating one-shots — no single feature held a permanent slot — allowing Dell to sustain diverse licensed output without long-term serial commitments.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig #1 (1965)
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