Gene Autry Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeGene Autry Comics #1 (Fawcett, December 1941) stands as the first dedicated solo comic book title for Gene Autry, the era's dominant 'Singing Cowboy' who was already a multimedia phenomenon across radio, film, and music. It launched a comics lineage that, through Fawcett and then Dell, would stretch across more than 130 issues and ultimately become the longest-running cowboy-actor comic book series in the medium's history. The issue arrived at the precise cultural moment when celebrity-licensed westerns were beginning to define a major genre pillar of Golden Age comics, demonstrating that the cowboy hero could anchor a standalone ongoing title rather than appearing as a serial feature within an anthology. Its reach extended internationally as well, with Gene Autry comics eventually running more than 400 issues in Mexico alone through Editorial Novaro.
In "The Mark of the Cloven Hoof," Gene Autry races to clear his name after being framed for a series of murders committed by the sinister Rankin Dole, who dons a fearsome Cloven Hoof disguise. With help from a hidden pitchblende mine and a daughter raised in captivity, Gene uncovers the truth and breaks free to stop Dole’s deadly scheme. Illustrated by L. Bing in this 1941 Fawcett classic, the story blends Western suspense with a touch of supernatural intrigue, all in a 10-cent comic that captures the era’s bold storytelling.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 19 grades ▾
Find on ebay
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The Fawcett series grew directly out of an existing newspaper comic strip, Gene Autry Rides, syndicated by the Register and Tribune Syndicate with art by Till Goodan and running from 1940 to 1941. When Fawcett launched the comic book in December 1941, the interior stories and art for issue #1 were handled by a contributor credited only as 'L. Bing,' whose identity has never been definitively established and who may have done their earliest significant comics work here. The issue includes a 'Personal Note from Gene Autry,' suggesting active involvement — or at minimum licensed promotional framing — from Autry himself at the height of his screen popularity. Fawcett published the series for approximately 10 issues before Dell took over the title.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First issue of Gene Autry's dedicated solo comic book series, published by Fawcett in December 1941.
- Lead story is 'The Mark of the Cloven Hoof,' an issue-length mystery western in which Gene hunts a killer who leaves devil-like cloven footprints, eventually uncovering a plot involving an imprisoned miner, his hostage daughter, and the villain Rankin Dole.
- Interior stories and art are credited to 'L. Bing and others' — 'L. Bing' is an unidentified 1940s artist whose earliest known major work may be this very issue.
- The issue is 64 pages, full color, and opens with 'A Personal Note from Gene Autry,' framing the book with a personal address from the celebrity himself.
- The series has direct roots in the newspaper strip Gene Autry Rides, drawn by Till Goodan and syndicated by the Register and Tribune Syndicate from 1940 to 1941; later Fawcett issues would draw on scripts and art from that strip.
- Fawcett published approximately 10 issues before Dell Comics assumed the license; the combined Fawcett/Dell run totaled 12 issues from 1941–1943.
- Dell subsequently published 101 issues of Gene Autry Comics (1946–1955), then continued as Gene Autry and Champion for 20 more issues (1955–1959), making it the longest-running cowboy-actor comic book by issue count.
- Gene Autry's comics reach was international: Mexican publisher Editorial Novaro published 423 issues of Gene Autry comics from 1954 to 1984.
Full credits
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.