The American Legion #3
The American Legion Magazine, Volume 25, No. 3 (September 1938) is a vivid snapshot of American popular culture at a pivotal moment: it features a Donald Duck piece authored or credited to Walt Disney himself, appearing in a high-circulation veteran-organization periodical just months after Donald Duck's own daily newspaper strip had launched in February 1938 and was already the fastest-growing syndicated strip in the country. The issue also coincides almost exactly with the King Features debut of the Lone Ranger newspaper comic strip in September 1938 — placing both the Lone Ranger's masked alter ego John Reid and Walt Disney's volatile duck in the same publication at the precise moment each was exploding into new print media. For comics historians, the issue documents how mainstream, non-comics-specific magazines absorbed and amplified these nascent characters well before dedicated comic books existed for either property.
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 American Legion Magazine was the flagship periodical of the American Legion, a U.S. veterans' organization, and had long published cartoon and humor content by Abian 'Wally' Wallgren, a WWI veteran cartoonist who had drawn satirical strips for The Stars and Stripes during the war. The September 1938 issue was edited within that tradition — blending serious veteran affairs journalism with humor features and comics panels by Wallgren, whose work appeared regularly across dozens of issues spanning the late 1930s and into the 1940s. The cover was designed by William Heaslip, the magazine's go-to illustrator at the time.
Trivia · 8 facts
- This is The American Legion Magazine, Volume 25, No. 3, dated September 1938, published by the American Legion veterans' organization.
- The issue contains 'Donald Duck's Welcome,' a piece credited to Walt Disney, appearing in a mass-circulation veterans' magazine just months after Donald Duck's own daily newspaper comic strip debuted on February 7, 1938 — itself the fastest-growing syndicated comic strip in the world within weeks of launch.
- The Lone Ranger / John Reid appears in the issue at the same moment King Features Syndicate was launching the Lone Ranger newspaper comic strip (September 1938), written by Fran Striker and illustrated by Ed Kressy — making this a rare cross-media moment for the character.
- The Lone Ranger character had been created for radio in 1933 by George W. Trendle and/or Fran Striker at Detroit station WXYZ; his surname 'Reid' came from the radio show, while the first name 'John' was not officially established in radio or television — later codified in reference books and eventually the 1981 film.
- Cartoon content by Abian 'Wally' Wallgren — a WWI veteran who had drawn satirical cartoons in every issue of The Stars and Stripes during the war — was a recurring feature throughout this era of the magazine; Wallgren's work appears in this issue under the title 'California, Here We Come.'
- Hoosegow Herman, listed as a character in this issue, is associated with Wallgren's work for the American Legion Magazine; the Hoosegow Herman newspaper comic strip is separately credited to Wallgren circa 1939, suggesting this issue may represent an early or related appearance of that character concept.
- The cover design was by William Heaslip, the magazine's regular cover illustrator during this period.
- The Saluting Demon is indexed as a character in this issue but no independent online source could be found describing this feature in detail; it is most likely another Wallgren cartoon panel within the magazine.
Cast · 6 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
What the cartoonist thinks the Los Angeles convention will be like.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).