Walter Lantz New Funnies #182
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeWalter Lantz New Funnies #182 (April 1952, Dell) represents a solidly mid-run chapter of one of the most consequential funny-animal anthology titles in American comics history — a series whose long arc, stretching from The Funnies in 1936 through issue #288 in 1962, served as the primary comics home for the entire Walter Lantz cartoon stable before Woody Woodpecker earned his own standalone title. By 1952, the anthology had already shed its earlier mixed-character identity and was running almost exclusively Lantz properties, making each issue of this era a document of how Dell and Western Publishing shaped the transition of theatrical cartoon characters into a self-contained comics universe. Issue #182 also sits at a pivotal franchise moment: just months before the launch of the dedicated Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker solo series in late 1952, meaning these anthology issues were the last sustained venue where Woody appeared alongside his full supporting cast as co-equals rather than headliner.
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The title that became Walter Lantz New Funnies had its roots as The Funnies (1936), a Dell anthology featuring adventure and superhero material. With issue #65 (July 1942) it was renamed New Funnies and pivoted to children's characters, mixing Lantz properties with Raggedy Ann & Andy, Felix the Cat, and others. Starting with issue #109 (March 1946) the series was renamed again to Walter Lantz New Funnies and became devoted almost exclusively to the Lantz cartoon characters. By 1952, editorial production of the Dell comics line was handled in partnership with Western Publishing, which physically produced and wrote the material while Dell financed and distributed it — a highly successful arrangement that at its peak had Dell claiming to be the world's largest comics publisher.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published April 1952 by Dell Publishing Co.; 36 pages, full color.
- Part of the Walter Lantz New Funnies ongoing series, which ran from issue #109 (1946) through #288 (1962) before Dell and Western Publishing parted ways.
- The series originated as The Funnies (1936), transitioned to New Funnies with #65 (July 1942), and was retitled Walter Lantz New Funnies with #109 (March 1946), making issue #182 part of a title with over two decades of continuous publication history.
- Typical contents for issues in this run featured Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, Oswald the Rabbit, and Homer Pigeon — the four principal Lantz characters who anchored the anthology from around issue #127 onward.
- Homer Pigeon, one of the regular features, had debuted in comics with New Funnies #83 and became one of the four core rotating stars from issue #127 on.
- Issue #182 was published just months before the launch of the dedicated Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker solo series (beginning late 1952 with issue #16, reflecting earlier Four Color appearances), marking the anthology's final stretch as Woody's primary ongoing comic home.
- Stories from this era of Walter Lantz New Funnies were subsequently reprinted in later Gold Key and Western Publishing Woody Woodpecker issues through the 1960s and beyond.
- The Dell–Western Publishing production model, under which this issue was made, had Dell financing and distributing while Western Publishing handled writing, art, and production — an arrangement that supported a line selling tens of millions of copies monthly at its early-1950s peak.
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