Photo Cover • Early Standalone Issue • Classic TV Western in Comic Form
The Cartwrights ride again in this early Dell BONANZA issue — one of the first solo-numbered comics spun off from the hit NBC television series. Published in 1962, this photo-cover installment captures the peak pop-culture era of the show: Adam, Little Joe, Ben, and Hoss on the porch of the Ponderosa, ready to track down trouble on the frontier.
📚 Contents
Cover: Full-color cast photo (Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker)
“The Trail Runs East” — 16-page main story
Script: Gaylord Du Bois
Art: Tom Gill
Horse thieves, false trails, and open-range justice as the Cartwrights ride to clear a wrongfully accused man.
“A Shot in the Dark” — 16-page backup
Script: Gaylord Du Bois
Art: Tom Gill
A nighttime ambush pulls the family into a tense hunt through the Nevada desert.
“Robber’s Roost” — 1-page historical feature
Fact-based frontier lore tied to the show’s setting.
“Dr. Carlos Montezuma” — 1-page back-cover comic bio
The remarkable true story of a Yavapai-Apache child sold into slavery who became a pioneering Native American physician and activist.
🔎 Notes for Collectors
TV photo covers from this period are increasingly sought after — especially clean copies with strong gloss & uncreased images.
Dell’s Bonanza books are printed on higher-grade paper than typical newsstand Westerns of the era, so surviving examples present well when kept flat.
📝 Maj. Picto’s Grading Notes
VG+ (4.5) — Clean, vivid front cover with strong color and full photo clarity. Light edge wear, mild handling wrinkles, and faint pencil date notation at top margin. Staples tight, interior pages creamy with no brittling. Back cover shows light smudging from handling but no moisture staining or tears. Solid mid-grade copy — ideal for fans of early TV Western collectibles.
💡 Why It Matters
Before comics chased superheroes, Westerns were the American myth machine. BONANZA stands as one of the longest-running and most syndicated shows in TV history — and these Dell issues capture it at the cultural height of 1960s frontier nostalgia. Perfect crossover piece for TV collectors, Western comic fans, or anyone hunting clean photo-covers.
Photo Cover • Early Standalone Issue • Classic TV Western in Comic Form
The Cartwrights ride again in this early Dell BONANZA issue — one of the first solo-numbered comics spun off from the hit NBC television series. Published in 1962, this photo-cover installment captures the peak pop-culture era of the show: Adam, Little Joe, Ben, and Hoss on the porch of the Ponderosa, ready to track down trouble on the frontier.
📚 Contents
Cover: Full-color cast photo (Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker)
“The Trail Runs East” — 16-page main story
Script: Gaylord Du Bois
Art: Tom Gill
Horse thieves, false trails, and open-range justice as the Cartwrights ride to clear a wrongfully accused man.
“A Shot in the Dark” — 16-page backup
Script: Gaylord Du Bois
Art: Tom Gill
A nighttime ambush pulls the family into a tense hunt through the Nevada desert.
“Robber’s Roost” — 1-page historical feature
Fact-based frontier lore tied to the show’s setting.
“Dr. Carlos Montezuma” — 1-page back-cover comic bio
The remarkable true story of a Yavapai-Apache child sold into slavery who became a pioneering Native American physician and activist.
🔎 Notes for Collectors
TV photo covers from this period are increasingly sought after — especially clean copies with strong gloss & uncreased images.
Dell’s Bonanza books are printed on higher-grade paper than typical newsstand Westerns of the era, so surviving examples present well when kept flat.
📝 Maj. Picto’s Grading Notes
VG+ (4.5) — Clean, vivid front cover with strong color and full photo clarity. Light edge wear, mild handling wrinkles, and faint pencil date notation at top margin. Staples tight, interior pages creamy with no brittling. Back cover shows light smudging from handling but no moisture staining or tears. Solid mid-grade copy — ideal for fans of early TV Western collectibles.
💡 Why It Matters
Before comics chased superheroes, Westerns were the American myth machine. BONANZA stands as one of the longest-running and most syndicated shows in TV history — and these Dell issues capture it at the cultural height of 1960s frontier nostalgia. Perfect crossover piece for TV collectors, Western comic fans, or anyone hunting clean photo-covers.
