Gladstone Comic Book (50th Anniversary - 1987)

The Gladstone Golden Anniversary comic book/magazine was published in September, 1987 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The issue included not only the original Hank Porter Sunday paper comic strip but also articles on the film, a fold-out poster and two Panini sticker packets. Original cover price: $2.95 (USD).

Front Cover

Table of Contents

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The Making of the Cover (artist Ron Dias) and The Many Faces of Snow White...

Three Faces of Snow White and The Gustaf Tenggren Gallery...

What Ever Happened to Prince Buckethead?...

See the original Hank Porter Sunday comic strip in its entirety in an earlier post.

Rear endpaper and back cover ads...

Material copyright Gladstone/Disney. All images from personal collection.

Gladstone Poster (50th Anniversary - 1987)

The collectible fold-out poster which came with the 1987 Gladstone comic. It features the Ron Dias artwork from the front cover.

Fold-out Poster. Measures approx. 21" x 15 1/2".

Overstreet Comic Book Guide (50th Anniversary - 1987)

The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is considered the authoritative publication on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing. Over its many years, the annual guide book itself has become a collectible item due in part to the dynamic artwork that distinguishes the front cover. Almost exclusively, this artwork has been the domain of the superhero. Featured have been such prototypical characters as Superman, Supergirl, Batman, Batgirl, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and a host of other comic book icons.

Yet, in the 1987-88 publication, Snow White broke with convention and made it onto the cover, joined by Mickey, Donald and the forest animals. The artwork for this, the 17th edition of the guide, was created by artist Ron Dias (whose work is seen in the previous post on commemorative posters and also on the cover of the Gladstone comic).

Edition 17, ISBN: 0876377460; copyright Robert M. Overstreet, New York: The House of Collectibles, 1987.
First Printing Cover. Image via jbs15.

Two versions of this book were produced, the first without a UPC code (above) was for the direct sales market, i.e., comics shops. The front cover displayed the film title and "Golden Anniversary" tagline in yellow while the "Comic Book" text is red. The second version (below) had a UPC code and was released to the newsstand and new bookstore market. This edition flip-flopped the cover's yellow/red color scheme.

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All page scans from personal collection unless noted.

The back cover promoted the commemorative Gladstone comic which was released after July 1, 1987.

Back Cover with UPC Label.

In addition to the usual comic images and pricing information...

...this edition also contained a page about cover artist Ron Dias. He is shown working on the 50th Anniversary poster from the previous post.

The feature article is a wonderful piece by Terry Taylor on Fifty Years of Collectibles from Snow White. Some great photos...

And finally, as might be expected, the book also contains numerous ads from comic book sellers, buyers and the like. Here's one from an animation artwork dealer.

Thirteen more years would pass before another non-superhero character would be allowed back on the cover of the Overstreet Guide.

Snow White Commemorative Posters (50th Anniversary - 1987)

Animator/artist Ron Dias was commissioned by Disney to create this special 50th anniversary commemorative poster. The artwork shows Snow White waving goodbye to the Dwarfs as they head off from their cottage. Measures 28” x 22”. A number of the posters that are still available through resellers have been personally signed by Ron as seen in this instance below (signature to the right of foot bridge).

An example of the scene lacking the signature...

Learn more about Ron Dias and see his other Snow White Golden Anniversary artwork in the next few posts.

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Two Snow White "50th" posters were issued by McDonalds. Available for purchase at the participating fast food restaurants, the proceeds went to support the Ronald McDonald charities.

The first design was patterned after the official theatrical one-sheet and features the Princess in the pink dress. The second highlights the Dwarfs as they return home to Snow White at the cottage. Both posters measure 35" x 23". Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Children's Charities logos are printed along the bottom.

McDonald's Posters from personal collection.