Lobo, No. 1: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Lobo, Number 1, December 1965 edition, published by Dell Publishing Company. This first issue was written by DJ Arneson and illustrated by Tony Tallarico and was the first comic book series with an African-American lead character. The front cover of the magazine is predominately yellow, red, and blue. The top third of the cover features the comic’s masthead in white outlined red, stylized text that reads [Lobo] set against a yellow background. The publisher’s name and the comic book’s number are printed in a blue and purple box the top left corner with light blue and black text that reads [DELL / 12¢ / 12-439-512] and the date below the box in black text [DECEMBER]. In the top left corner is black text that reads [COLLECTOR’S ISSUE]. The right side of the front cover is dominated by an illustration of the comic book’s titular character, Lobo. Lobo is depicted in all blue with a brown ammunition belt and brown boots. He is facing the viewer with a pistol drawn in proper his right hand. Behind him is his red shadow. In the background are additional illustrations of a reward poster for Lobo, Lobo on his horse named Midnight, and Lobo in an Old West gunfight. Text on the left side of the front cover reads [BRANDED / FOR LIFE / AN HONEST MAN… / BLAMED FOR A / CRIME / HE DID NOT COMMIT!] at the center and [READ THE FIRST / DRAMATIC / ADVENTURES / OF LOBO / A FUGITIVE ON / THE SIDE OF / THE LAW] on the bottom. The back cover features a large yellow order form for the American Specialty Company. The interior pages are off-white with color illustrations, advertisements, and text. The comic book is thirty-two (32) pages and is staple-bound.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: December 1965
• Written by: DJ Arneson, American, 1935 - 2018
• Illustrated by: Tony Tallarico, American, born 1933
• Published by: Dell Publishing Co., American, 1929 - 1974
• Type: comic books
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product) with metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Closed): 10 1/4 × 6 15/16 × 1/8 in. (26 × 17.7 × 0.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Open): 10 1/4 × 13 7/8 × 1/2 in. (26 × 35.3 × 1.2 cm)
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American West
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Comics and graphic novels
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Race relations
• Topic: Violence
• Object number: 2019.28.24.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Dell Publishing Co. 1965 Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.