Sparkler Comics (1941 2nd Series) comic books 1953

Cover by Ernie Bushmiller. Stories and art by Ernie Bushmiller, Rudolph Dirks, Warren Tufts and Ernest G. Osborne. United's anthology featured reprints of early comic strips, including Casey Ruggles, Captain and the Kids and Nancy. When a wave of cattle-rustling, highway robbery, and murder sweeps across California, the fearsome outlaw chief Juan Soto is believed to be behind it. Casey Ruggles sets out to track down the killer who is feared even by his own men. The Captain's quiet day of fishing is disrupted by the Kids and the sudden appearance of a submarine. The Family Workshop; Nancy; Captain and the Kids; Casey Ruggles; Strange as It Seems. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Ernie Bushmiller. Stories and art by Ernie Bushmiller, Rudolph Dirks, Warren Tufts and Ernest G. Osborne. United's anthology featured reprints of early comic strips, including Casey Ruggles, Captain and the Kids and Nancy. Casey Ruggles, the sheriff, and a posse track the fearsome outlaw Juan Soto to his hideout in the wastelands of the Diablo Range. But Soto isn't giving up without a fight. The Captain catches up to the pirates and tries to retrieve his gold from the ocean floor, but the Kids aren't helping with their constant pranks. Plus a PSA for the Junior Safety Institute. The Family Workshop; Nancy; Captain and the Kids; Casey Ruggles; Bill. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Ernie Bushmiller. Stories and art by Ernie Bushmiller, Rudolph Dirks, Warren Tufts and Ernest G. Osborne. United's anthology featured reprints of early comic strips, including Casey Ruggles, Captain and the Kids and Nancy. Using an old Spanish land grant as legal backing, gold miners claim the entire city of Los Angeles as their stake. Casey Ruggles must figure out how to evict them before they turn the whole town into a giant pit. When King Bongo and his beautiful niece come to stay with the Captain, they become the latest targets of the Kids' pranks. Plus a PSA about polio research, a sign of its times. The Family Workshop; Nancy; Captain and the Kids; Casey Ruggles. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Ernie Bushmiller. Stories and art by Ernie Bushmiller, Rudolph Dirks, Warren Tufts and Ernest G. Osborne. United's anthology featured reprints of early comic strips, including Casey Ruggles, Captain and the Kids and Nancy. The rough-and-tumble mining town of Growlersburgh is lawless, except for Marshal Casey Ruggles. But that all changes after Preacher Pinkerly rides into town to spread the gospel. King Bongo's young daughter becomes an accomplice to the Kids' pranks, then drives a wedge between Hans and Fritz. The Family Workshop; Nancy; Captain and the Kids; Casey Ruggles; Strange as It Seems. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Cover by Ernie Bushmiller. Stories and art by Ernie Bushmiller, Rudolph Dirks, Warren Tufts and Ernest G. Osborne. United's anthology featured reprints of early comic strips, including Casey Ruggles, Captain and the Kids and Nancy. Preacher Pinkerly falls ill, and when gold dust is found on his church construction site, gold hunters destroy the church. A stranger threatens to cut off the Captain's beard unless Mama retrieves the king's crown from a crocodile. Plus an offbeat activity page; readers are invited to supply faces for Hans and Fritz in a Captain and the Kids strip. The Family Workshop; Nancy; Divot Diggers; Captain and the Kids; Are You a Cartoonist?; Casey Ruggles. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.