Walter Lantz Cartoons Appraisal

Walter Lantz New Funnies #142 (Dell Comics, December 1948)

This is a vintage Golden Age comic book published by Dell Comics, specifically 'Walter Lantz New Funnies' from December, holding a 10-cent original price point. The cover art features iconic Walter Lantz characters including Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, Oswald the Rabbit, and Homer Pigeon engaged in a basketball-themed scene. Physically, the item is a standard comic book format consisting of 52 newsprint interior pages with a slightly heavier paper cover. The color palette on the front is vibrant but shows significant signs of age-related darkening and oxidation. Notable condition issues are severe, including heavy edge wear, significant chipping along the right-hand side of the cover, and prominent spider-web creasing across the entire surface. The spine shows significant stress marks and potential splitting. There is visible staining/foxing in the upper margin and rounding of the corners. The manufacturing details identify this as a Dell 'A Pledge of Quality' comic, a hallmark of the 1940s-50s era. Despite the heavy wear and 'Fair' to 'Good' condition grade, it remains a culturally significant piece of mid-century animation and comic history, representing the Golden Age of licensed character media.