Peter Pan's Four Color Treasure Chest

It was one of the heftiest comic books ever produced.  Topping out at a whopping 212 pages, Walt Disney's Peter Pan Treasure Chest, published by Dell Comics, was released in early 1953 to coincide with the debut of Disney's animated feature Peter Pan in theaters.  It cost a then allowance-draining fifty cents and has proven to be one of the rarer Disney comic books from that particular era.  Copies now fetch between $200-$300.

A full quarter of the book was devoted to a 54-page adaptation of the movie.  Two additional 20-page tales involved crossovers with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse respectively.  A 32-page story centering on Captain Hook and a search for buried treasure was loosely adapted from the classic 1942 comic Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold by Carl Barks and Jack Hannah.  Bubbles the Water Baby was a 12-page "story of the Mermaid Lagoon."  Mr. Smee and Nana were showcased in their own shorter stories while John and Michael were teamed for an Indian Adventure that filled sixteen pages.  Activity pages filled out the remainder of the book.

Mickey and Peter Pan from Walt Disney's Peter Pan Treasure Chest