The Dick Van Dyke Show debuted on CBS on October 3, 1961.  It was not an instant hit and was actually (briefly) cancelled after its first, uneven season.  But soon its producers got their act together and secured a better time slot and it became one of the all-time great television comedies.  America couldn't wait to tune in each week and spend time with Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), their son Ritchie (Larry Matthews), their neighbors Millie and Jerry (Anne-Morgan Guilbert and Jerry Paris), Rob's fellow comedy writers Buddy and Sally (Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie), long-suffering producer Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) and egomaniacal star-boss Alan Brady (Carl Reiner).  And in-between weekly episodes, one could always pick up an issue of the comic book published by Western Publishing Company under its Gold Key imprint.

Western Publishing had a long history with the company that produced The Dick Van Dyke Show, a production entity run by Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard.  Under its Dell imprint, Western had published comic books of The Danny Thomas Show and The Andy Griffith Show, both hits that came from the Thomas-Leonard stable.  Under its Gold Key logo, Western would later publish the comic book of another hit Thomas-Leonard show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.  The comic book based on The Dick Van Dyke Show was the biggest success of the four, lasting longer than the other three put together.

The first issue of Gold Key's version of The Dick Van Dyke Show went on sale in March of 1963 and eleven more followed for a total of twelve.  Today, though the shows are constantly rerun, the comic book is largely forgotten and there are those who claim it never existed.  It is not mentioned in any history, either of the TV show or comic books.  So here, as a public service, is a rundown of its dozen memorable issues which feature the "lost" adventures of Rob Petrie and his friends.  Click on the covers below to find out more about each issue.

Click here to read about the FIRST ISSUE