Key Publications was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 comic-book company founded by Stanley P. Morse that published under the imprints Aragon Magazines, Gillmor Magazines, Medal Comics, Media Publications, S. P. M. Publications, Stanmor Publications, and Timor Publications.

History

Stanley P. Morse's Key Publications, based variously at 1775 Broadway

Broadway (New York City)

Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...

, 280 Madison Avenue, 175 Fifth Avenue, and 261 Fifth Avenue in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, published comic books from 1951 to 1956. The first, a horror

Horror comics

Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. Horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to...

 anthology titled Mister Mystery, under the Media Publications imprint, ran 19 issues cover-dated September 1951 to October 1954, and featured much early work by the art team of Ross Andru

Ross Andru

Ross Andru was an American comic book artist and editor. He is best known for his work on Amazing Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Flash and Metal Men....

 and Mike Esposito

Mike Esposito (comics)

Mike Esposito , who sometimes used the pseudonyms Mickey Demeo, Mickey Dee, Michael Dee, and Joe Gaudioso, was an American comic book artist whose work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics and others spanned the 1950s to the 2000s...

.

Wrote historian Lawrence Watt-Evans,
During the 1950s boom in horror comics

Horror comics

Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. Horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to...

, Morse "produced several acutely vile horror comics", wrote one historian, and "some of the grossest and most vile" of the time, concurred another. Interviewed for a 2008 book on 1950s horror comics, Morse said, "You did what you had to do — what moved 'em off the racks. ... I don't know what the hell I published. I never knew. I never read the things. I never cared."

Artist Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko

Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....

, the future co-creator of Spider-Man

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

, began professionally illustrating comic books at Key in early 1953, illustrating writer Bruce Hamilton's science-fiction story "Stretching Things" for Key's Stanmor Publications, which sold the story to Ajax/Farrell, where it finally found publication in Fantastic Fears #5 (Feb. 1954). Ditko's first published work was his second professional story, the six-page "Paper Romance" in Daring Love #1 (Oct. 1953), published by Key's Gillmor Magazines.

Aragon

• Battle Fire #1-4, #6 (April 1955 - May 1956; no issue #5)
• Mister Mystery (see Media, below)
• Mutiny #1-3 (Oct. 1954 - Feb. 1955)
• Navy Task Force #1-6, #8 (Dec. 1954 - April 1956; no issue #7)
• Weird Tales of the Future (see Key, below)

Gillmor

• Action Adventure Comics #2-4 (June-Oct. 1955)
• Climax #1-2 (July-Sept. 1955)
• Daring Love #1 (Oct. 1953) / '"Radiant Love #2-6 (Dec. 1953 - Aug. 1954)
• Real Adventure Comics #1 (April 1955)
• Super Fun #1 (Jan. 1956)
• Weird Mysteries #1-12 (Oct. 1952 - Sept. 1954)
• Western Rough Riders #1-4 (Nov. 1954 - May 1955)

Key Publications / Medal Comics

• Flying Aces #1-5 (July 1955 - May 1956; Medal Comics imprint, #3-5)
• Hector Comics #1-3 (Nov. 1953 - March 1954)
• Navy Patrol #1-4 (May-Nov. 1955; Medal Comics imprint, #4)
• Peter Cottontail #1-2 (Jan.-March 1954)
• Peter Cottontail Three Dimensional Comics #1 (Feb. 1954)
• Prize Mystery #1-3 (May-Sept. 1955)
• Silver Kid Western #1-5 (Oct. 1954 - July 1955)
• Tender Romance #1-2 (Dec. 1953 - Feb. 1954) / Ideal Romance #3-8 (April 1954 - Feb. 1955) / Diary Confessions #9-12, #14 (May 1955 - April 1956; no issue #13; Medal Comics imprint, #14)
• Weird Chills #1-3 (July-Nov. 1954)
• Weird Tales of the Future #1-8 (March 1952 - July 1953; S. P. M. #1-2, 4 at least; Aragon #6 at least)

S. P. M

• Junior Hopp Comics #1-3 (Jan.-July 1952)
• Weird Tales of the Future (see Key, above)

Stanmor

• Battle Attack #1-8 (Oct. 1954 - Dec. 1955)
• Battle Cry #1-20 (May 1952 - Sept. 1955)
• Battle Squadron #1-5 (April 1955 - Dec. 1955)
• Pete the Panic #1 (Nov. 1955)
• Warpath #1-3 (Nov. 1954 - April 1955)

Timor

• Algie #1-3 (Dec. 1953 - April 1954)
• Animal Adventures #1-3 (Dec. 1953 - April 1954)
• Blazing Western #1-5 (Jan.-Sept. 1954)
• Crime Detector #1-5 (Jan.-July 1954)