Lance (comic strip)
Lance was an American comic strip notable as the last of the full-page strips. Created and self-syndicated by artist Warren Tufts, it ran from June 5, 1955, to May 29, 1960. Publication history. "Lance" premiered on Sunday, June 5, 1955, launching in approximately 100 newspapers. The strip was self-syndicated by artist Warren Tufts, creator of the 1949-1955 strip "Casey Ruggles". Originally formatted like "Prince Valiant", with text in captions but minus word balloons, it eventually switched to using word balloons. The last full page was #85. After that, the strip appeared in half  page and tab formats. A daily strip began January 14, 1957 and lasted at least until February 15, 1958. Tufts' "Casey Ruggles" was referenced when Ruggles made a brief appearance in the daily strip. The final "Lance" strip was #261, published May 29, 1960. Characters and story. "Lance" starred U.S. cavalry officer Lance St. Lorne, stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in the mid-19th century. In tales of settling the Old West frontier, the character crossed paths with such figures as Kit Carson and others. Comics historian Don Markstein said the strip was "characterized by high-quality stories and art, but  also by historical accuracy. Unlike, say, "Lucky Luke", when Lance met someone who had really lived, that person was as old as he'd actually have been at the time, and in circumstances congruent with the known course of the person's life." Recognition. Comics critic Bill Blackbeard rated "Lance" "the best of the page-high adventure strips undertaken after the 1930s". Reprints. The American Comics Archive reprinted "Lance" in its "Big Fun" comics magazine. "Big Fun" #5, devoted solely to "Lance", reprinted Sundays and dailies from June 5, 1955, through August 20, 1957. "Comics Revue" had "Lance" as a  cover feature on several issues. The series was completely reprinted with restoration by Manuel Caldas in Portugal (four volumes), Spain (four volumes), Germany (five volumes), and Norway (a four volume edition and a one volume edition) in their respective languages. A four-volume Serbian edition was published by Makondo in 2015. A complete English language reprint of the strip was published in 2018–2019 by Classic Comics Press.