Throughout the decades King Kong has been featured in numerous comic book publications from numerous publishers.
RKO comic strips In 1933, RKO (the studio that produced King Kong and The Son of Kong) created comic strips for each respective film in their pressbooks. These strips were published by newspapers across the country weeks leading up to each film's release as part of a pre-release publicity campaign and were illustrated by Glenn Cravath. When The Son of Kong strip was published in Spain, it featured additional artwork not seen in the American strip by Tomas Porto. These were published in Movies Celebs (Famous Movies) #12 by Editorial Swan in 1942.
The King Kong Show A mini-story (called "Kong Joins the Circus") which was based on the King Kong from The King Kong Show was published in the one-shot comic America's Best TV Comics by Marvel Comics in 1967.
In Japan, King Kong appeared in various Mangas that featured comic stories based on The King Kong Show which was produced in Japan by Toei. These issues were published throughout the show's run in that country and featured not only adaptations of various episodes but also original stories. These comics appeared in issues of Mangas published by Kodansha such as Shonen Magazine, the seasonal spinoff Bessatsu Shonen, and Bokura magazine. As well Hikari No Kuni Comics from Japan published a three volume comic magazine based on the series.
Mexican King Kong comics
The first comic series from Mexico that featured the character was a serial that was in the "Pepin" series by Editorial Juventud. The strip ran from #118 (May 26, 1938) to #136 (July 28, 1938). The heroes in the strip battle the evil Queen Zanya who plans on sacrificing the beautiful Luna to King Kong.
From 1965 to 1969 a Mexican comic company called Editorial Orizaba published a series based on King Kong. The series was published with fully painted color covers, but with sepia and white interior artwork. A new issue was published every Wednesday and the series would run 185 issues. In 1972 the series was reprinted (only 118 issues) by a company called Ediciones Joma.
In 1980 the series was reprinted yet again by a company called Ediciones Mexico. For these reprints the series was renamed The Gorilla (El Gorilla) for the first 15 issues before being renamed to The Gorilla of the Jungle (El Gorilla del la Selva) when a company called Nama took over publishing. The series ran to issue #131.
The next King Kong comic from Latin America was King Kong in the Microcosmos. The publisher of the series was Editorial America. It was published in 1979 and lasted roughly 35 issues. This comic was about a group of aliens who live in the Microcosmos that are facing a war on their planet. Searching for a warrior to help them in this war, they find a gorilla being chased by a group of hunters in the macro-world. They take the gorilla and some of the hunters to their planet. After reducing the gorilla and the others to enter their micro-world, they reversed the effects making the gorilla (now called King Kong) gigantic. Kong would help them win the war.
Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics, a subsidiary of Western Publishing, published an adaptation in 1968, drawn by Alberto Giolitti and Alberto Giolitti with a cover painting by George Wilson (other credits are unknown), while Golden Press also released the comic (with the Whitman logo) as part of a treasury edition release. This oversized comic was commissioned by Merian C. Cooper and was based on the 1932 novelization by Delos W. Lovelace of which Cooper owned the copyright rather than the 1933 film. It was reprinted a few times upon the release of the 1976 remake, not just in the U.S by Golden Press, but other countries as well, translated into Dutch, German, Norwegian, and Swedish editions.
King Kong the Robot In 1964, the British comic company IPC Media created a character in the pages of Valiant Comics called Mytek the Mighty. This character was a giant robot ape that was built by a Professor Boyce. He appeared in various issues published by IPC well into the 1970s. When these comic strips were published in France from 1972–1974, the character's name was changed to King Kong the Robot. When the 32-issue comic was reprinted as various collections it was renamed Super King Kong.
Monster Comics Monster Comics, an imprint of Fantagraphics Books, produced a six-issue black and white comic book in 1991, adapted and illustrated by Don Simpson, and authorized by Merian C. Cooper's estate.
It is not, in fact, based on the 1933 film, but instead on the 1932 novelization by Delos W. Lovelace, and thus differs from the movie in numerous places. Notably, the ship is called the Vastator instead of the Venture and the characters of Charlie the Chinese cook and Second Mate Briggs are absent, replaced by a character from Lovelace's novel named Lumpy. The comic also contains several scenes not found in the film, including the infamous "spider pit" scenes and extra encounters with dinosaurs by the search party. Other notable changes include the addition of a character totally original to this comic, Denham's assistant Wally, and an extended sequence of several dinosaurs joining Kong in attacking the native village.
Issues
Part 1: Denham's Quest with cover by Dave Stevens. Moviemaker Carl Denham hires a down-on-her-luck woman named Ann Darrow to be the star of his latest picture. During the voyage to their destination aboard the Vastator, Ann falls in love with first mate Jack Driscoll, and is given as a sacrifice to the god of Skull Island, a giant gorilla-like ape known as Kong. The cover by Stevens depicts Ann cupped in Kong's palm. Part 2: Kong's Island! with cover by Mark Schultz and Tom Luth. Driscoll, Denham, and some of the Vastator's crew mount a rescue operation to save Ann. Instead, they find themselves fighting for their lives against Skull Island's population of fierce dinosaurs. The party fights heroically onward. Meanwhile, Kong battles a herd of dinosaurs, and then the search party catches up to him while crossing a log bridge over a chasm. The cover by Schultz and Luth shows Kong shaking the men off the log (even though this does not actually occur until the next issue). Part 3: Death in Devil's Chasm! with cover by William Stout. Kong shakes most of the sailors off the log bridge and into the chasm, where they are eaten by a swarm of giant spiders. Kong's efforts to catch Driscoll are interrupted when Ann is attacked by a large meat-eating dinosaur, an Allosaurus. Kong fights and kills the dinosaur, then picks up Ann and moves on with Driscoll in pursuit. Denham, meanwhile, is sent back for reinforcements. Stout's cover shows Kong battling a Tyrannosaurus (when it is clearly an Allosaurus in the actual story). Part 4: Beauty and the Beast! with cover by William Stout. Kong fights and kills a giant python en route to his lair atop Skull Mountain, then settles down to begin toying with his new "bride". He strips her of her clothes, leaving only her bra and panties, but is interrupted when a Pteranodon attacks. While Kong is busy with the pterosaur, Driscoll arrives and he and Ann escape together. The cover by Stout shows Kong's battle with the Pteranodon. Part 5: The Wrath of Kong with cover by Al Williamson, Mark Schultz, and Tom Luth. Driscoll and Ann return to the native village, Denham and Captain Englehorn. Denham begins plotting to capture Kong alive, betting that he will come for Ann. He is proven right, as the giant gorilla, along with a swarm of dinosaurs, attacks the village. Kong and the other prehistoric beasts are brought down with a load of gas bombs, and Denham reveals his intention to take Kong back to New York. Possibly the oddest of all the covers, Williamson, Schultz, and Luth's cover shows Kong fighting with a Plesiosaurus. While this happened in the film, it not only does not occur in this issue, but is absent from the comic entirely. Part 6: The Eighth Wonder of the World with cover by Ken Steacy. Kong is revealed to the public in chains, but soon escapes, recaptures Ann, and runs amok throughout New York. He ultimately climbs to the top of the Empire State Building where he does battle with a squadron of military biplanes. He loses the battle, and falls to his death from the skyscraper, and Driscoll and Ann are reunited once more. Steacy's cover shows Kong fighting with the biplanes and includes the notation "For Obie!"
Dark Horse Comics In the 1990s, Dark Horse Comics was publishing comics based on popular movie monsters such as Alien, Predator, Gamera, and Godzilla. They wanted to base comics on King Kong as well. There were plans on doing a comic adaptation of the 1933 film, as well as pitting King Kong against the Aliens, the Predators and even the Rocketeer (in a story written by Dave Stevens). Furthermore, there were plans on producing a Tarzan vs. King Kong (a.k.a. Tarzan on Skull Island) story as well, by Frank Cho, but the problems over the complicated and muddled rights to the King Kong character killed these plans. Comic book artist and King Kong fan Arthur Adams, lamented years later in an interview published in the book Comics Gone Ape by Michael Eury: "Well we talked about that. The rights were a horrible mess. Dark Horse couldn't find a way to do it. Someone held rights for the music, someone for the movie, someone for the story, and were ready to sue each other whenever anyone wanted to do anything with it".Michael Eury. Comics Gone Ape. TwoMorrows Publishing. 2007. Pg.39
The above book has various sketches from the planned Tarzan vs. King Kong project that never materialized. The most Dark Horse was able to do was feature King Kong in a one-page segment in the one-shot comic Urban Legends, published in 1993, that dispels the dual ending myth from the film King Kong vs. Godzilla.
In 2005, Dark Horse Comics and DH Press were able to strike a deal with Universal to license and produce tie-in comic books in connection with King Kong. This included King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World, a direct comic book adaptation of the 2005 remake. This adaptation was planned to be a three-issue miniseries. While issue #1 was published, Dark Horse decided that instead to publish issues #2 and 3 on their own, they would publish them along with issue #1 again as a collected trade paperback in 2006. The art was done by Dustin Weaver and Dan Parsons, with colors by Michael Attiyeh, letters by Michael David Thomas, and cover by Weta Digital. They also published a mini-comic called Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World that was shipped with the various toys from the Playmates Toys toy line based on the film. As well, Dark Horse published a mini-comic called King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World Special Edition that was packaged with the Target Corporation exclusive DVD release of the film in 2006.
They also were able to strike a deal with Joe DeVito a year earlier, to publish an illustrated novel (in both hardcover and softcover editions with differing cover art) called Kong: King of Skull Island. This story, by Joe DeVito, was an authorized sequel to the original King Kong story, commissioned by Merian C. Cooper's estate.
Kong: King of Skull Island