Western Publishing was a large publishing company based in Racine, Wisconsin, with editorial offices in both New York and Los
Angeles. The company no longer exists. Mattel bought Western in 1982, then sold it off in 1984. Under new ownership, the company was renamed Golden Books Family Entertainment and focused on children's books. Golden Books Family Entertainment was bought out by Random House in 2001.
Most people aren't familiar with the name Western Publishing, because it published under a number of different names. Western's publishing lines included Golden Books, Whitman Publishing, and Golden Guide. It also published comic books, as Dell Comics, Gold Key Comics and Whitman Comics, and produced a comprehensive line of Golden coloring books. In the early 1990s, Golden Books Family Entertainment also released a line of CDs and cassettes under the name Golden Music.
Western's one of their most famous line, Turok Son of Stone, began publishing in 1954. A total of 130 comics were released from 1954 all trough April 1, 1982. Many of the Turok Son of Stone titles have been kept in print in various forms by Valiant Comics and Dark Horse Comics.