In fact, there's little to tie Zane Grey to even the early, syndicated newspaper days. The character seems to have actually been created by Stephen Slesinger, who merely licensed the Grey name. However, Grey's son was known to have been a more active collaborator.

By the time of this solo title, the connection to Grey or even Slesinger was tenuous at best. It was, by now, an original work of writer Gaylord Du Bois and various artists who had never worked on the newspaper strip. In fact, the solo title is the only part of the franchise, other than the film, which eventually dropped the Zane Grey name entirely. At issue #21, it became, simply, King of the Royal Mounted. .