Abbott & Costello #1

History

The series launched in February 1968 as a direct tie-in to The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show, a syndicated animated series that had debuted on September 9, 1967, produced jointly by Hanna-Barbera, RKO General, and Jomar Productions — notably the last professional project on which Bud Abbott himself supplied his own voice. Charlton assigned editor Dick Giordano, who had served as the company's editor-in-chief since 1965 and had championed its 'Action Heroes' superhero line, to oversee the new humor title; Giordano departed for DC Comics later in 1968, and several key writers including Steve Skeates and Denny O'Neil followed him, yet Skeates contributed scripts to the Charlton book during this transitional period. All interior art and covers for the first issue were handled by humor specialist Henry Scarpelli, establishing the visual template the series would maintain across its 22-issue run through August 1971.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published February 10, 1968 by Charlton Comics — the first issue of a series that ran for 22 issues, concluding in August 1971.
• The comic is a tie-in to The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show, a Hanna-Barbera/RKO General/Jomar Productions animated series that aired in syndication from September 9, 1967 to June 1, 1968.
• All stories and cover art in issue #1 were written by Steve Skeates and illustrated by Henry Scarpelli; GoCollect also credits Richard 'Grass' Green as an artist contributor to the issue.
• The issue was edited by Dick Giordano, who was Charlton's editor-in-chief at the time and would depart for DC Comics later in 1968, taking Skeates and Denny O'Neil with him.
• Issue #1 contains multiple short stories, including 'Miss Understanding,' 'How Secret Is My Agent' (in which Abbott's brain ends up in an ape's body), 'The Private World of Sleuth Shamus,' and 'Jefferson Blimp — His Cause and Cure!' (in which Costello becomes a folk-rock singer), plus a Tarzan parody and a text story — all by Skeates.
• The issue runs 36 pages and includes an Abbott and Costello pin-up poster by Scarpelli.
• The animated series the comic ties in to was notable for featuring Bud Abbott voicing his own character — the last professional work Abbott ever performed — while Stan Irwin voiced Lou Costello, who had died in 1959.
• The series is classified as Silver Age (1956–1969) by collectors and is categorized under the humor/satire genre, representing Charlton's ongoing interest in licensed comedy properties alongside its more prominent genre titles.

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