Jackie Jokers #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJackie Jokers #1 (March 1973) is the debut appearance of the entire Jackie Jokers cast — Jackie himself, his parents Jerry and Jill Jokers, rival cousin Rhett De Starr, girlfriend Candy, and Uncle Trickster — making it the foundational issue for one of Harvey Comics' few attempts to expand the Richie Rich universe with a stand-alone star. The title was Harvey's first sustained experiment with a show-business comedy concept, built around pop-culture parody at a time when most Harvey books leaned on pure slapstick or fantasy. Although the solo series folded quickly, this issue seeded a character who would anchor a long-running companion title (Richie Rich and Jackie Jokers, 1973–1982) and eventually cross over into animation, making #1 the origin point for everything that followed in Jackie's publishing life.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The book was produced under the Harvey Hits Inc. imprint and edited by Sid Jacobson, who oversaw much of Harvey's stable during this era. Cover and interior art is attributed to Ernie Colón, the Puerto Rican-born artist who had been working largely uncredited within the Harvey bullpen since the late 1950s and was, by 1973, one of the publisher's most prolific illustrators across Richie Rich, Casper, and related titles. Harvey apparently committed enough to the concept to prepare material and advertising for issues #5 and #6 before the solo series was quietly cancelled after issue #4, suggesting the cancellation was a sudden editorial or sales decision rather than a planned conclusion.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Jackie Jokers, the child stand-up comedian billed as 'The Clown Prince of Show Biz' within Harvey Comics.
- Also the first appearance of Jackie's full supporting cast: parents Jerry and Jill Jokers, competitive cousin Rhett De Starr, girlfriend Candy, and Uncle Trickster.
- Cover and interior art by Ernie Colón, one of Harvey's primary house artists of the 1960s–70s; some pages are noted as 'attributed' rather than fully documented due to Harvey's long-standing policy of publishing work uncredited.
- Published March 1973 by Harvey Hits Inc.; 32 pages, anthology format with multiple short stories including 'Ride On!', 'Stand-In', 'The Frankenstein Caper', and the text story 'The Hat Trick'.
- The solo Jackie Jokers series ran only four issues (March–September 1973) before cancellation; material for planned issues #5 and #6 was completed but never published.
- The character was immediately repositioned into the companion title Richie Rich and Jackie Jokers (launched late 1973), which ran until 1982 and became the primary venue for ongoing Jackie stories including parodies of contemporary TV shows and films.
- Storylines in this debut issue already established the series' signature comic mode: impersonation-gone-wrong plots (Jackie's impression of a famous mobster gets him kidnapped by real criminals) and show-business satire (Jackie's first appearance on the in-universe 'Johnny Larson' show).
- Jackie Jokers later became the last new character introduced in the Hanna-Barbera animated Richie Rich series (1980–1984), appearing in three episodes during the show's fourth and final season.
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