Scooby Doo, Where Are You? #1

History

When Gold Key's Scooby-Doo license expired after its thirtieth issue in early 1975, Charlton Comics — the Derby, Connecticut publisher known for its high-volume, low-overhead production model — acquired the Hanna-Barbera rights and launched this new series with an April 1975 cover date. The issue was edited by George Wildman, with interior and cover art almost certainly by Bill Williams (credits on the Charlton run were largely unsigned, and GCD attributes them to Williams with a question mark), and scripting attributed to house workhorse Joe Gill, one of the most prolific writers in comics history who served as Charlton's primary staff scripter for roughly three decades. A text story, 'The Bobcat's Flying Lesson,' was contributed by Michael J. Pellowski and is the one signed credit in the issue.

Trivia · 7 facts

• The issue contains three comic stories — 'Come Stay Awhile…Like Forever!' (the gang trapped in a castle by Dr. Frankenstone), 'Who's Laughing in the Fun House?' (spies vs. Shaggy and Scooby at an amusement park), and 'Custard's Next-to-Last Stand' (the Mystery Machine caught in a cavalry battle) — plus a two-page illustrated text story by Michael J. Pellowski.
• Charlton acquired the Scooby-Doo comics license directly from Gold Key Comics, whose own run had ended with issue #30 in February 1975, making this issue the immediate successor in the continuous publication history of the property.
• Art throughout the issue is attributed (without official credit) to Bill Williams, who served as the principal visual interpreter of the Charlton Scooby-Doo series; managing editor George Wildman oversaw the run.
• Scripting is attributed to Joe Gill, Charlton's legendary in-house writer whom comics historians consider among the most prolific scripters the industry has ever produced — he routinely wrote an estimated 100–125 pages of comics per week.
• All five core Mystery Inc. characters — Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley — appear across the issue's stories, maintaining full cast continuity from the Gold Key era.
• The entire Charlton run was later reprinted by Harvey Comics between 1992 and 1993, confirming the stories' ongoing commercial utility and giving this issue's content a documented second publishing life.
• Later issues in the same Charlton run featured early work by future Marvel artist Mike Zeck (issue #4 text story illustrations), placing this first issue at the start of a run with minor historical connections to the broader Bronze Age talent pool.

Cast · 6 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Scooby Doo, Where Are You?