Underdog #1

History

Underdog as a character was born out of advertising, not sequential art: W. Watts Biggers, Chet Stover, Treadwell Covington, and artist Joe Harris conceived him while managing the General Mills account at the New York ad agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample in 1959, before breaking off to form Total Television Productions and debuting the animated series on NBC on October 3, 1964. By the time Charlton acquired the comics license in 1970, Total Television had wound down original production after General Mills withdrew its sponsorship in 1969, meaning the comic arrived just as the show was fully transitioning to syndicated reruns — an ideal moment to capture nostalgia-hungry young readers. Charlton assigned Frank Johnson as writer-artist for the series, with Sal Gentile serving as editor, and the entire ten-issue Charlton run was produced in Charlton's characteristically fast, in-house production style from its Derby, Connecticut plant.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First comic book appearance of Underdog (Shoeshine Boy) and his supporting cast, including Sweet Polly Purebred and villain Simon Bar Sinister, who had previously existed only in animated form since the TV show's October 3, 1964 NBC debut.
• Published July 1970 by Charlton Comics (indicia publisher: Charlton Press Inc.), cover-priced at 15 cents; 36 pages, full color.
• The animated character was created by W. Watts Biggers, Chet Stover, Treadwell Covington, and artist Joe Harris — all former advertising executives at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample — through their studio Total Television Productions.
• Writer-artist Frank Johnson handled all primary interior art (pencils and inks), with lettering by Charlotte Jetter; editor was Sal Gentile.
• The lead story, 'Planet Zot,' is a comics adaptation of the animated TV episode 'Zot,' featuring the King of Zot, Princess Glissando, and villain Krosundel alongside the main cast.
• Additional contents in issue #1 include a secondary story ('Ringer Dinger,' in which Polly loses the ring concealing Underdog's Super Energy Pill), a 'Supersnoot' backup story ('The False Scent'), an Underdog pin-up page, coloring pages, and a coupon for membership in the official Underdog fan club.
• The Charlton series ran for 10 issues total (1970–1972), after which the license passed to Gold Key, which produced 22 further issues from 1975 to 1979; subsequent publishers included Spotlight (1987), Harvey (1993–1994), and American Mythology (2017–present).
• TV Guide later ranked Underdog #23 on its '50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time' list, and IGN ranked the animated series #74 on its Best 100 Animated Series list — underscoring the cultural weight behind the franchise that this comic first translated to print.

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