Wilbur #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeWilbur Comics #1 (1944) gave an ongoing series to a character who had actually beaten Archie Andrews into print — Wilbur Wilkin debuted in Zip Comics #18 in 1941, several months before Archie appeared in Pep Comics #22, making him the original MLJ teen-humor protagonist. The series matters as a window into MLJ/Archie's deliberate strategy of developing a stable of Archie-adjacent titles rather than relying solely on their breakout star, essentially proving that the publisher understood the teen-comedy genre had commercial depth beyond one character. Most significantly for comics history, the series served as the launch vehicle for Katy Keene, Bill Woggon's interactive fashion-model character who debuted in issue #5 and eventually anchored her own title for over a decade — meaning Wilbur Comics #1 is the direct ancestor of that entire creative lineage.
# Wilbur #1 This issue features two stories starring Wilbur Wilkin. "The Bus Boy" follows Wilbur as he works at a diner where a woman in a red dress causes chaos, resulting in Wilbur being kicked out of the bus and falling into the water. In "A Wilbur Short," Wilbur hears a radio announcement about making mucilage at home, attempts to create a year's supply, and causes a massive flood in his house when the mixture overflows into his bathtub. The issue concludes with Wilbur encountering beggars in elaborate costumes and being transported to a fantastical location with foreign architecture, where he must navigate encounters with mysterious figures and finds himself on rooftops above an exotic city.
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Wilbur Wilkin was originally created for Zip Comics #18 by writer Harvey Willard (whose name may have been a pseudonym, per CBR) and artist Lin Streeter, with the strip running as a backup feature in that superhero anthology through its full run. When MLJ/Archie spun the character into a standalone title in 1944, artist Bill Vigoda — who simultaneously handled much of the early Archie Andrews art — became the primary penciler, with Terry Woik Szenics as inker, giving Wilbur #1 a visual consistency with the broader Archie line of that era. Publisher John Goldwater authorized the launch partly to get an in-house Archie equivalent onto newsstands before competitors could flood the market with their own teen-humor imitations. The first several issues appeared under the MLJ Magazines imprint before transitioning to the Archie Comics banner beginning with issue #8.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Wilbur Comics #1 was published in 1944 (sources give dates ranging from May to July 1944) by MLJ Magazines, under the banner that would soon be rebranded as Archie Comics.
- The title character, Wilbur Wilkin, had already appeared as a backup strip in Zip Comics #18 (1941), predating Archie Andrews' debut in Pep Comics #22 by approximately three months — making him MLJ's first successful teen-humor character.
- The interior art in issue #1 was penciled by Bill Vigoda (brother of actor Abe Vigoda) and inked by Terry Woik Szenics; Vigoda was simultaneously one of the primary artists on the Archie title itself.
- The original strip was created by writer Harvey Willard (possibly a pseudonym) and artist Lin Streeter before Vigoda took over for the self-titled series.
- Issue #1 introduced the core supporting cast who would anchor the series for 21 years: best friend Red Wilson, love interest Linda Moore, antagonistic teacher Miss Gargle, and Principal Dripwaite, all set in the fictional suburb of Westfield.
- Five issues into the run, in Wilbur Comics #5 (Summer 1945), Bill Woggon debuted Katy Keene — the fashion-model character billed as 'America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions' — who grew popular enough to earn her own title in 1949 and later inspired a 2020 CW television series.
- Early issues were published under the MLJ Magazines imprint; the book transitioned to the Archie Comics imprint beginning with issue #8.
- The series ran for 90 issues total (1944–1965), went on hiatus after issue #87 (December 1959), and was briefly revived before cancellation with issue #90; Archie Comics later reprinted Wilbur stories in its digest line.
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