American Comics Group (ACG) was an American comic book

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

started in 1939 and existing under the ACG name from 1943 to 1967. It published the medium's first ongoing

horror-comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

title, ''

Adventures into the Unknown ''Adventures Into the Unknown'' was an American comic-book magazine series best known as the medium's first ongoing horror-comics title. Published by the American Comics Group, initially under the imprint B&I Publishing, it ran 174 issues (cover-d ...

''. ACG's best-known character was the 1960s satirical-humor hero

Herbie Popnecker Herbie Popnecker is a fictional comic book character who first appeared in '' Forbidden Worlds'' #73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group. He was created by Richard E. Hughes (using the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea")

, who starred for a time in ''

Forbidden Worlds ''Forbidden Worlds'' was a fantasy comic from the American Comics Group, which won the 1964 Alley Award for Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic. It published 145 issues between July/August 1951 to August 1967. Publication history ''Forbid ...

''. Herbie would later get his own title and be turned into a "superhero" called the Fat Fury. Founded by Benjamin W. Sangor, ACG was co-owned by

Fred Iger Frederick Hillel Iger (July 12, 1924 – April 10, 2015) was an American comic book publisher, associated for many years with the media figure Harry Donenfeld. (Iger's first marriage was to Donenfeld's daughter, and his second marriage was to Donen ...

from 1948 to 1967."Iger, Fred"
at Bails, Ware Iger's father-in-law,

Harry Donenfeld Harry Donenfeld (; October 17, 1893 – February 1, 1965) was an American publisher who is known primarily for being the owner of National Allied Publications, which distributed ''Detective Comics'' and ''Action Comics'', the originator publicatio ...

, head of

National Periodical Publications National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...

(later known as DC Comics), was also a co-owner in the early 1960s (though Donenfeld was severely incapacitated and out of the business after an accident in 1962)."Donenfeld, Harry"
at Bails, Ware ACG was distributed by

Independent News Company Independent News Co. was a magazine and comic book distribution business owned by National Periodical Publications, the parent company of DC Comics. Independent News distributed all DC publications, as well as those of a few rival publishers, such ...

, which also distributed by (and was part of the same company as) DC.

History

Origins

The company evolved out of a company owned by Sangor. In the mid-1930s, Sangor and Richard E. Hughes began to produce a short-lived prepackaged comics supplement for newspapers. In 1939, the Sangor Shop (as it was informally known) began producing comics for Sangor's son-in-law Ned L. Pines. The Sangor Shop produced the characters and stories of The

Black Terror The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero who originally appeared in ''Exciting Comics'' #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. The character was popular, and on the strength of the Black Terror's sales, Nedor made ''Exciting C ...

Pyroman Pyroman is a fictional superhero that appeared in comic books published by Nedor Comics. His first appearance was in ''Startling Comics'' #18 (December 1942), with art by Jack Binder. This character was later revived by both AC Comics and Amer ...

, and

Fighting Yank The Fighting Yank is the name of several superheroes, first appearing in ''Startling Comics'' #10 (Sept 1941). Fall 1941 was a boom period for patriotic superheroes as the country prepared to enter World War II; during this period, comic book p ...

for Pines'

Nedor Comics Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...

and produced most of the comics for Pines until 1945.

Independent publishing

In 1943, ACG started to publish its own work under such names as B&I Publishing, Michel Publications and Regis Publishing. It acquired the publisher Creston Publications in 1943, making Creston into an ACG imprint. By 1948, it was publishing comics under the name of American Comics Group. Its titles were typical of the times, including horror,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

, mystery,

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, and

talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...

comics. In 1948, it began publishing the long-running horror title ''

''.''Adventures Into the Unknown'' (American Comics Group, 1948 Series)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

This was the first of a trilogy of ACG horror/supernatural titles that also included ''

'' (1951–1967) and '' Unknown Worlds'' (1960–1967). In 1949, ACG began publishing two long-running romance titles, ''Romantic Adventures'' (later changed to ''My Romantic Adventures''), and ''Lovelorn'' (later changed to ''Confessions of the Lovelorn''). Both titles lasted into the 1960s. The company survived the 1954 Senate subcommittee hearings on the dangers of comic books, even retaining its somewhat diluted horror title ''Adventures into the Unknown''. However, in 1955 ACG canceled four long-running humor titles: the talking-animal series '' Giggle Comics'' and ''Ha Ha Comics'', and the teen-humor titles ''Cookie'' and ''The Kilroys''. An October 1, 1952 "Statement of the Ownership, Management, and Circulation" published in ACG's ''

'' #15 gave its publisher's name as Preferred Publications, Inc., 8 Lord St., Buffalo, New York" and the owners as Preferred Publications and "B. W. Sangor, 7 West 81st Street, New York, N. Y." The editor was listed as Richard E. Hughes, 120 West 183rd St., New York, N. Y." and the business manager as "Frederick H. Iger, 50 Beverly Road,

Great Neck Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincor ...

, Great Neck, L. I., N. Y." An October 1, 1950, statement published in ACG's ''Cookie'' #29 gives identical data, with the exception of the publisher and co-owner being listed as "Michel Publications, Inc. 420 DeSoto Ave., St. Louis 7, Mo. Almost all stories after 1957 were written by editor Hughes under a variety of pseudonyms. Besides the satirical superhero the Fat Fury, other ACG superheroes of the period known as the

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...

included

Magicman ''Forbidden Worlds'' was a fantasy comic from the American Comics Group, which won the 1964 Alley Award for Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic. It published 145 issues between July/August 1951 to August 1967. Publication history ''Forbid ...

(starting in ''Forbidden Worlds'' #125), Nemesis in ''Adventures into the Unknown'' (starting with #154), and John Force, Magic Agent, in his own title in 1962, then later in ''Unknown Worlds'' (#35, 36, 48, 50, 52, 56), with a few stories in ''Forbidden Worlds'' (#124, 145) and ''Adventures into the Unknown'' (#153, 157). By 1967, the company had ended publication, except for its commercial comics division, Custom Comics, established in 1950, which lasted until the early 1980s doing work for a variety of clients such as the A. C. Gilbert toy company,

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

Tupperware Tupperware is an American home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home. In 1942, Earl Tupper developed his first bell-shaped container; the brand products were introduced to the public in 1 ...

, and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Titles

* ''

'' #1–174 (Fall 1948–August 1967) * ''Blazing West'' #1–20 (Fall 1948–November 1951); continues as ''The Hooded Horseman'' v1 * ''Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub'' #1–7 (July 1954–August 1955) * ''Confessions of the Lovelorn'' #52–114 (63 issues, August 1954–June 1960); continues from ''Lovelorn'' (the indicia title through #75) * ''Cookie'' #1–55 (April 1946–September 1955) * ''Dizzy Dames'' #1–6 (September 1952–July 1953) * ''

'' #1–145 (July/August 1951–August 1967); paused after #34 to briefly continue as ''Young Heroes'' before resuming * ''Funny Films'' #1–29 (September 1949–May 1954) * ''Gasp!'' #1–4 (March 1967–August 1967) * '' Giggle Comics'' #1–99 (October 1943 – January 1955); acquired from Creston Publications; continues as ''Spencer Spook'' * ''Ha Ha Comics'' #1–99 (October 1943 – December 1954/January 1955); continues as ''TeePee Tim'' * ''Hi-Jinks'' #1–7 (July 1947 – July 1948) * ''

Herbie Herbie, the Love Bug is a fictional sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, who has been featured in several Walt Disney motion pictures starting with the 1968 feature film ''The Love Bug''. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, ...

'' #1–23 (April/May 1964 – February 1967) * ''The Hooded Horseman'' v1 #21–27 (7 issues, January 1952–January 1953); continues from ''Blazing West'' * ''The Hooded Horseman'' v2 #18–22 (5 issues, November 1954–August 1958); continues from ''Out of the Night'' * ''The Kilroys'' #1–54 (June/July 1947–June/July 1955) * ''Lovelorn'' #1–51 (August/September 1949–July 1954); continues as ''Confessions of the Lovelorn'' * ''Magic Agent'' #1–3 (January/February 1962–May/June 1962) * ''Midnight Mystery'' (7 issues, January 1961–October 1961) * ''Milt Gross Funnies'' #1–2 (August 1947–September 1947) * ''Moon Mullins'' #1–5 (December 1947–August 1948); continued at St. John Publications * ''My Romantic Adventures'' #49–138 (90 issues, September 1954–March 1964); continues from ''Romantic Adventures'' (the indicia title through #71) * ''Operation Peril'' #1–16 (October 1950–May 1953) * ''Out of the Night'' (17 issues, February 1952–November 1954); continues as ''The Hooded Horseman'' v2 * ''Romantic Adventures'' #1–48 (March/April 1949–August 1954); continues as ''My Romantic Adventures'' * ''Search For Love'' #1–2 (February–April 1950) * ''Skeleton Hand in Secrets of the Supernatural'' (6 Issues, September/October 1952–July/August 1953) * ''Soldiers of Fortune'' #1–12 (March/April 1951–January/February 1953) — acquired from Creston Publications * ''Spencer Spook'' #100–101 (2 issues, March-May 1955); continues from ''Giggle Comics''; see Ace Comics * ''Spy and Counterspy'' #1–2 (August-October 1949); continues as ''Spy Hunters'' * ''Spy Hunters'' #3–24 (22 issues, December 1949–June 1953); continues from ''Spy and Counterspy'' * ''Teepee Tim'' #101–103 (3 issues, February-June 1955); continues from ''Ha Ha Comics'' * ''Unknown Worlds'' #1–57 (August 1960–August 1967) * ''Wrangler Great Moments in Rodeo'' (50 issues, 1955–1966) * ''Young Heroes'' #35–37 (3 issues, February–June 1955); continues from ''Forbidden Worlds'' #34 * One shots: ''Chuckle'' (1945), ''Hi-Jinx'' (1945), ''Merry-Go-Round'' (1944), ''The Sheriff of Coshise'' (1957), and ''The Clutching Hand'' (1954)

Imprints

Source:American Comics Group indicia publishers
at the

*B & I Publishing Co., Inc. *B. & M. Distributing Co., Inc. *Best Syndicated Features, Inc. *Creston Publications Corp. *Culver Publications *Custom Comics, Inc. *La Salle Publishing Co. *Michel Publications, Inc. *

Milt Gross Milt Gross (; March 4, 1895 – November 29, 1953) was an American cartoonist and animator. His work is noted for its exaggerated cartoon style and Yiddish-inflected English dialogue. He originated the non-sequitur "Banana Oil!" as a phrase defla ...

, Inc. *Modern Store Publications *Modern Store Publishing *Preferred Publications, Inc. *Regis Publications, Inc. *Scope Magazines, Inc. *Titan Publishing Co. Inc.

History

Origins

Independent publishing

Titles

Imprints

References

Further reading

External links