VINTAGE CELEBRITY COMIC BOOKS: ABBOTT AND COSTELLO COMICS #40

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were an American comedy double act who starred in thirty-six feature-length films throughout their joint career, starting with 'One Night in the Tropics' in 1940 and ending with 'Dance with Me, Henry' in 1956. They were also among the first double acts to appear in their own comic-book series.





Bud and Lou first worked together in 1935, when they both performed at the Eltinge Burlesque Theater on 42nd Street in New York City. They gradually made a name for themselves on stage and on radio, and by the early 1940s, the two of them transitioned into film and quickly became a major success. After a while, this prompted St. John Publications to license the duo's likenesses and launch an anthology series featuring their fictional comic-book adventures. What now follows is one of these adventures.

Titled 'Clothes Make the Manacle', this six-page comic-book adventure originally appeared in 'Abbott and Costello Comics' #40. It was the final installment of an anthology series published by St. John Publications, which ran from February 1948 to September 1956. The series was canceled because the real-life double act was in the process of splitting up, and St. John had to contend with shifting market trends.

The six-page comic-book adventure on display was written by an unnamed author and illustrated by Mort Drucker. Each page has been modified to improve clarity and fit the website's dimensions. To see this comic in its original form, please feel free to visit ComicBookPlus.com.