Forbidden Worlds was a fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 comic from the American Comics Group

American Comics Group

American Comics Group was a New York City-based comic book publisher which operated during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. ACG published one of the first horror comics titles, Adventures into the Unknown. Another of ACG's claims to fame was the character of Herbie Popnecker, who starred...

, which won the 1964 Alley Award

Alley Award

The Alley Award was an American series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, under executive secretary Jerry Bails, and later Paul Gambaccini and David Kaler, the award...

 for Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic. It published 145 issues between July/Aug. 1951 to Aug. 1967.

Publication history

Forbidden Worlds, a 52-page comic with the initial subtitle "Exploring the Supernatural!", debuted in October 1951. Due to pressure from the 1954 Senate subcommittee hearings on the dangers of comic books, the comic changed its title (and focus) to Young Heroes from March 1955 - June/July 1955 (publishing issues #35–37). However, in Aug. 1955, Forbidden Worlds reappeared with (another) issue #35 and the altered subtitle "Stories of Strange Adventure".

Issue #101 (Jan./Feb. 1962) saw a price raise from 10 cents to 12 cents. From #108 on, Forbidden Worlds became sporadically bimonthly instead of strictly monthly. #114 and #116 were special issues called Forbidden Worlds presents Herbie, featuring Herbie Popnecker

Herbie Popnecker

Herbie Popnecker is a fictional character, who first appeared in Forbidden Worlds #73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group. He was created by Richard E. Hughes "Shane O'Shea") and Ogden Whitney...

, who first appeared in Forbidden Worlds #73 (December 1958). Issues #125 to #138 all featured Magicman on the cover. The final issue was #145 (August 1967), when the company stopped producing newsstand comic books.

Most of the contents of Forbidden Worlds,from 1957 to 1967, including Magicman and Herbie, was written by Richard E. Hughes

Richard E. Hughes

Richard E. Hughes was an editor of the American Comics Group during its entire history from 1943 to 1967. He also authored most of their stories from 1957 to 1967, under a variety of pseudonyms. His best-known character was Herbie Popnecker, created under the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea", with artist...

 under a plethora of pseudonyms. Artists who contributed included Pete Costanza

Pete Costanza

Pete Costanza was an American comic book artist and illustrator. He is best known for his work on Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during the World War II era fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books, and served as one of Captain Marvel's longest-tenured...

 for Magicman and Ogden Whitney

Ogden Whitney

Ogden Whitney was an American comic-book artist and sometime writer active from the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of comics through the 1960s Silver Age. He is best known as co-creator of the aviator hero the Skyman and of the superpowered novelty character Herbie Popnecker and his alter ego, the satiric...

 for Herbie. Other occasional contributors include Hy Eisman

Hy Eisman

Hy Eisman is an American cartoonist who wrote and drew the Sunday strips The Katzenjammer Kids and Popeye. In December 2008, Eisman was the first to introduce the character of Bluto to the Popeye Sunday page...

, John Buscema

John Buscema

John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...

, Paul Reinman

Paul Reinman

Paul J. Reinman was an American comic book artist best known as one of industry legend's Jack Kirby's frequent inkers during what comics fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books...

, and Chic Stone

Chic Stone

Charles Eber "Chic" Stone was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age inkers, including on a landmark run of Fantastic Four.-Biography:...

.