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Treasury of Comics #1 and the Drama of Abbie an' Slats, at Auction

Remembered as perhaps the best romance comics publisher in American history, St. John got its start collecting newspaper strip Abbie an' Slats.

Published Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:17:07 -0600

by Mark Seifert

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St. John was over a year away from its true beginnings in romance comics books when it got into the market with Treasury of Comics and Comics Review, but Treasury of Comics #1 featuring Abbie an' Slats could be viewed as a stealth entry into the genre for what comic book history now remembers as American comics' greatest romance publisher. Archer St. John entered the magazine publishing business in 1941 with wartime aviation magazine Air News, and later with Flying Cadet. Flying Cadet is notable for occasionally containing some comic material. St. John got into the comic book business proper with two different newspaper strip reprint titles, Comics Review and Treasury of Comics which both hit the newsstand around April 1947. In September 1947, St. John took over the Terry-Toons Comics license from Marvel, which featured the comic book adventures of Mighty Mouse and other Terry-Toons characters. That same month, St. John added a third newspaper comic strip reprint title, Pageant of Comics.

Treasury of Comics #1 Abbie an' Slats (St. John, 1947).

Abbie an' Slats was a comic strip launched by Al Capp and illustrator Raeburn Van Buren, and distributed by United Feature Syndicate. It began with the story of Aubrey Eustace "Slats" Scrapple, a street-smart orphan from New York, who moves to the small town of Crabtree Corners and is taken in by his cousin, Abigail "Abbie" Scrapple. Unlike Capp's other work, Li'l Abner, which featured a rural protagonist venturing into the city, Abbie an' Slats brought the city character into a rural setting. The comic strip also introduced several other characters who became integral to the storyline, such as the miserly Jasper Hagstone, his daughter Judy, and Slats's eventual true love, Becky Groggins, along with her father, J. Pierpont "Bathless" Groggins, who evolved into a significant character, especially in the Sunday strips.

Archer St. John's interest in the United Feature Syndicate material is a little puzzling, as that syndicate had published its own comic books since 1936 and continued to run Abbie an' Slats throughout this entire period in titles like Tip Top Comics, Comics on Parade, and many others. It appears likely St. John's initial publishing concept was to spin such properties out into their own stand-alone titles, and he attempted that with Abbie an' Slats. Although such attempts by St. John were short-lived, he never gave up on the United Feature relationship, and the publisher took over Fritzi Ritz, Nancy and Sluggo, and Tip Top Comics. from United Feature in 1955. It appears that the relationship was scuttled by Archer St. John's death that year.

St. John became one of the most interesting and respected publishers of its era, and it all started in comic books with Treasury of Comics #1. The highest graded Central Valley copy of this issue is up for auction in the 2024 February 29 – March 1 Golden Age Romance Featuring Fox Comics & Comic Art Showcase Auction #40258.

Treasury of Comics #1 Abbie an' Slats – Central Valley Pedigree (St. John, 1947) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white to white pages. Alone at the top of CGC's census for the issue. Features Abbie an' Slats. Raeburn Van Buren cover. Overstreet 2023 VF 8.0 value = $94; VF/NM 9.0 value = $147. CGC census 1/24: 1 in 8.5, none higher.