Comedy duo Abbott and Costello will meet Cthulhu, the Morlocks, and The Night Stalker in their first new comic book series in 50 years

In the 1948 comedy-horror film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott’s character tells Costello’s character, “Everything comes in threes.” That declaration is about to apply to the duo once more, as next year will see the release of a new 3-issue comic book series featuring the legendary comedy team.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters, from indie publisher Monstrous, will be the first new comic book series in more than 50 years to feature the Golden Age comedians.

In it, Abbott and Costello will face off against three new antagonists: The Night Stalker from the 1970s TV show Kolchak: The Night Stalker; the Morlocks from H.G. Wells’s 1895 science fiction story The Time Machine; and Cthulhu, the cosmic entity from H.P. Lovecraft’s universe.

While actors Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are probably best known for their 1945 “Who’s On First?” routine, the entertainers made a big box-office splash with their hilarious showdowns against the Universal Classic Monsters, beginning with their aforementioned run-in with Frankenstein’s monster. That film was such a huge hit that it spawned a monster-comedy franchise with Universal Studios, where they went on to meet The Invisible Man (1951), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), The Mummy (1955), and others.

Bringing the comedy duo back to comics is Stoker Award-winning writer James Aquilone, the creative mind behind Monstrous. Aquilone (who, for full disclosure, has been my close personal friend for over 30 years) is the perfect person to spearhead this project. He previously tackled the Classic Monsters with his prose anthology Classic Monsters Unleashed (winner of the 2023 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award), as well as in his graphic novel Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters. Oh, and he knows his Kolchak — not only has he done several projects starring the monster hunter, but that Stoker Award he won? It was for his graphic novel anthology, Kolchak: The Night Stalker — 50th Anniversary.

“Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein was my introduction to horror and comedy,” Aquilone told Geeks Of Doom. “Bud and Lou have been a huge influence on me, so it’s a dream come true to be bringing them back to comics.”

A Kickstarter page is now live for Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters, where prospective backers can follow the project to be notified when it launches. Aquilone also promises some sneak peeks and other updates for those who sign up.

Now that Monstrous has acquired the license to produce new Abbott and Costello projects, they will also be offering up exclusive and limited-edition related merchandise, such as t-shirts, trading cards, and much more. More comic books starring Bud and Lou will be coming down the line as well.

People magazine broke the story yesterday about Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters and was given the exclusive first look at the Issue #1 main cover by JK Woodward, along with its alternate cover — an homage to the 1960s Abbott and Costello Hanna-Barbera cartoon — by Zac Atkinson.

Check out the Kickstarter page for Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters, and be sure to follow it for updates.

Here’s the 3-issue comic book series lineup, according to the publisher’s email newsletter sent this week:

Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters #1
“Abbott and Costello Meet the Night Stalker”
Writer: James Aquilone, Artist: Dave Acosta
Covers: Lukas Ketner, JK Woodward, Zac Atkinson

Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters #2
“Abbott and Costello Meet the Morlocks”
Writer: James Aquilone, Artist: George Quadros
Covers: Russ Braun, Colton Worley

Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters #3
“Abbott and Costello Meet Cthulhu”
Writer: James Aquilone, Artist: Juan Samu
Covers: Robert Hack, EV Cantada

Covers