Herbie first appeared in the 73rd issue (December, 1958) of Forbidden Worlds, a character despised by his peers, in this case, because he was a very fat and slow-moving little boy, and overly addicted to lollipops. Unknown to family and schoolmates alike, Herbie had vast unexplained super powers, which he used several times in the story, including foiling an alien invasion before anyone else even became aware of it.
The story got good response, and a new "Herbie" story, cast in the same mold, appeared 21 issues later. 16 issues after that, a third story explored his world and personality a little more fully, and soon he was appearing in every other issue, with his name above the magazine's logo. With a May, 1964 cover date, he graduated to this regularly-published title.
"Herbie" stories could take place in a wide variety of genre settings, including westerns, pirate stories, sci-fi and mysteries. He even became a superhero — despite having flunked out of superhero school, he donned his costume (red woolen underwear like Super Goof's or Forbush Man's, but adding a toilet plunger for a hat) every other issue, starting in 1965, to fight crime as The Fat Fury. He even adopted the superhero schtick of fighting other superheroes — Nemesis and Magicman, ACG's other costumed characters, guest starred in the 14th issue (January, 1966).
The title was retired with its 23rd issue (February, 1967). Later that year, the company itself folded.
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