It's rare for an Australian comic to have no publisher listed. An unnumbered, undated issue of Li'l Genius is one of the few I've seen.

The comic probably dates from 1958/1959 or into the early 1960s. Its cover is from Charlton's Li'l Genius #9 (1955)—and probably the contents also, but I can't find information to be sure.

Between 1946 and 1978, Australian Disney comics were continuously produced by W.G. Publications (renamed Wogan Publications in 1974)—although other companies published some Disney comics for Australia before, during and after that time.

John Sands published a few Disney comics in the 1930s, with a handful more by Ayers & James in the 1940s. The Australian Woman's Weekly also published at least one in the 1940s, with free promotional comics from Nabisco (Wheaties) in the 1950s and Mobil in 1964.

The Australian run of Classics Illustrated, commencing in 1947, is Ayers & James most enduring and famous comics legacy, although the company is associated with thousands of comics from the 1940s until the 1970s.

Most of this publishing output is disguised behind diverse trading names or successors—such as Red Circle Press, Illustrated Publications, Approved Publications and others—all associated with the later Magazine Management company.

This website is a collaborative effort! Since AusReprints.com went online in 2003, I've made surprising progress documenting Australian reprint comics. But I need your help with issues I don't have.

The easiest way to help is to email me a high quality scan of missing or poor quality covers. If you have the time, I also welcome story details and full content information. All contributions can be emailed to me at the link at the bottom of this page.

Capitalising on the success of KG Murray's Superman reprints, Atlas Publications entered the comics field in January 1948 with Captain Atom, a full colour comic by Australians Arthur Mather and Jack Bellew (as John Welles). Wartime bans on imported periodicals were still in place at the time, creating strong demand for new local periodicals.

While early Atlas comics mimicked the look of Murray's contemporary comics, the company quickly created a strong identity by being one of the few Australian comics' publishers to consistently brand its publications on the cover. Until 1951, most of its comics were also printed in a distinctive landscape format that was better suited to its dominant newspaper reprints.