In the latter half of 1934, having seen the emergence of Famous Funnies and other oversize magazines reprinting comic strips, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications and published New Fun #1 on January 11, 1935[3] (cover-dated February 1935).

A tabloid-sized, 10-inch by 15-inch, 36-page magazine with a cardstock, non-glossy cover, it was an anthology of humor features, such as the talking animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger", mixed with dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the "yellow peril" adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu-styled villain, Fang Gow.

Additionally, it carried advertising,[4] whereas previous comic books were ad-free and sponsored by corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Kinney Shoes, and Canada Dry.

[5][6] The first four issues were edited by future Funnies, Inc. founder Lloyd Jacquet,[1][7] the next, after a three-month hiatus, by Wheeler-Nicholson himself.

[8] Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) saw the comic book debuts of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the future creators of Superman, who began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval" (doing the first two installments before turning it over to others) and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", the supernatural adventurer Doctor Occult.