| Funnyman | |
|---|---|
) Funnyman #1 (Jan. 1948). Cover art by Joe Shuster. | |
| Publication information | |
| Magazine Enterprises | |
| First appearance | Funnyman #1 (Jan. 1948) |
| Jerry Siegel (writer) Joe Shuster (artist) | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Larry Davis |
| Partnerships | June Farrell Happy Sgt. Harrigan |
| Notable aliases | Comic Crimebuster |
Funnyman is a fictional comic book character whose adventures were published in 1948 by Magazine Enterprises.[1]
Publication history
After leaving DC Comics and suing that company in a dispute over the rights to their character Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster rejoined their former DC editor Vin Sullivan — who had edited the earliest Superman adventures — at his new company, Magazine Enterprises.[2]
Siegel and Shuster's new creation, Funnyman, starred in a series that ran six issues (cover-dated Jan.–Aug. 1948).[3]
In the first issue, Siegel and Shuster mocked what they saw as the rush of Superman clones in a story called "Funman, Comicman and Laffman".[4] In the story, TV comedian Larry Davis dresses up in a costume to catch a fake criminal for a publicity stunt, but he catches a real criminal instead, and decides to become a superhero.
Funnyman's enemies include Doc Gimmick, a criminal robot, and the crime team of Schemer Beamer, Bug-Eyes, Crusher, Rockjaw and the Curve.[5]
A newspaper comic strip debuted in October 1948, but Funnyman also failed to find an audience in this format, and the strip was soon dropped.[6]
References
- ^ Yoe, Craig (2016). Super Weird Heroes:Outrageous But Real!. Yoe Books/IDW. p. 147. ISBN 978-1631407451.
- ^ Morris, Jon (2015). The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half Baked Heroes from Comic Book History. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Quirk Books. pp. 54–57. ISBN 978-1-59474-763-2.
- ^ Funnyman at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Andrae, Tom; Gordon, Mel (2010). Siegel and Shuster's Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero, from the Creators of Superman. Feral House. p. 72. ISBN 9781932595789. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ Nevins, Jess (2013). Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes. High Rock Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-61318-023-5.
- ^ Funnyman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.
External links
- Funnyman at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
Further reading
- Gordon, Mel; Andrae, Thomas (2010). Siegel and Shuster's Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero from the Creators of Superman. Feral House. p. 240. ISBN 1-932595-78-3.