Cigarman is the name of both a comic strip and the hero of the strip. It is published on the back page of Smoke Magazine ^link c.1997. Cigarman was written by Sam Gross

Sam Gross

Sam Gross is an American cartoonist. He began cartooning in 1962.His cartoons have appeared in numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping.He was cartoon editor for National Lampoon and Parents Magazine...

, and drawn by Randy Jones.

Origin

Bitten by a radioactive Hornworm

Tobacco hornworm

Manduca sexta is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the American continent. Commonly known as the tobacco hornworm, it is closely related to and often confused with the very similar tomato hornworm ; the larvae of both feed on the foliage of various plants from the family...

 (Manduca sexta), wealthy "Durham Lonsdale" becomes able to transform himself into a gigantic flying cigar, simply by saying Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 backwards (Anavah). Lonsdale lives in Megaburgh, as a 'fabulously wealthy' socialite

Socialite

A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....

 (a parody of Batman

Batman

Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...

).

Other characters

• Commissioner McGraft
• Fenster, McGraft's nephew
• Clipperlips
• Holly Honeybreath, Mayor of San Franallison
• Carlos the Old Cigarmaker
• Manuelo, Carlos' crossdressing nephew
• George Steinblunder, owner of the Megaburgh Puff Adders

Part II

Appeared in Smoke, Summer 1997 issue

Cigarman's arch-nemesis, Clipperlips, appears for the first time. He nearly defeats Cigarman, with the help of liquified blue mold

Blue mold

Blue mold is a downy mildew disease of tobacco that is caused by Peronospora tabacina, a fungus-like protist in the family Peronosporaceae. Blue mold can cause severe damage to susceptible tobacco plants in many parts of the world...

, but Carlos 'the old cigarmaker' saves him.

Part III

Appeared in Smoke, Fall 1997 issue

Bank robbers flee to San Franallison, where Cigarman is unwelcome. He disguises himself as "Vibrator Girl" and lures them back into Megaburgh.

Part IV

Appeared in Smoke, Winter 1997 issue

Colonel Kootz and the Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...

 Militia steal all of the Pentagon's cigars and declare independence. Cigarman regains the cigars with the help of the AFT (American Federation of Teachers

American Federation of Teachers

The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...

).

Part V

Appeared in Smoke, Spring 1998 issue

Cigarman's arch-nemesis, Clipperlips, returns to threaten Megaburgh's ballpark, Puff Adder Stadium.
Cigarman defeats him with a clever subterfuge and his secret Oriental training.