Herbie Popnecker
Encyclopedia
Herbie Popnecker is a fictional character, who first appeared in Forbidden Worlds
#73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group
. He was created by Richard E. Hughes
(using the pseudonym
"Shane O'Shea")"Shane O'Shea") and Ogden Whitney
. Comics writer Alan Moore
has called Herbie his favorite "superhero."
Herbie is an antithetical hero — short, fat, and young — but ironically one of the most powerful and best-known beings in history. Deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops
from "the Unknown," Herbie can talk to animals (who know him by name), fly (by walking on air), become invisible, and (once he got his own title), travel through time. Herbie is emotionless, terse, irresistible to women, consulted by world leaders, and more powerful than the Devil
.
— albeit very much out of character — in Unknown Worlds #20, published in 1961.
Herbie received his own title in April 1964. The series ran for twenty-three issues until February 1967, shortly before the demise of American Comics Group.
Herbie is practically always shown with a lollipop, and lollipops are the main subjects of several stories. Herbie can "bop" adversaries with his lollipops, immediately defeating them. Herbie threatens others by asking them rhetorically, in his inimitable style of speaking, "You want I should bop you with this here lollipop?"
As the Fat Fury, Herbie does not have any powers beyond the many he had before donning the costume. Although Herbie travels back in time, the Fat Fury never does.
The Fat Fury was featured in even-numbered Herbie comics from #8 to #22.
. Herbie sometimes refers to his favorite lollipop flavors , including "hard-to-get cinnamon".
reprint rights) published six black-and-white issues of reprints in 1991. Dark Horse Comics
published two issues of a planned twelve in 1992, the first with a new story by John Byrne. Flaming Carrot Comics
#31 (1994) featured an appearance by Herbie (words and pictures by Bob Burden
). America's Comic Group (a publisher affiliated with A+ Comics) published a new story written by Roger Broughton
with artwork by Dan Day.
In 2008, Dark Horse Comics
announced that they would reprint the original Herbie stories in a series of hardcover archive volumes. The first came out in August 2008 (ISBN 978-1-59307-987-1) and collects Herbie stories from Forbidden Worlds #73, 94, 110, 114, 116, Unknown Worlds #20, and Herbie #1 - 5. The second came out in December 2008 (ISBN 978-1-59582-216-1), and collects issues #6-14. The third and final volume came out in April 2009 (ISBN 978-1-59582-302-1), and collects issues #15-23.
Forbidden Worlds
Forbidden Worlds was a fantasy comic from the American Comics Group, which won the 1964 Alley Award for Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic. It published 145 issues between July/Aug. 1951 to Aug. 1967.- Publication history :...
#73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group
American Comics Group
American Comics Group was a New York City-based comic book publisher which operated during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. ACG published one of the first horror comics titles, Adventures into the Unknown. Another of ACG's claims to fame was the character of Herbie Popnecker, who starred...
. He was created by Richard E. Hughes
Richard E. Hughes
Richard E. Hughes was an editor of the American Comics Group during its entire history from 1943 to 1967. He also authored most of their stories from 1957 to 1967, under a variety of pseudonyms. His best-known character was Herbie Popnecker, created under the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea", with artist...
(using the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Shane O'Shea")"Shane O'Shea") and Ogden Whitney
Ogden Whitney
Ogden Whitney was an American comic-book artist and sometime writer active from the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of comics through the 1960s Silver Age. He is best known as co-creator of the aviator hero the Skyman and of the superpowered novelty character Herbie Popnecker and his alter ego, the satiric...
. Comics writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
has called Herbie his favorite "superhero."
Herbie is an antithetical hero — short, fat, and young — but ironically one of the most powerful and best-known beings in history. Deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops
Lollipop
A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
from "the Unknown," Herbie can talk to animals (who know him by name), fly (by walking on air), become invisible, and (once he got his own title), travel through time. Herbie is emotionless, terse, irresistible to women, consulted by world leaders, and more powerful than the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
.
Publication history
Herbie made several appearances in Forbidden Worlds, in issues #73, #94, #110, #114, and #116 — the final two issues with Herbie featured on the cover. Herbie also made a cameo appearanceCameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
— albeit very much out of character — in Unknown Worlds #20, published in 1961.
Herbie received his own title in April 1964. The series ran for twenty-three issues until February 1967, shortly before the demise of American Comics Group.
Fictional character biography
Herbie's parents are unaware of his great powers and fame, and his father repeatedly refers to him as a "little fat nothing". Herbie's dad, Pincus Popnecker, is a financial failure with one poorly-conceived scheme after another, but Herbie bails him out every time (and his dad takes the credit for being a business genius).Herbie is practically always shown with a lollipop, and lollipops are the main subjects of several stories. Herbie can "bop" adversaries with his lollipops, immediately defeating them. Herbie threatens others by asking them rhetorically, in his inimitable style of speaking, "You want I should bop you with this here lollipop?"
The Fat Fury
In Herbie #8 (March 1965), Herbie feels a need to become a costumed superhero, but after failing superhero school, he creates the Fat Fury by donning full-body red underwear with a drop seat, a blue plastic mask, and a toilet plunger on his head. He is bare-footed. Herbie's father wishes that his little fat nothing of a son could be like the Fat Fury.As the Fat Fury, Herbie does not have any powers beyond the many he had before donning the costume. Although Herbie travels back in time, the Fat Fury never does.
The Fat Fury was featured in even-numbered Herbie comics from #8 to #22.
Powers
- Hypnotic eyes that can defeat opponents by staring
- Famous throughout history and able to depend on the help of others
- By talking to animals, able to gather information and use animal's abilities
- Powerful lollipopLollipopA lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
s (particularly hard-to-get cinnamonCinnamonCinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
) provide superhuman strengthSuperhuman strengthSuperhuman strength, also called superstrength, super-strength, or super strength, is an ability commonly employed in fiction. It is the ability for a character to be stronger than humanly possible...
and other special abilities - Punching, often very rapidly
- Time travel (using a special lollipop and a grandfather clock)
- Indestructibilty — Herbie is often unaware he is even being attacked (at times muttering "Something...?")
- Fly, but doing so by walking upright. In addition to being able to walk on air, he can walk underwater. Herbie can also fly underground and often breaks through walls
- Invisibility — early on, Herbie could become invisible, but stopped using that power by the third Herbie issue
- Magic — visiting the Unknown, a mysterious spirit world
Recurring gags
There are many recurring gags in Herbie comics:- Herbie speaks very little. He is terse, leaving out many words.
- Herbie is unemotional, in spite of everything around him, understating everything he says. Herbie's captions are free of exclamation points, except when his lollipops are threatened.
- Women swoon over Herbie, loving his round physique. Sometimes women who first loved Herbie eventually run off with an animal (e.g., alien bug king, gorilla, camel).
- Herbie encounters many look-alikesLook-alikeA look-alike is a person who closely resembles another person. In popular Western culture, a look-alike is a person who bears a close physical resemblance to a celebrity, politician or member of royalty. Many look-alikes earn a living by making guest appearances at public events or performing on...
, most of whom he thinks are ugly. - Although ridiculously fat, Herbie does not eat much, especially in later issues, although he sometimes sleeps while he eats. He is always sleeping, much to the dismay of his father.
- Herbie sometimes bites his adversaries, and sometimes they bite him.
- Herbie wears many disguises, most of which are absurd.
- Herbie often appears, to his embarrassment, in boxer shorts.
- Herbie sometimes happens to have just the right item for the job: marshmallows in King Arthur's time, worms to drop in Mao's mouth, a bicycle pump in his pocket, or a blowtorch in the frozen north. ("Never mind where I got it from, either.")
. Herbie sometimes refers to his favorite lollipop flavors , including "hard-to-get cinnamon".
Collections and revivals
In the 1990s, there were some attempts to revive Herbie. A-Plus Comics (which had purchased the American Comics GroupAmerican Comics Group
American Comics Group was a New York City-based comic book publisher which operated during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. ACG published one of the first horror comics titles, Adventures into the Unknown. Another of ACG's claims to fame was the character of Herbie Popnecker, who starred...
reprint rights) published six black-and-white issues of reprints in 1991. Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
published two issues of a planned twelve in 1992, the first with a new story by John Byrne. Flaming Carrot Comics
Flaming Carrot Comics
Flaming Carrot Comics is a surrealist comic book series by cartoonist Bob Burden. The character first appeared in Visions #1, a magazine published by the Atlanta Fantasy Fair in 1979. Flaming Carrot can be seen as a parody of various aspects of the superhero genre...
#31 (1994) featured an appearance by Herbie (words and pictures by Bob Burden
Bob Burden
Bob Burden is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of Flaming Carrot Comics and the Mystery Men.-Early life:Burden grew up in the industrial rust belt of the Northeast United States...
). America's Comic Group (a publisher affiliated with A+ Comics) published a new story written by Roger Broughton
Roger Broughton
Charlton Media Group is a Montreal-based publisher owned and operated by Canadian entrepreneur Roger Broughton. CMG has published Charlton Comics and American Comics Group reprint comics, under several names, including Sword in Stone, A+, and America's Comics Group.- History :Long-time comics...
with artwork by Dan Day.
In 2008, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
announced that they would reprint the original Herbie stories in a series of hardcover archive volumes. The first came out in August 2008 (ISBN 978-1-59307-987-1) and collects Herbie stories from Forbidden Worlds #73, 94, 110, 114, 116, Unknown Worlds #20, and Herbie #1 - 5. The second came out in December 2008 (ISBN 978-1-59582-216-1), and collects issues #6-14. The third and final volume came out in April 2009 (ISBN 978-1-59582-302-1), and collects issues #15-23.