Powerhouse Pepper is a fictional

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

, comic-book humor character who appeared in comics published in the 1940s by Timely Comics

Timely Comics

Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....

, a predecessor of Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. A somewhat dim-witted but decent boxer with superhuman strength who appeared in slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 adventures, he was created and produced exclusively by cartoonist

Cartoonist

A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...

 Basil Wolverton

Basil Wolverton

Basil Wolverton was an American cartoonist, illustrator, comic book writer-artist and professed "Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who Prowl this Perplexing Planet", whose many publishers included Marvel Comics and Mad.His unique, humorously grotesque drawings have elicited a...

, and first appeared in the humor anthology Joker Comics #1 (April 1942).

Publication history

Powerhouse Pepper debut in Timely Comics

Timely Comics

Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....

' Joker Comics #1 (April 1942), and went on to appear in six- to eight-page stories in Joker Comics #2-27, 29-31 (April 1942 - May 1947, Fall 1947 - Spring 1948); Gay Comics #1, 18-22, 28-29 (March 1944, Fall 1944 - Winter 1945, Aug.-Nov. 1947); Tessie the Typist #2, 4, 7-13 (Winter 1944, Fall 1945, Fall 1946 - Dec. 1947); Rusty #14 (Aug. 1947); and Millie the Model

Millie the Model

Millie the Model was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel.-Publication history:...

#9 (Dec. 1947), as well as in his own series.

A single issue of that solo title appeared as Powerhouse Pepper Comics #1 (Jan. 1943), featuring a slightly different character design than elsewhere. The series then went dormant for five years while the character's adventures were published in the aforementioned titles. It was revived, slightly shortened to Powerhouse Pepper (as on its trademarked cover logo, though still copyrighted as Powerhouse Pepper Comics per its postal indicia

Indicia (publishing)

Indicia is the plural of the Latin word indicium, meaning distinguishing marks.In magazine publishing, indicia refers to a piece of text traditionally appearing on the first recto page after the cover, which usually contains the official name of the publication, its publication date, information...

), for four additional issues (#2-5, Spring - Nov. 1948). Backup features there included the humor characters Goofy Giggles, L'il Louie, Squeeky, and (in issue #2) Wolverton's detective Disk-Eyes the Dick.

Fictional character biography

A bullet-headed boxer in a striped turtleneck, he is, per comics historian Don Markstein,

Reprints

Modern-day Powerhouse Pepper reprints include the eight-page story "McClaw the Outlaw", in the hardcover anthology A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics (Smithsonian Institution Press / Harry N. Abrams, 1981). Additional reprints have appeared in New Media Publishing's black-and-white magazine Golden Age of Comics #5 (Oct. 1983); publisher Kitchen Sink Press

Kitchen Sink Press

Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...

' adult-oriented Snarf #13 (Dec. 1989); and Pure Imagination

Pure Imagination (comics)

Pure Imagination is a comic book, magazine, and comics-related book publisher run by Greg Theakston since 1975.While briefly doing some original comics in the 1990s, as well a publishing a few "girlie" magazines, its main focus has been in publishing books to preserve the great works of several...

's 1993 all-Wolverton comic-book Intense! #1-3 and The Human Powerhouse #1.