The
Tick is a
fictional characterA 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...
created by cartoonist
Ben EdlundBen Edlund is a comic book artist and writer and television screenwriter. Prior to his involvement in TV, he was best known as the creator of the satirical superhero character The Tick. He is currently an executive producer and staff writer for The CW series Supernatural.-Background:Edlund was...
in 1986 as a
newsletterA newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for the
New England ComicsNew England Comics is a comic book retail chain and publisher headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, USA. They are known for publishing The Tick comic books. They have locations in Quincy, Allston, Brookline, Brockton, Cambridge, Malden, New Bedford and Norwood....
chain of
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area comic stores. He is an absurdist
spoofA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of
comic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es. After its creation, the character spun off into an
independent comic book seriesThe Tick was a comic book series created by Ben Edlund in 1988 and originally published in black-and-white by the New England Comics store in Boston, Massachusetts. The series provided modest beginnings for its title character, who would later feature in his own television programs and merchandise...
in 1988, and gained mainstream popularity through an animated TV series on
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in 1994. A short-lived live-action TV series,
video gameThe Tick was a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Software Creations and released by Fox Interactive in 1994. The game was released on the Super NES and Sega Genesis systems and was based on the comic book and Fox Kids animated series of the same name...
, and
various merchandise have also been based on the character.