Sunday, April 5, 2009

Herbie Popnecker: Comic Book Legend

Herbie Popnecker: Comic Book Legend

Long before Grant Morrison had a grip on the weird comic idea genre, there was a little comic put out by Richard Hughes and Ogden Whitney of ACG comics...

This is Herbie Popnecker, the fat little nothing.





He can talk to anything he likes.

He travels through time.


And has terrible powers if you threaten his lollypop consumption.


And fought the Devil, after he accidentally sold his soul.


Is stoic in the face of his terrible father.


And is best friends with JFK and Jackie O.


He also moonlights as a superhero, the Fat Fury.


And did I mention he's beaten Castro?


I can't recommend it highly enough. Need more proof on this bazaar comic book? The plot of that story is every bit as good as it sounds...

Herbie's dad takes him to see a boxing match in the hopes of motivating Herbie to act like a real man. The match is between American Sonny Liston and the Cuban Pablo Popsicle. Popsicle is going to use the match earnings to ransom the Cuban counter-revolutionary Juan Buanana from Castro.


Unfortunately, while training, Popsicle decides he wants one of Herbie's lollypops. Turns out it's an anti-gravity pop, and he floats away.


And so Herbie has to take his place in the match.






Unfortunately, because Herbie disappears after the match, they award the prize money to Liston. So Herbie decides to walk to Cuba and give Castro a piece of his mind. He sneaks into Castro's stronghold...


But Castro won't deal with him, after Herbie offers him 10 million lollopops!


So Herbie seduces the female prison guard with his saucy dancing skills...





(all images are from various issues of Herbie Comics, recently reprinted by Dark Horse in Archive edition) You can see a list of reoccurring themes in the comics


Oh yes, did I mention that Herbie is Watchmen creators favorite superhero?

Yeah, I guess that makes perfect sense for him to look to this strange comic book character.

1 comment:

doc noc said...

Herbie is a "Little Fat Nothing", not a Fat Little Nothing. John Byrne keeps making that mistake too!LOL!