Funnyman (comics)

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Funnyman
Funnyman #1 (Jan. 1948). Cover art by Joe Shuster.
Publication information
PublisherMagazine Enterprises
First appearanceFunnyman #1 (Jan. 1948)
Created byJerry Siegel (writer)
Joe Shuster (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoLarry Davis
PartnershipsJune Farrell
Happy
Sgt. Harrigan
Notable aliasesComic Crimebuster

Funnyman is a comic book character whose adventures were published in 1948 by Magazine Enterprises.[1]

Publication history

After leaving DC Comics and suing that company in a dispute over the rights to their character Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster rejoined their former DC editor Vin Sullivan — who had edited the earliest Superman adventures — at his new company, Magazine Enterprises.[2]

Siegel and Shuster's new creation, Funnyman, starred in a series that ran six issues (cover-dated Jan.–Aug. 1948).[3]

In the first issue, Siegel and Shuster mocked what they saw as the rush of Superman clones in a story called "Funman, Comicman and Laffman".[4] In the story, TV comedian Larry Davis dresses up in a costume to catch a fake criminal for a publicity stunt, but he catches a real criminal instead, and decides to become a superhero.

Funnyman's enemies include Doc Gimmick, a criminal robot, and the crime team of Schemer Beamer, Bug-Eyes, Crusher, Rockjaw and the Curve.[5]

A newspaper comic strip debuted in October 1948, but Funnyman also failed to find an audience in this format, and the strip was soon dropped.[6]

References

Further reading

  • Gordon, Mel; Andrae, Thomas (2010). Siegel and Shuster's Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero from the Creators of Superman. .

External links