The origin of Superheroes: Herbie Popnecker

[Javaman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Popnecker

Herbie Popnecker is a fictional comic book character that 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&quot [1] and Ogden Whitney.

Herbie is an antithetical hero: short, obese, unstylish, and young. Deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops from "the Unknown", Herbie can talk to animals and sometimes even inanimate objects (who all know him by name), fly at high enough speeds to quickly travel to other galaxies (by walking through the sky), become invisible, cast spells and summon spirits from other dimensions, quickly dispatch his enemies with apparent ease, and (once he got his own title) travel through time. Herbie is emotionless, terse, irresistible to women, consulted by world leaders, nearly omnipotent, and more powerful than Satan.

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 appearance—albeit very much out of character—in Unknown Worlds #20, published in 1961.

Herbie received his own title, Herbie, in April 1964. The series ran for twenty-three issues until February 1967, shortly before the demise of American Comics Group.

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[tikka]

1. I've got the second issue of the Herbie comic