Yeah, we're fanboys (and fangirls) here at Atomic Kommie Comics™...
...but even we are mere poseurs compared to Koppy McFad, aka SuperSnipe!
In one of the first comics metafictions, Koppy was a kid who read comics and then daydreamed about being a superhero himself, including interacting with
other comics characters, who were fictional characters in his world, as well as real-life villains like Adolf Hitler!
Debuting in the back pages of
Shadow Comics, he appeared briefly in
Doc Savage Comics, then transferred to
Army & Navy Comics, becoming so popular that the book was retitled
SuperSnipe Comics as of #6!
In fact his appearance in
Army & Navy Comics #5 (1942) was
so important, it featured the
only time
Doc Savage and
The Shadow appeared
together (albeit in a cameo) in
any story before the 1990s...as you can see below!
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| The Shadow and Doc Savage are holding up SuperSnipe. Can you name the other heroes? If you can, you're a real fanboy/girl! |
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BTW, you'll note that
Koppy didn't start wearing the trademark red underwear (as seen in the cover at the top of the entry) until he gained his own title...
Ironically,
SuperSnipe outlasted most of the superheroes who inspired him, with his title's run ending in late 1949.
Story and art by George Marcoux, an underrated master of humor comics with over 200 stories and covers to his credit.
In an amazing feat, Marcoux was the
only writer
or artist to render SuperSnipe during his run!
(How many characters have
that distinction outside of a mini-series?)
Curiously, his adventures
haven't been reprinted, resulting in his comics being among the most expensive on eBay and other venues!
), by wearing his uniform shirt emblazoned with a 1940s period-accurate 48-star flag unfurling proudly on the chest (Remember, Hawaii and Alaska didn't become states until the late 1950s!) and a tiny official Lost Heroes logo on the back collar area (where it won't be seen under your cape!).
