[Marconero]

Just downloaded Sparky Watts 1 - 3, great stuff!

[narfstar]

Sparky also appears in most issues of Big Shot

[Astaldo711]

Don't know about weird character as I haven't read the story yet but the cover caught my eyes. It's an issue of Boy Comics with a picture of "He-She" on the cover.

[Astaldo711]

Ah yes, the Fat Fury. Chubby little kid with LSD laced lollipops.

[narfstar]

Herbie is just too darned good to think of as anything but fantastic

[paw broon]

Go Herbie.  And that team up with Magicman and Nemesis - how ridiculous.  love it.

[narfstar]

Never any doubt Herbie would win

[Marconero]

Herbie Popnecker ftw. I was once offered one of those supernatural lollipops, glad now that I turned it down. Woooooo....

[DennyWilson]

I wonder what a grown up Herbie would be like?

[Marconero]

Grown up Herbie:

One too many Supernatural Lollipops...

[boox909]

Marconero,  I've act met this guy in person. He is pleasant enough. 

[Marconero]

Bruce Vilanche is a great writer and I have always dug his style, but I think even he would agree that the physical and probable resemblance to Herbie is unmistakeable.

[Astaldo711]

Bruce Vilanche! I knew Herbie reminded me of someone!

[paw broon]

Rackman and the Black Dwarf are certainly weird.  Dug out a reprint of Zippo and it's odd but good fun.  There was a French masked mystery man in the late 40's who was really a female.  Germaine de Vetheuil changed into male clothes, donned a domino mask, became Enigma and righted a few wrongs. That's strange.

[boox909]

Rackman and the Black Dwarf are certainly weird.  Dug out a reprint of Zippo and it's odd but good fun.  There was a French masked mystery man in the late 40's who was really a female.  Germaine de Vetheuil changed into male clothes, donned a domino mask, became Enigma and righted a few wrongs. That's strange.

I don't remember Rackman. I better look him up in Keltner's.

B.

[Brainster]

Rackman and the Black Dwarf are certainly weird.  Dug out a reprint of Zippo and it's odd but good fun.  There was a French masked mystery man in the late 40's who was really a female.  Germaine de Vetheuil changed into male clothes, donned a domino mask, became Enigma and righted a few wrongs. That's strange.

I don't remember Rackman. I better look him up in Keltner's.

B.

Very strange series.  Rackman was from a family of rich and evil dwarfs.  They had "racks" which looked somewhat like scissor jacks but were spring-loaded that they wore on their feet to make them look normal height (they could also zoom up higher).  Rackman himself was good, and used his racks to fight evil.  He appeared in a number of Airboy issues and possibly some other Hillman comics.

[Astaldo711]

How do they think of these things? Maybe from Spring Heeled Jack. Then again maybe they were afraid of giving a hero generic super powers and being accused of ripping off Superman.

[paw broon]

Not being sure where others are located, I hesitate to bore you with stuff you might already be familiar with and the mention of Spring Heeled Jack is a case in point.  In Britain we were lucky to have lots of masked mystery men and superheroes many of whom didn't make it to other countries.  Spring Heeled Jackson is one such.  Based on the legend, this guy was a clerk in a Victorian, London police station and had a double life as S.H.J.  He had springs and was a prodigious leaper and put fear into the hearts of evil doers. Good costume. I'm waffling a bit as I desperately try to recall in which weekly he appeared. Hotspur is most likely.  Great series and even more odd is, there was a female version in a girl's weekly - Spring Heeled Jill. (no cross-overs)
Astaldo, you could be correct re. being wary about giving super powers.
Actually, thinking about it, a number of local heroes were reprinted in France, e.g. Spider (who was a villain), Steel Claw(originally ditto - later a hero), Cap. Hornet, King Cobra, Jet Ace Logan, Janus Stark.

[Astaldo711]

I'd love to see some of these British heroes (and villains). My Dad was stationed in High Wycombe during WW2 and loved England and Scotland. My sister was able to go a few years ago and I've been dying to go myself. I originally began to feel the longing of England when I watched "Are You Being Served". I loved the slang and took the opportunity to learn more about the place.
But I digress. I find it odd how DC seemed concerned about companies making characters too much like Superman. In my opinion, Superman has generic super powers. Super strength, invulnerability, flight, and his many eye talents (x-ray, heat, etc). weren't there/aren't there a slew of superheroes with these powers? Wasn't Stardust (I think that's the guy) an alien with powers like these?

[JVJ]

But I digress. I find it odd how DC seemed concerned about companies making characters too much like Superman. In my opinion, Superman has generic super powers. Super strength, invulnerability, flight, and his many eye talents (x-ray, heat, etc). weren't there/aren't there a slew of superheroes with these powers? Wasn't Stardust (I think that's the guy) an alien with powers like these?

The thing about Superman is that he was basically the FIRST, Astaldo. His powers were NOT generic when they first appeared. All the subsequent heroes took bits and pieces of Superman's powers or invented new ones. It's difficult to be "generic" when there is no "genre".

DC beef with Fox's Wonderman was that he acted and LOOKED too much like Superman and the name was obviously derivitive. Stardust came around in 1940, two years after SM, and looked and acted nothing like him. Nobody was going to mistake Stardust for Superman.

my 2

[paw broon]

Astaldo, and anyone else who is interested, if you go to the Ace Hart website (address is on GAC somewhere - or just do a search) you can find out about this hero and read many issues online.  Other places you will find info and illos on British heroes are:-
www.internationalhero.co.uk/e/erauk/htm 
(this site has barraloads of stuff but as with everything, inaccuracies creep in.  I've contributed the odd bit of info.  My stuff is accurate, by the way.)

www.dandare.org/                           (For everything Eagle and Dare.  See how good British comics can be.)


www.bearalley.blogspot.com/2007/04/britains-first-graphic-novels-series.html

[Astaldo711]

Thanks for the links paw. I just did a quick look at a Dan Dare annual and the art was fantastic!

[bchat]

Ace Hart website

http://www.acehart.co.uk/

[Marconero]

The art for Dan Dare was a wonderful surprise. I kept wondring about those particular artists, who obviously had more talent (and possibly time) than most of the "mainstream" comics we consider classics. It reminds me a bit of the old Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers issues(strips) where the art stood out and ususally surpassed the story.
Also the Ace Hart site was a great find as well, I love this old art and wish those who put in so much time were more recognized today for their work as groundbreaking artists.
These suggestions are terrific, thanks all.

On a side note, the previous posts where Bruce Vilanche was mentioned made me remember that he was in Ice Pirates as an actor (a decapitated character of all things). I had forgotten that entirely, since I had not seen that film since the mid 80s. The film doesn't really hold up so well over time, but Bruce was hilarious.

[paw broon]

Marconero, glad you enjoyed that.  There are some other artists you may be interested in, although I'm struggling to find sites where you can read their work.  First off is Ron turner, who did a lot for the British pocket libraries e.g. Detective and Thriller. He's famous for his work on Rick Random but there's lots more.
http://www.britishcomicart.netfirms.com/turner/turner_index.html
http://www.bookpalace.com/UKComics/RonTurner/INDEX.HTM

Sorry, running out of time. I'm at the library doing this as I can't get on to the computer at home. Try the links above.  At the risk of boring you, I'll try to find more that might enthuse you.