The Fat Fury

The Fat Fury is the superhero alter ego of Herbie Popnecker, the deceptively powerful, lollipop-eating boy from American Comics Group's Herbie series. Donning a union suit and plunger on his head, Herbie became this gloriously ridiculous caped figure, parodying superhero conventions with deadpan absurdist humor.

Few Silver Age surprises are as delightfully absurd as The Fat Fury, who burst onto the scene in Herbie #7 in 1965 courtesy of the wonderfully offbeat creative team of Richard Hughes and Ogden Whitney at American Comics Group. A comedic superhero persona of the highest order, The Fat Fury inhabits a world populated by the likes of Herbie Popnecker, Captain Marvel, and Supergirl — genuinely rarefied company that speaks to just how gleefully the series rubbed elbows with comics royalty. The character's enduring presence across nearly six decades, preserved lovingly in the Herbie Archives and the normalman Fortieth Anniversary Omnibus, is a testament to the cult devotion this peculiar corner of the Silver Age inspires. If you've never encountered The Fat Fury, you're missing one of comics' most cheerfully irreverent treasures.