Ulysses S. Grant

The 18th U.S. President, Ulysses S. Grant appeared as a real historical figure depicted in the pages of the 19th-century American satirical magazine Puck, making him one of the earliest identifiable figures to appear in American illustrated periodicals.

Few figures in the comic canon can claim roots as deep as this one — Ulysses S. Grant made his four-color debut in Puck back in 1877, placing him squarely among the earliest characters ever to grace American illustrated periodicals, a true Platinum Age original. Across nearly 150 years of publication history, he has turned up in the pages of Judge, Archie, and Puck, keeping extraordinary company with Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and both Roosevelts — a Mount Rushmore of sequential art co-stars if ever there was one. Two of his appearances carry key-issue status, a testament to the historical weight a character of his stature naturally commands. For collectors with a taste for the origins of the American comics tradition, Grant is about as foundational as it gets.