FUNNYMAN # 1

Let's hear it for The Daffy Daredevil!

By the late '40s, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster felt like they'd been swindled. They'd sold their Man of Steel to the publisher we now know as DC Comics for a paltry $130 in 1938, and watched helplessly as the character hauled in unimaginable amounts of money, more money than even Lex Luthor could dream of stealing in his wildest, maddest schemes. But it was money for DC; it was not money for Siegel and Shuster. A lawsuit to reclaim Siegel and Shuster's rights to Superman failed, and the creators of Superman became personae non gratae at the comic book company whose success was built upon their work.

Funnyman was the team's attempt to create another super-sensation. It was published by Magazine Enterprises, which was run by Vin Sullivan. Sullivan had been the editor of Action Comics in '38, and he's the guy who made the decision to put Superman on the cover of Action Comics # 1. Alas, the Daffy Daredevil did not duplicate Superman's success, and lasted a mere six issues in 1948. A Funnyman newspaper strip also failed to knock 'em dead in the cheap seats, and the character was soon no more.

But I tell ya, I like the guy. To me, Funnyman was comic Danny Kaye turned into a superhero. Writers Thomas Andrae and Mel Gordon had a slightly more expansive view of what Funnyman was, as evidenced by the title of their 2010 book about the character, Siegel And Shuster's Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero. Either way, Funnyman is the story of "ace comedian" Larry Davis (betcha the name was changed at Ellis Island), who becomes a costumed crimefighter by accident, but decides he likes "the idea of cleaning up on wrong guys with jabs and gags!" My first Daffy Daredevil exploits were in Funnyman # 5, which I picked up at the Super-DC Con in New York in 1976. Siegel and Shuster were also at that con, celebrating a fragile but fresh peace with DC and Superman (though still an inadequate piece of the Action). I got their autographs in my program book, but I didn't get a chance to have them sign my issue of Funnyman.

Aside from some scraps offered in Andrae and Gordon's book, Funnyman has never been reprinted, at least as far as I know. The character is now presumed to be in the public domain, and you can legally download the entire six-issue run from sites like Digital Comic Museum. But first, you need to be aware that these comics existed in the first place. From January of 1948, Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) is proud to present the first issue of Funnyman.

(And watch this space. It's just possible that ace comedian Larry Davis will be part of a future blog post that does not involve Funnyman.)

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