The Heap is the name of several fictional

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

muck-monsters, the original of which first appeared in

Hillman Periodicals Hillman Periodicals, Inc., was an American magazine and comic book publishing company founded in 1938 by Alex L. Hillman, a former New York City book publisher. It is best known for its true confession and true crime magazines; for the long-runni ...

' ''Air Fighters Comics'' #3 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Dec. 1942), during the period fans and historians call the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

. The Heap was comics' first swamp monster. The character was created by writer Harry Stein and artist

Mort Leav Mortimer Leav (July 9, 1916 – September 21, 2005)Mortimer Leav
Skywald Skywald Publications was an American publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror fiction, horror anthologies ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. It also published a small line of comic books and other genre magazine ...

in the 1970s and

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

in the 1990s. The Heap was revived in the 1980s by

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

Publication history

Hillman

The Heap debuted in the aviation feature "SkyWolf" in ''Air Fighters Comics'' #3 (

d Dec. 1942), in the story "Wanted By the Nazis" by writer Harry Stein and artist

Mort Leav Mortimer Leav (July 9, 1916 – September 21, 2005)Mortimer Leav
Airboy Comics'' vol. 3, #9 (Oct. 1946), the Heap became the star of its own backup feature, which continued until the final issue, vol. 10, #4 (May 1953). Other artists associated with Hillman's Heap include Jack Abel,

Paul Reinman Paul J. Reinman (; born Joseph Paul Reinmann, ; 2 September 1910 – 27 September 1988)Paul J. Reinmen
So ...

, and

Ernie Schroeder Ernest C. Schroeder (January 9, 1916 – September 20, 2006)Ernest C. Schroeder
...

. In 1986,

, having acquired rights to some Hillman characters, began publishing a new ''Airboy'' comic with the Heap as a supporting character. The Heap also appeared in the Eclipse title '' The New Wave'', where the creature was considered by some members of that group to be a member. Eclipse Comics went bankrupt and ceased operations in the 1990s.

purchased the Eclipse assets, including the Heap.The Heap
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

A version of Baron von Emmelman also appears in the novel '' The Bloody Red Baron'', part of the ''

Anno Dracula ''Anno Dracula'' is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the ''Anno Dracula'' series. It is an alternate history using 19th-century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction. ...

'' series by

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...

. Here he and the other great pilots of the First World War are

vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...

, and his monstrous form is the result of experiments to improve his vampiric abilities.

Similar characters from other publishers

The fifth issue of EC's Mad included a story called "Outer Sanctum" (a parody of

Inner Sanctum Mystery ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint (trade name), imprint given ...

), which featured a monster made out of garbage called "Heap". A similar character called The Heap, who did not share the original character's origin or identity, appeared in the publisher

Skywald Skywald Publications was an American publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror fiction, horror anthologies ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. It also published a small line of comic books and other genre magazine ...

's black-and-white horror-comics magazine ''Psycho'', in most issues from #2-13 (March 1971 - July 1973). This version was created by writer Charles McNaughton and the longtime penciler-inker team of

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

& Mike Esposito. Andru quickly took over scripting as well, later teaming with penciler-inker

Pablo Marcos Pablo Marcos Ortega, known professionally as Pablo Marcos
at the

Al Hewetson Alan Hewetson ( August 30, 1946 Interview conducted May 26, 1973. – January 6, 2004) Additional . was a Scottish people, Scottish-Canadians, Canadian writer and editor of American horror-comics magazines, best known for his work with the 197 ...

took over the writing. The final two stories were drawn by Xavier G. Vilanova, variously credited at Skywald and elsewhere as simply "Vilanova" or "Villanova". This Heap also starred in the one-shot comics magazine ''The Heap #1'' (Sept. 1971), written by

Robert Kanigher Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...

and

penciled A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at It ...

. The company went defunct later that decade, and historians are uncertain whether it had formally acquired character rights from Hillman, which had ceased publishing in the mid-1950s.

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

writer/editor

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

, a fan of the original Heap character and a co-creator of Marvel's muck monster the

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...

), said he suggested that Skywald revive the Heap: In

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental List of swamp monsters, creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or mo ...

'', among the

Parliament of Trees :''Parent article'': List of DC Comics characters This is a list of teams and organizations that appear in various DC Comics publications. Note: Please check :DC Comics superhero teams before adding any redundant entries for superhero teams to ...

is a former Swamp Thing who is often cited as being a Man-Thing cameo. This character is identified as German pilot Albert Hollerer, who became the template for a Swamp Thing in the 1940s, but whose mind was damaged by his plane's crash. A miniature of his plane hanging near him when Swamp Thing visits him suggests readers of the Heap. He appeared in issues #47, 65, 89, 100, 105, 106, 109, 118, and 129. Another similar character debuted in Image Comics' ''

Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

'' #73 (June 1998), reimagined by writers

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...

and

Brian Holguin Brian Holguin is an American writer who works in the comics industry. Work Holguin is known for his work on ''Aria'' and Todd McFarlane's ''Spawn''. He also wrote '' Spawn: Godslayer'', a dark fantasy re-imagining of Spawn. Partial bibliography ...

and penciler

Greg Capullo Gregory Capullo (; born March 30, 1962) is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on ''Quasar'' (1991–1992), '' X-Force'' (1992–1993), ''Angela'' (1994), ''Spawn'' (1993–2000, 2003–2004) and ''Batman'' (2011� ...

. In 2011,

Moonstone Books Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales. The company began publishing creator-owned com ...

published a three-issue miniseries starring the Heap. Though this character is described as a "concept created by Charles Knauf" in the credits, he shares the same origin as the Hillman version, albeit with a different look and Norse mythology elements.

Fictional character biography

Hillman/Eclipse version

The original Heap was formerly Baron Eric von Emmelman (his last name also sometimes spelled Emmelmann), a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

German

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

who was shot down in 1918 over a Polish swamp. Clinging to the smallest shred of life through sheer force of will (and, as it was later revealed, with the mystic help of the goddess

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

, later to be referred to more generically in the series as Mother Nature), through the decades his body decayed and intermingled with the vegetation around him, becoming one with the marshland itself until at last a shaggy, shambling half-world creature neither animal nor man arose from the muck during the early years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a creature which would become known far and wide as The Heap. Resembling a huge humanoid

haystack Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

whose most visible facial feature was a dangling root-like snout, the mute monstrosity first battled the lupine-cowled

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

-style

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

ace SkyWolf before turning against its fellow Germans who were now fanatical followers of the evil

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

cause. Then it took to wandering the globe, helping in its semi-mindless and often misunderstood way those in need and battling those monsters more malevolent than itself. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', the Heap's opponents "range from Axis agents to ordinary criminals to werewolves, disembodied murderous hands, giant lizards, voodoo houngans, sea serpents, and the Black Boar of Mongolia". Capable of both savage violence and a surprising gentleness, for a time the Heap even had an unwilling " kid sidekick" of sorts in the form of Rickie Wood, a young boy whose remote control model

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

stirred murky memories of the hulking plant-thing's former life.

Skywald version

The Skywald version was pilot Jim Roberts, who accidentally crashed his

cropduster Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific s ...

plane into a tank of liquid

nerve gas Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...

at an Army toxic waste dump and was horribly mutated into a jagged-fanged, long-tongued and glaring-eyed brute whose hideous

blob Blob may refer to: Science Computing * Binary blob, in open source software, a non-free object file loaded into the kernel * Binary large object (BLOB), in computer database systems * A storage mechanism in the cloud computing platform M ...

-like body was virtually indestructible, bullets passing with a minimum of damage through the slimy

gelatinous Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...

green "earth matter" which had replaced his fleshly form and which could regenerate against any injury up to and including near total incineration by a bolt of

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

. Unlike the previous incarnation, this Heap while mute was no mindless monstrosity and retained his human intelligence, allowing readers to share his every anguished thought as he wandered the world in a desperate attempt to find some method to either cure or kill himself.Roy Thomas, "Heaping It On: A Personal And Historical Introduction", ''Roy Thomas Presents THE HEAP Volume One'', PS Artbooks Ltd., 2012

Image version

The Image Comics version in ''

'', a series about a conflicted, mostly Earth-bound servant of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, reimagined the Heap as a bum named Eddie Beckett. Beckett was murdered after finding a bag of

necroplasm Spawn is a superhero/antihero appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics, as well as in a number of films, television series, and video game adaptations set in the Image Universe. Created by To ...

, a supernatural substance of which Spawn's body is composed. The necroplasm reacted with his body, causing the earth and trash around him to collect and meld with his corpse. The Heap fought Spawn on at least two occasions, each time swallowing and engulfing Spawn and sending him to the mysterious Greenworld, an other-dimensional representation of nature. This version of heap debuted in Spawn #72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heap, The Golden Age superheroes Spawn characters Plant characters Eclipse Comics characters Image Comics supervillains Fictional aviators Fictional monsters Comics characters introduced in 1942 Articles about multiple fictional characters