Super Rabbit is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

comic books 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 ...

published by

Timely Comics Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...

, a predecessor of

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 ...

, during the 1930s and 1940s 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 ...

. Created by

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Ernie Hart Ernest Huntley Hart
at the L ...

, he

first appeared In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interes ...

in ''Comedy Comics'' #14 (

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 Mar. 1943). The character appeared after

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

' talking-animal superhero

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny Hoppy the Marvel Bunny is a fictional comic book superhero and anthropomorphic animal originally published by Fawcett Comics as a spin-off of Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel. He was created by Chad Grothkopf (1914–2005), and debuted in ...

(debut: ''Fawcett's Funny Animals'' #1, cover-dated Dec. 1942), and before the

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

theatrical

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

short " Super-Rabbit" (released in April 1943).

Publication history

Following his debut as the cover star of ''Comedy Comics'' #14 (March 1943), Super Rabbit remained the lead feature through #33 (Sept. 1946). A star of Timely Comics'

humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

division — produced by what the company called its "animator bullpen", edited by

Vincent Fago Vincenzo Francisco Gennaro Di Fago (; November 28, 1914 – June 13, 2002),Vincent F. Fago
at the Unite ...

and largely separate from the

group producing comics featuring

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

and other such characters — Super Rabbit also appeared in ''Krazy Comics'', ''Comic Capers'', ''Funny Tunes'' (a.k.a. ''Animated Funny Comic-Tunes''), ''All Surprise Comics'' (as the cover star of #1-11, Fall 1943 - Fall 1946) and other

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

series.Super Rabbit (character)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

He additionally starred in his own ''Super Rabbit Comics'', which ran 14 issues (Fall 1944 - Nov. 1948). His final story appeared in ''It's a Duck's Life'' #11 (Feb. 1952). While a series of authorized reprints of Super Rabbit's adventures was published in Canada by

Bell Features Bell Features, also known as Commercial Signs of Canada, was a Canadian comic book publisher during the World War II era. They were the most successful of the publishers of " Canadian Whites", and published comics such as Adrian Dingle's Nelvana ...

, three known unauthorized reprint issues appeared from Israel Waldman's I.W. Publishing beginning in 1958, with issues #1-2 released that year. A third issue, labeled #7 and costing 10¢, later appeared, and was reissued in 1963 as #10 and costing 12¢. Aside from creator Ernie Hart, other artists who contributed to his adventures included

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' ''Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' during t ...

Al Jaffee Allan Jaffee (born Abraham Jaffee; March 13, 1921) is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine '' Mad'', including his trademark feature, the ''Mad'' Fold-in. Jaffee was a regular contributor to the magazine ...

, and inker

Violet Barclay Violet A. Barclay (November 5, 1922 – February 26, 2010), who also worked under the name Valerie Barclay and the married name Valerie Smith, was an American illustrator best known as one of the pioneering List of women in comics, female comi ...

. In 1977, Marvel announced a reboot of the character in a solo series with Marv Wolfman as writer, but apparently this project did not come to fruition.

Fictional character biography

Meek little Waffles Bunny, variously depicted as a reporter or a

shoeshine boy Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally d ...

, rubs a

magic ring A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a Ring (jewellery), finger ring, that is purported to have Magic (supernatural), supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. M ...

to gain mass and height and become the flying, super-strong Super Rabbit. He is virtually invulnerable except for a small spot on the very top of his head, where something as light as a falling feather could knock him out. He protects the innocent, captures robbers, and even fights such

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 ...

menaces as Super Nazi, a pig with a

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

mustache. His self-proclaimed "number-one fan" and unasked-for publicist Wilbur Woodpecker occasionally accompanies Super Rabbit, much to his consternation. Generally tall and lanky, the blue-clad, red-caped and orange-gloved and booted "Marvel of the Age" sometimes takes on a more buff and bulky form. His original costume featured the initial "S" on his chest, which he later replaced with the words "SUPER RABBIT".

In other media

A rabbit named Waffles appeared in the animated series ''

M.O.D.O.K. MODOK (also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former e ...

'', which was intended to be a reference to Super Rabbit, whose real name is Waffles.

References

External links

* Nevins, Jess
"The Timely Comics Story"
p. 5

* *

at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

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