Supersnipe is a fictional character who appeared in a series of
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
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...
from 1942 to 1949. Supersnipe was the imagined alter ego of Koppy McFad, "the boy with the most comic books in the world." He was created by writer-artist George Marcoux, who had previously assisted
Skippy.
Koppy McFad has read so many comic books ("he reads 'em, breathes 'em, and sleeps 'em") that in his imagination, he turns into a costumed super-hero himself. He acts out his superhero adventures a la ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'', annoying his family and his neighbors. He has no powers, but when he fills his suit with helium, he can fly.
In his adventures, Supersnipe sometimes partners with Ulysses Q. Wacky, another boy who is referred to as an "inventor and genius unlimited." In 1943, the strip introduced a rival, Roxy the Girl Guerrilla. 1944 added two more members to the cast — Wing Woo Woo, and a boy detective, Herlock Dolmes.
The character first appeared in issues of ''Shadow Comics'' (vol. 2 no. 3) and ''Army and Navy Comics'' (vol. 1 no. 5). The strip was so popular that the next issue of ''Army and Navy'' was retitled ''Supersnipe Comics''. ''Supersnipe'' appeared for a total of 44 issues before ceasing publication in 1949.
''Supersnipe'' has been described as "the first comic book to deal with comics themselves as subject matter."