111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Move Over, Superman
Read up on
some little-
known comic
characters and
facts.
• The first comic book ever
published was Funnies on
Parade, in 1938.
• The first single-character
comic book featuring an origi-
nal hero was Superman #1, in
1939.
• The longest-running comic-
book series is Batman.
• The first comic-book conven-
tion was in 1964.
• In 1992, Superman died in
Superman #75. More than 3
million copies were printed —
and quickly sold out. In Metro
Detroit, more than 175,000
copies sold in a single day. (Of
course, Superman did reap-
pear in a 1996 issue, where the
story of his marriage to Lois
Lane was finally told.)
• Batman first showed up in
the comic book Detective
Comics #27 in May 1939, but
his famous sidekick, Robin,
didn't come around for another
year. Robin, incidentally, was
named by Jerry Robinson, also
the man behind the Joker.
• Superman and Batman are
some of the best-known comic-
book figures, but thousands
exist. Some you may have
missed and the years they
made their debut: Asbestos
Lady (1947), Atomic Mouse
(1953), Batmite (1959), Bomba
the Jungle Boy (1967), Brother
Power (1968), Chlorophyll Kid
(1963), Claw the Unconquered
(1975), Dr. Hypno (1940),
Fatman the Human Flying
Saucer (1967), Fin Fang Foom
(1961), Flexo the Rubberman
(1940), Fly Girl (1961), Freezum
(1941), Hooded Wasp (1940),
Insect Queen (1965), Madame
Satan (1941), Matter-Eater Lad
(1962), Nutsy Squirrel (1946),
Peter Porkchops (1947) and
Quisp (1962).
- Elizabeth Applebaum
Catwoman on your tail? Children can take a spin in the mini
Batmobile at the "ZAP, POW, BAM" exhibit at the JCC.
A Word With Arie Kaplan
Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News
rie Kaplan, a writer
for Mad magazine,
is author of Masters
of the Comic-Book Universe
Revealed! Kaplan, who also
writes his own comic strip,
Dave Danger, Action Kid, for
Reform Judaism magazine,
will present workshops at
the Janice Charach Epstein
Gallery in the West Bloomfield
Jewish Community Center
from Nov. 3 through Nov. 8.
JN: How do people react
when you say your Job
is writing comedy?
AK: People are very, very sus-
picious. They can't believe this
is actually a way you can earn
a living. You learn not to take
it personally; it has nothing
to do with you. People would
say that to anyone, unless the
person was very famous, like
David Letterman.
Another response I hear a
lot is: "OK, then say some-
thing funny." It's almost like
you're Clark Kent, and you're
telling them you're Superman,
and they're telling you, "If
you are really Superman, then
fly. Fly! Fly or I won't believe
you!"
Sometimes people say, "My
life would make a great maga-
zine piece!" or, "You write for
Mad. Wow! Here, I've got an
idea for you." Usually, these
are atrocious.
JN: What, exactly, does
a comic-book writer do?
AK: The writer is the one who
makes the story, like a screen-
play. You write something, and
it's interpreted by the artist,
the way a play is interpreted
by an actor.
A lot of really otherwise
intelligent people say, "Oh, so
the artist does all these draw-
ings and you just sort of write
in the words?" Actually, the
writer creates the plot and the
whole structure.
JN: Do you wait for
inspiration or just sit
down to work?
AK: It's very hard for me to
get out of work mode. I'm
constantly thinking of ideas.
I bring notebooks with me
wherever I go, in my man
purse. I have them with me in
the subway, when I'm out to
dinner with my wife, because
you never know when inspira-
tion will hit.
For me, there's precious
little time for just daydream-
ing. When I'm writing — the
Mad piece on Paris Hilton
("The Scarlet Letter as told
Kaplan on page 54
October 19 • 2006
53