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