# Low Rent Comic book Heros **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042 "2011-09-29T17:59:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/41 "2011-10-02T00:07:07Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Oh, I can actually believe that Clark has enough control to keep from crushing Lois or Lana or Lori or Cat Grant or the archeologist chick whose name I am too lazy too look up in the throes of passion.\* > > - Did I miss anybody? And don’t say Wonder Woman, because she’s probably tough enough to handle it. He had two other girlfriends with the initials LL during the Silver Age, though one was the Superwoman of a different solar system so she could have handled it as well. Don’t remember the names off hand, just the initials. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/42 "2011-10-02T02:46:45Z")
The entire output of Charlton Comics was low rent. They had some talented artists, but paid so badly that they all soon left them for DC or Marvel. As for the characters, there were [Mr. Muscles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Muscles), [Nature Boy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Boy_(comics)), [the Fightin’ Five](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fightin%27_5), [Thunderbunny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbunny), and [Zaza the Mystic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaza_the_Mystic), among others. Charlton’s slogan, “Charlton Comics Give You More” was a punchline. Charlton gave up superhero comics around 1970 and ended up selling most of their characters to DC (best known: The Blue Beetle). > [@Capitaine Zombie](#): > > What?! Jon Jonz is a major JL character. He hasnt got his series but neither does Cyclops. It’s too bad actually, cuz an alien shapeshifter that tries to fit into human society while working as a cop is a great premise. Oh, and J’onn J’onzz did have his own stories in the 1950s and 60s, as a regular supporting feature in Detective Comics. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/43 "2011-10-02T02:53:28Z")
J’onn also had his own title in the 90s, and a miniseries a couple years back. He’s also one of the main characters in the current Stormwatch book. Which, I guess some people might consider a downgrade from the JLA, but… ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/44 "2011-10-02T06:13:23Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > “Herbie: The Fat Fury.” That’s pretty bad. Well, it’s supposed to be a spoof. In fact, from my limited exposure to the comic, the concept is actually rather funny: an obese adolescent who wears a perpetual deadpan expression turns out to have a number of special powers than enable him to save the world on numerous occasions with the knowledge of nobody else but him. That’s not a bad idea for a deconstruction of superhero tropes. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/45 "2011-10-03T02:34:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > … > > Charlton’s slogan, “Charlton Comics Give You More” was a punchline. Charlton gave up superhero comics around 1970 and ended up selling most of their characters to DC (best known: The Blue Beetle. > > … Didn’t they also have the Question and Captain Atom? ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/46 "2011-10-03T03:48:18Z")
Weird War Tales was a compilation comics with horror stories or your usual tales of heavy-handed comicbook irony. I used to read it regularly. Around the time I was outgrowing comics they started using recurring characters. One of these was G.I. Robot, who I was going to make smart comments about but the Wikipedia description of his debut does the job: > [@](#): > > During World War II, “Joe” the G.I. Robot is handed over to a Ranger unit to be tested in the field. Humanoid, with smooth features, no mouth and a control panel on its chest, Joe is assigned a human “buddy”, a Corporal named Mac. In three stories from Star Spangled War Stories #101—#103, Joe and Mac end up fighting “The War that Time Forgot” against prehistoric creatures (and a giant German robot soldier) on Dinosaur Island. A functional android in 1944? Bah, that’s nothing, you should see the giant Nazi on Dinosaur Island. It wasn’t long after that that the Creature Commandos came along. This was a platoon with a werewolf, a vampire, a Universal Studios Frankenstein, and a chick with snakes for hair. Anybody see a problem with this? Actually, the Project M backstory isn’t that far off from the Hellboy backstory, so DC could’ve had something decent, provided decent writers. [They didn’t have any.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Aweirdwar.png) “Gee, I wonder what Frank will say about this recent development. Will it be ‘YAARGH’ or ‘ARGH’?” ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/47 "2011-10-03T05:23:35Z")
[Tank Girl.](http://bomadeno.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tank_girl_cover.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/48 "2011-10-03T05:24:33Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Well, it’s supposed to be a spoof. In fact, from my limited exposure to the comic, the concept is actually rather funny: an obese adolescent who wears a perpetual deadpan expression turns out to have a number of special powers than enable him to save the world on numerous occasions with the knowledge of nobody else but him. That’s not a bad idea for a deconstruction of superhero tropes. Plus–He’s _Alan Moore_’s favorite!: [http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=53583](http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=53583) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/49 "2011-10-04T18:55:43Z")
How could I forget [Section 8](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_%28comics%29) A team of 8 insane would-be superheros with low-grade superpowers, or very strange fighting styles. Dogwelder: A man whose fighting style consists of spot-welding dogs to his enemy’s faces. The Defenestrator : His fighting style consists of throwing his enemies through the nearest window. He carries a window around with him for the purpose. Friendly Fire : He can fire heat blasts from his hands, but usually hits his own team-mates. and the rest. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/50 "2011-10-04T19:22:10Z")
I’m going to dig deep to way back in the golden age and bring out [Madame Fatal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Fatal), a dude whose “power” was dressing up as an old lady and punching people. ETA: He also hit people with his old lady cane. I forgot about the cane. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/51 "2011-10-04T19:31:02Z")
How about Chester Brown? > **[Paying for It](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paying_for_It)** > > Paying for It, "a comic strip memoir about being a john", is a 2011 graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown. A combination of memoir and polemic, the book explores Brown's decision to give up on romantic love and to take up the life of a "john" by frequenting prostitutes. The book, published by Drawn & Quarterly, was controversial, and a bestseller. > The book is concerned with Brown's conflicting desire to have sex, but not wanting to have another girlfriend after his partner Sook-Y... 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/52 "2011-10-04T19:40:48Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > How could I forget [Section 8](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_%28comics%29) > [@](#): > > Jean de Baton-Baton: A bizarrely gaunt walking French caricature who defeats enemies with “the power of Frenchness,” as expressed by savage beatings with a baguette and occasionally blinding others with rings of garlic and onions. Sounds like a beta version of the Frenchman from The Boys, another Ennis book. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/53 "2011-10-04T20:21:25Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > “Split!” Captain Marvel. My favorite has beens are [The Inferior Five.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferior_Five) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/54 "2011-10-04T22:14:52Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Another dimly-remembered one: there was a comic series about a tribe of people who inhabit a post-nuclear war New York City-they swing off vines growing off ruined skyscrapers, and wonder about all yjose abandoned buildings and cars. That is all I remember. The Mighty Samson, if he wore an eyepatch. I also loved the original _Lost In Space_, predating the TV show. I also loved the backup feature in _Doctor Solar, Man Of The Atom_, the old professor who lectured us on science. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/55 "2011-10-04T22:36:20Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Another dimly-remembered one: there was a comic series about a tribe of people who inhabit a post-nuclear war New York City-they swing off vines growing off ruined skyscrapers, and wonder about all yjose abandoned buildings and cars. That is all I remember. I think you’re talking about [Kamandi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamandi). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/56 "2011-10-04T22:37:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > They did it again (with two dials, which were found by two teenagers - I’d say I didn’t remember their names, but that’s a lie (Chris and Vicki) - and the dials were magic or something) in the 80s. That was, hands down, the worst thing I ever paid money to be exposed to. I remember vividly that one of the “heroes” the magic dials conjured up was straight out of the [Mighty Men and Monster Maker](http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/MightyMenMonsters.html). ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/57 "2011-10-04T23:08:02Z")
[the Shogun Warriors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogun_Warriors_(toys)#Comics). [the Micronauts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronauts_(comics)) (which was actually a fun comic book with good art and an interesting universe backstory.) [Omega the Unknown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_the_Unknown). I actually read all of them as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/58 "2011-10-05T02:54:59Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I think you’re talking about [Kamandi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamandi). He said nothing about talking animals. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/59 "2011-10-05T02:59:59Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > [the Micronauts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronauts_(comics)) (which was actually a fun comic book with good art and an interesting universe backstory.) Man, that was an awesome comic. Almost up to the coolness of the toys. I’ve pondered buying the omnibus, but haven’t been willing to pony up $299.99, yet. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042/60 "2011-10-05T04:04:47Z")
(Dial “H” for Hero - the 80s years) > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > That was, hands down, the worst thing I ever paid money to be exposed to. I remember vividly that one of the “heroes” the magic dials conjured up was straight out of the [Mighty Men and Monster Maker](http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/MightyMenMonsters.html). Wow. I just read the Wikipedia page. Even for comics, that’s a [pretty fucked up storyline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dial_H_for_Hero). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-rent-comic-book-heros/598042.md?page=4)