*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: One of the most unlikely comics heroes ever, Herbie Popnecker first appeared in ACG’s Forbidden Worlds, later being promoted to his own series in 1964. Created by writer Richard E Hughes and artist Ogden Whitney, Herbie was an atypical hero: a short, obese, unemotional, terse, unstylish boy, deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops. Herbie could carry on detailed conversations with animals and sometimes even inanimate objects (who all knew him by name), quickly reach any location (including other galaxies) by walking through the sky, become invisible, cast spells, summon spirits from other dimensions, quickly dispatch all enemies with ease, and travel through time. Despite his appearance and terse personality, he was irresistible to women. He was nearly omnipotent and later adopted the super-hero identity of the Fat Fury. Here are two of his earliest appearances in Forbidden Worlds, including his first cover in #114; and if you think that Cleopatra on the cover of #116 looks a lot like Elizabeth Taylor, well, it almost is. Herbie stories backed up, of course, by the sort of supernatural material prevalent in Forbidden Worlds of the 1960s.
PICTURED: FORBIDDEN WORLDS BOTH SOLD
#114 VG- £15.75 1st Herbie cover
#116 VG- p £10.25