| Funnyman | |
|---|---|
 Funnyman #1 (Jan. 1948). Cover art byJoe Shuster. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Magazine Enterprises |
| First appearance | Funnyman #1 (Jan. 1948) |
| Created by | Jerry Siegel (writer) Joe Shuster (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Larry Davis |
| Partnerships | June Farrell Happy Sgt. Harrigan |
| Notable aliases | Comic Crimebuster |
Funnyman is a 1948 Americancomic book series written byJerry Siegel and illustrated byJoe Shuster. It was published byMagazine Enterprises.[1]
After leavingDC Comics and suing that company in a dispute over the rights to their characterSuperman,Jerry Siegel andJoe Shuster rejoined their former DC editorVin Sullivan — who had edited the earliest Superman adventures — at his new company,Magazine Enterprises.[2] Siegel and Shuster's new creation, Funnyman, starred in a series that ran six issues from January to August 1948.[3] In writing the comic, Siegel took inspiration from the comedianDanny Kaye.[4]
In the first issue, Siegel and Shuster mocked what they saw as the rush of Superman clones in a story called "Funman, Comicman and Laffman".[5] In the story, TV comedian Larry Davis dresses up in a costume to catch a fake criminal for a publicity stunt, but he catches a real criminal instead, and decides to become a superhero. Funnyman's enemies include Doc Gimmick, a criminal robot, and the crime team of Schemer Beamer, Bug-Eyes, Crusher, Rockjaw and the Curve.[6] Also present in the Funnyman series are a sidekick named Funnyboy and a secret base called Funnymanor. The comic only ran for six issues.[4] Anewspapercomic strip debuted in October 1948, but Funnyman also failed to find an audience in this format, and the strip was soon dropped.[7]
After the failure of Funnyman, Jerry Siegel returned to DC as a writer-for-hire. Joe Shuster was unable to find regular work as an illustrator after Funnyman because of a severe case ofmacular degeneration.[4] One of Shuster's later projects was an erotic comic series calledNights of Horror.[8]