Hugo Hercules was an American weekly comic strip published in theChicago Tribune, written and drawn byWilhelm Heinrich Detlev Körner. It ran for five months, from September 7, 1902, to January 11, 1903, totaling seventeen strips.[1] Despite its short run, it is considered the earliestsuperhero fiction comic.[2]
A good-natured man endowed withsuperhuman strength, Hugo wandered about town, helping people with their problems and shocking them with his surprising displays of power. He was so strong he could pick up an elephant,[3] kick a house like a football,[4] wield an artillery cannon like a handgun,[5] and lift a locomotive engine off the tracks and pull its cargo behind him at train speeds.[6] Casual about his incredible feats, Hugo often repeated his catchphrase, "Just as easy", shrugging off the adoring crowds.
Sometimes referred to as the firstsuperhero, the strip was not a great success and Körner eventually left comics to become a painter.[7]
Hugo Hercules appears in the 2015 graphic novelNemo: River of Ghosts, written byAlan Moore and illustrated byKevin O'Neill.
