Funnyman #1

Dates

Cover date

January 1948

On sale

December 22, 1947

Pages

36

Editions and covers

• Original edition

  Source ↗

Creators

Stories

• Jerks in the Works · 2 pages

  A detective recounts a run-in with two crooks who let their fears and imaginations get the better of them.

• Untitled · 2 pages

  TV comedian Larry Davis was convinced by his girlfriend and manager, June Farrell, to do a superhero-like publicity stunt where Larry would defeat Happy, an actor playing a criminal, as a crimefighting clown. However, Larry ends up defeating a real criminal by mistake. He decides he likes being a hero, and becomes Funnyman, the Comic Crimebuster, protector of Empire City -- much to the chagrin of June and Happy, who are the sole people who know his secret.

• The Teen-Age Terrors! · 19 pages

  Darlene and Hankie are robbed by teenage fans and Funnyman steps in to clean up, but has his family heirloom watch stolen by autograph seekers. He follows them to a warehouse where he sees them turn the watch over to Ants Pants and his gang, notes the plan by Ants to fence the watch and trails the gang to Fencie Finnegan's place and eventually rounds up the crooks.

• Funnyman, Comicman and Laffman · 3 pages

  Flathead Floogie escapes from the Police at Grand Central Station, and while Larry puts on his Funnyman attire, two costumed imitators of Funnyman, Comicman and Laffman, seek to capture the fugitive Flathead. The trio finally captures Flathead, and, after dispatching his irritating, smug competitors, Funnyman turns Flathead over to the authorities.

• The Truant Toy · 8 pages

  Larry buys a toy kangaroo on his way to a nightclub performance. A sneak thief, in the meantime, goes back stage and mishandles June, and Funnyman throws ink and assorted junk at the mean-spirited crook. For safekeeping, June hides her diamond ring inside the mechanical toy kangaroo, which then tears across the city landscape, followed by Funnyman, who finally captures the kangaroo and returns the ring to June. After the show ends, Larry goes out and buys five mechanical dogs.

Characters

Reprinted in

Siegel and Shuster's Funnyman (2010), Alter Ego (1999)