American Maid
| The Tick | |
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Cover of The Tick: Comic Con Extravaganza #1
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | New England Comics Press |
| First appearance | New England Comics Newsletter #14 (July/August 1986) |
| Created by | Ben Edlund |
| In-story information | |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength and mass |
The Tick is a fictional superhero created by cartoonist Ben Edlund in 1986 as a newsletter mascot for the New England Comics chain of Boston area comic book stores. The character is a spoof of American comic book superheroes.
After its creation, the character spun off into an independent comic book series in 1988, and gained mainstream popularity through an animated TV series on Fox in 1994. A short-lived live-action TV series, video game, and various merchandise have also been based on the character. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time ranked The Tick as #57.
In 1986, 18-year-old cartoonist Ben Edlund created The Tick as a mascot for a newsletter of the Norwood, Massachusetts store New England Comics where he was a customer. Edlund expanded this into stories, beginning with the three-page tale "The Tick" in New England Comics Newsletter #14–15 (July/August – September/October 1986), in which the hero escapes from a mental institution. The character became popular and the store financed a black-and-white comic book series, with the first issue released in June, 1988, and subsequently reprinted at least nine times through the next decade, including later editions with additional content. The Tick's sidekick, Arthur, was introduced in The Tick #4 (April 1989).
Spin-offs followed featuring characters such as Paul the Samurai, Man-Eating Cow, and Chainsaw Vigilante. Edlund continued to write and illustrate these projects initially through his years as an undergraduate film student at the Massachusetts College of Art. The Chainsaw Vigilante spin-off, which was never completed, was written and illustrated by Zander Cannon. Other series, such as the second Paul the Samurai series and the Man-Eating Cow series, were written by North Carolina writer Clay Griffith.
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