Herbie Popnecker

Herbie
Herbie, from Forbidden Worlds #114 (Sept. 1963). Art by Ogden Whitney
Publication information
Publisher	American Comics Group
First appearance	Forbidden Worlds #73 (Dec. 1958)
Created by	Richard E. Hughes and Ogden Whitney
In-story information
Alter ego	Herbie Popnecker
Notable aliases	Fat Fury
Abilities	Flying Invisibility Ability to talk to animals Time travel

Herbie Popnecker is a fictional character, who first appeared in Forbidden Worlds #73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group. He was created by Richard E. Hughes (using the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea") and Ogden Whitney.

Herbie is an antithetical hero: short, obese, unstylish, and young. Deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops from "the Unknown", Herbie can talk to animals and sometimes even inanimate objects (who all know him by name), fly at high enough speeds to quickly travel to other galaxies (by walking through the sky), become invisible, cast spells and summon spirits from other dimensions, quickly dispatch his enemies with apparent ease, and (once he got his own title) travel through time. Herbie is emotionless, terse, irresistible to women, consulted by world leaders, and more powerful than Satan.

Herbie made several appearances in Forbidden Worlds, in issues #73, #94, #110, #114, and #116—the final two issues with Herbie featured on the cover. Herbie also made a cameo appearance—albeit very much out of character—in Unknown Worlds #20, published in 1961.

Herbie received his own title in April 1964. The series ran for twenty-three issues until February 1967, shortly before the demise of American Comics Group.

Herbie's parents are unaware of his great powers and fame. His mother is reasonably supportive, however his father, Pincus Popnecker, repeatedly refers to him as a "little fat nothing" and wishes he had a son who "did something". Herbie's father, despite his wholesome and conservative "1950s dad" appearance, constantly engages in harebrained schemes and fails. Herbie is always obliged to bail him out in each circumstance, though the clueless Pincus always takes the credit and believes himself to be a financial genius.

Herbie is practically always shown with a lollipop, and lollipops are the main subjects of several stories. Herbie can "bop" adversaries with his lollipops, immediately defeating them. Herbie intimidates his adversaries by asking them rhetorically, "You want I should bop you with this here lollipop?", which almost always results in them backing down.

In Herbie #8 (March 1965), Herbie feels a need to become a costumed superhero, but after failing superhero school, he creates the Fat Fury by donning full-body red underwear with a drop seat, a blue cape, a blue plastic mask, and a plunger on his head. He is bare-footed. Herbie's clueless father then begins to wish that his little fat nothing of a son could be more like the Fat Fury.