The Heap
| The Heap | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Hillman Periodicals |
| First appearance | Air Fighters #3 (Dec. 1942) |
| Created by | Mort Leav, Harry Stein |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Baron Eric von Emmelman Jim Roberts Eddie Beckett |
| Team affiliations |
The New Wave Greenworld |
| Abilities | Strength and durability derived from size and composition; can engulf enemies and transport them to the Greenworld (Image version) |
The Heap is the name of several fictional comic book muck-monsters, the original of which first appeared in Hillman Periodicals' Air Fighters Comics #3 (Dec. 1942), during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. The character was created by writer Harry Stein and artist Mort Leav, and revived in the 1980s by Eclipse Comics.
Similar but unrelated characters appeared in comics stories published by Skywald in the 1970s and Image Comics in the 1990s.
Following its debut Air Fighters Comics #3 (cover-dated Dec. 1942), the Heap reappeared as a guest character sporadically in that title. With its fourth appearance, in the by-then re-titled Airboy Comics vol. 3, #9 (Oct. 1946), it became the star of a backup feature. That feature continued until the final issue, vol. 10, #4 (May 1953). Other artists associated with Hillman's Heap include Jack Abel, Paul Reinman, and Ernie Schroeder.
In 1986, Eclipse Comics, having acquired rights to some Hillman characters, began publishing a new Airboy comic with the Heap as a supporting character. The Heap also appeared in the Eclipse title The New Wave, where the creature was considered by some members of that group to be a member. Eclipse Comics went bankrupt and ceased operations in the 1990s. Image Comics purchased the Eclipse assets, including the Heap.
A version of Baron von Emmelman also appears in the novel The Bloody Red Baron, part of the Anno Dracula series by Kim Newman. Here he and the other great pilots of the First World War are vampires, and his monstrous form is the result of experiments to improve his vampiric abilities.
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