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HERO-MAN

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Unrevealed (see comments) (WWII era)

Occupation: Super-hero/vigilante

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Officer Kelly

Enemies: Crawler, Creeper, Leftover Looey, black market racketeers

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile in the USA via Hero-Man Comics issues

First Appearance: Funny Tunes#17/2 (Fall, 1944)

Powers/Abilities: The diminutive Hero-Man has superhuman strength (at least in the 1 ton range) and is bulletproof. He can fly at subsonic speed. Hero-Man likes to put on a show of his pursuit of crime, often breaking things. He can leap out of his comic book to enforce his strict moral code for justice and fight against evil; this may be via dimensional portal only he can access (see comments).

Height: 18"
Weight: Unrevealed (possibly 1 lb.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:

(Funny Tunes#17/2 (fb) - BTS) - Hero-Man Comics was a reasonably popular comic book title that suffered from low print runs due to paper shortages during WWII in the USA. This made it an item for black market racketeering. The magazine featured stories of the valiant and indomitable Hero-Man. He could appear at times of actual crime when the comic was opened, although his size was small (it's unrevealed if the comic character was also small).

(Funny Tunes#17/2) - The nefarious opportunist Creeper was selling black market comic books (including many Marvel/Timely titles), such as Hero-Man Comics, during a time of wartime paper shortages. Small-time crook and Hero-Man fan Leftover Looey approached Creeper and his sidekick Crawler, and paid handsomely for a rare low-run issue of Hero-Man Comics, slavering at the open pages. But sensing illegal activities, Hero-Man somehow flew out of the comic and challenged the trio. Looey was delighted to see his idol, but Creeper panicked and tried to encase the little hero under a small box. Hero-Man tore free and smashed through a window to find a police officer. Officer Kelly was so shocked by the tiny figure that he fainted, so Hero-Man flew back to mete out his own justice. However, Creeper had correctly deduced that Hero-Man was (psychologically?) bound to the narrative of always winning after fighting his foe, so Creeper set up a card game among the criminal trio. Hero-Man was baffled and even begged for a fight. Meeting no resistance, he returned inside his comic magazine defeated. Believing he had outwit the little hero, Creeper resolved to close his black market, although Looey was sad at losing his idol. Creeper was about to ditch the comic into the river to get rid of the evidence, but this gave Hero-Man a chance to fight and he zipped out, pushing Creeper into the river.

 

 

 

Comments: Creators not credited.

So what's the exact nature of Hero-Man, "the Scourge of Evil"? I suggest that he's an imp-like being who can portal through his opened comic book when he senses crime (perhaps a little like Aarkus/Vision in this respect) and has adopted a super-hero appearance (but which came first: Hero-Man the imp or the comic?). It seems very unlikely there is one waiting inside each copy.

This profile was completed 01/31/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Hero-Man has no known connections to:

Leftover Looey

Leftover Looey was a jive-talking hip small-time criminal willing to engage in black market activities. Hearing that the nefarious opportunist Creeper was selling black market comic books during a time of wartime paper shortages and desperately keen for another comic of his idol Hero-Man, Looey paid handsomely for another issue (likely with stolen money). Creeper warned the FBI might be after him for hoarding comics in wartime. And with that, the vigilante Hero-Man leaped from the pages of the comic book into the real world. Looey was delighted to see his idol, but Hero-Man threatened them with justice, so Crawler tried unsuccessfully to cage him. Pacifism proved a brief respite to prevent Hero-Man from fighting them, but eventually Hero-Man gained an opportunity. Looey was happy to see his idol win another fight.

   His outfit is reminiscent of Montana (Jackson Brice) of the Enforcers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Funny Tunes#17/2

images: (without ads)
Funny Tunes#17/2, p5, pan6 (main image)
   p1, pan1 (comic)
   p3, pan5 (leaping)
   p3, pan1 (Leftover Looey)

Appearances:
Funny Tunes#17/2 (Fall, 1944) - uncredited writer & artist(s), Vince Fago (editor)

First posted: 09/22/2026
Last updated: 01/31/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com.

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix!

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