Hugo Hercules

The creation of cartoonist William H.D. Koerner, Hugo Hercules was the titular hero of a comic strip that ran from September 1902 to January 1903 for the Chicago Tribune.

A good-natured man endowed with superhuman strength, the character of Hugo wandered about town, helping people with their problems and shocking them with his surprising displays of power. He was so strong he could pick up an elephant, [cite web | author = William H. D. Koerner | title= Hugo Hercules performs another prodigy| url= http://www.barnaclepress.com/cmcvlt/HugoHerc/hugoherc021012.jpg| publisher = The Chicago Sunday Tribune | accessdate=2007-09-21 ] kick a house like a football, [cite web | author = William H. D. Koerner | title= Hugo Hercules misses the football, but—| url= http://www.barnaclepress.com/cmcvlt/HugoHerc/hugoherc021116.jpg| publisher = The Chicago Sunday Tribune | accessdate=2007-09-21 ] wield an artillery cannon like a handgun, [cite web | author = William H. D. Koerner | title= Hugo Hercules does a little holding up himself| url= http://www.barnaclepress.com/cmcvlt/HugoHerc/hugoherc021207.jpg| publisher = The Chicago Sunday Tribune | accessdate=2007-09-21 ] and lift a locomotive engine off the tracks and pull its cargo behind him at train speeds. [cite web | author = William H. D. Koerner | title= Hugo Hercules comes to the rescue of the Cannonball Limited| url= http://www.barnaclepress.com/cmcvlt/HugoHerc/hugoherc021214.jpg| publisher = The Chicago Sunday Tribune | accessdate=2007-09-21 ]

Often referred to as the first superhero, the strip was not a great success and Koerner eventually left comics to become a painter. [Bill Blackbeard & Dale Crain, "The Comic Strip Century". Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1995. 2 volumes. 480 pp. ISBN 0-87816-355-7 ]

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.barnaclepress.com/list.php?directory=HugoHerc The complete Hugo Hercules series]