- Flaming Carrot Comics
Superherobox
caption="Flaming Carrot Comics" #01 (2005)
Art byBob Burden
comic_color=background:#80ff80
character_name=Flaming Carrot
real_name=Unknown
publisher=Image Comics
debut="Visions" #1 (1979)
creators=Bob Burden
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
status=active
alliances=Mystery Men , Junior Carrot Patrol
previous_alliances=
aliases=
relatives=Uncle Billy, Dr. Heller
powers=Atomic Powered Pogo Stick, Tornado in a Can, Plungers, Surrealism|"Flaming Carrot Comics" is a
surrealist comic book byBob Burden originally published byAardvark-Vanaheim , then byRenegade Press andDark Horse Comics between1984 and1993 . The book was relaunched in2005 withImage Comics .The title refers to the protagonist, “The Flaming Carrot.” He wears a costume that consists of a giant carrot mask, a white shirt, red pants, and flippers on his feet (in case he has to swim). The mask has a continually burning flame at the top and a secret compartment containing a nuclear powered pogo stick. Flaming Carrot also wears a crime fighting utility belt, but unlike that of the
Batman , his is filled with silly putty, rubber bands, random playing cards, sneeze powder, and other similarly useless items (which nonetheless can become lethal weapons in his hands). He is not averse to the use of firearms, and can be seen from time to time brandishing asemi-automatic pistol . The Carrot lives in Palookaville, a neighborhood ofIron City (a working-stiff sort of town like Akron,Ohio orPittsburgh ).The origins issue (issue 7) states that "having read 5,000 comics in a single sitting to win a bet, this poor man suffered brain damage and appeared directly thereafter as - the Flaming Carrot!" Several hints within the various issues have led many to speculate that the Flaming Carrot is, in fact,
Jim Morrison ofthe Doors . Fact|date=February 2007Flaming Carrot can be seen as a
parody of various aspects of thesuperhero genre (though his origin story is much the same as that ofDon Quixote ). Most of his dialogue is disjointed, but sometimes thought provoking in aZen Koan fashion. Odd pop culture references and random non-sequiturs abound throughout the stories. He is portrayed as a womanizing, hard drinking, two-fisted, mentally unbalanced individual (calling to mind the gritty anti-heroes of the 1980s), whilst at the same time almost inexorably being on the side ofThe Establishment , with at least one instance of telling the audience to "avoid between meal snacks and brush after every meal" similar to the very clean cut, all American comic characters of the Golden Age. However, the series contains more depth than a superhero parody. Reflections on philosophy, the absence of meaning in modern life, why someone would choose the life of a superhero, and the effects of waking up from a night of heavy drinking with a speaker surgically implanted in one's chest abound.To date, Flaming Carrot has staved off at least three alien invasions, a
Communist take over of Iron City, flying dead dogs, theMan in the Moon ,Death itself, and a cloned horde of evil marchingHitler 's boots. Possessing no real super powers, the Carrot wins the day through sheer grit, raw determination, blinding stupidity, and bizarre luck.Flaming Carrot was also a founding member of a superhero group called
Mystery Men . The story of this group was later made into a movie. Flaming Carrot himself did not appear in this film, although a handful of characters like Mr. Furious, the Shoveler, and Dr. Heller did.External links
* [http://www.rotten.com/library/culture/flaming-carrot/ Rotten Library] Article on Flaming Carrot
* [http://www.flamingcarrot.com Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot homepage]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/fcarrot.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia Flaming Carrot page]
* [http://www.i-mockery.com/shorts/flamingcarrot/default.php Instructions for making a Flaming Carrot costume]
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