Superkatt is an American cartoon animal comic book series by Dan Gordon (under the comics pen name "Dang"), a jab at the “long-underwear” genre of superhero comics. The series stars Superkatt, an anthropomorphic cat who wears a bowtie, bonnet, and diaper as a superhero costume.[1]Ron Goulart, author of Ron Goulart's Great History of Comic Books, said that Superkatt was Dang's most memorable comic book character.[2] Denis Gifford, author of The International Book of Comics, said that the character "was as silly as his supercostume."[3]
Superkatt was an ordinary housecat who thought that he had superpowers, although all he did was drink vitamin milk.[4] However, he did often successfully (if accidentally) defeat his enemies; at one point, he captures a U-boat.[5]
Publication history
Superkatt first appeared in American Comics Group's Giggle Comics #9 in 1944.[3] The series was a regular feature in Giggle until 1955, when creator Gordon returned to the animation field.[6] The character also made an appearance in ACG's series Ha-Ha Comics in 1946.
Character
Superkatt - An anthropomorphic cat nicknamed "Supe."[3] Superkatt does not have any super powers at all, but is a normal (talking) house cat that dresses in a diaper, a baby's bonnet, and a big blue bow to fight minor neighborhood injustices.
In 1947, Superkatt appeared in the animated shortLeave Us Chase It, a part of the Phantasies series. A cat, who is being tormented by a mouse, reads a comic book and receives inspiration from it, so he dresses up as Superkatt and decides to fight back.[13] The cat was voiced by Bill Shaw.[14]
^Goulart, Ron. Ron Goulart's Great History of Comic Books. Contemporary Books, 1986. 222. Retrieved from Google Books on January 24, 2011. "Superkatt was in Giggle, wearing a hero costume that consisted of a baby bonnet, a bow tie, and a diaper."
^Goulart, Ron. Ron Goulart's Great History of Comic Books. Contemporary Books, 1986. 154. Retrieved from Google Books on January 24, 2011.
^ abcGifford, Denis. The International Book of Comics. Crescent Books, 1984. 132. Retrieved from Google Books on January 24, 2011. "[...]of the funny animal supercrowd was "Superkatt", who made his debut in Giggle Comics No.9 (1994). As drawn by "Dang" (the comic-book pen name of animator Dan Gordon from the Fleischer Studio), Superkatt, known as "Supe" for short (which he was), was as silly as his super costume."
^Becattini, Alberto (2019). "Super-Animals". American Funny Animal Comics in the 20th Century: Volume Two. Theme Park Press. ISBN978-1683902218.
^Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 252. ISBN978-1605490892.
^Webb, Graham. The Animated Film Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to American Shorts, Features and Sequences 1900-1979. McFarland, 2000. p. 276. Page not stated by Google Books. Retrieved from Google Books on January 24, 2011. "Leave Us Chase It (Phantasy) 24 Apr. 1947; pc: Colum; prod: Raymond Katz, Henry Binder; dir: Howard Swift; [...] Impressed by a comic he is reading, a cat disguises himself as "Superkatt" to try and get the best of a cocky mouse. "
^Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.