M. F. Enterprises

M. F. Enterprises
Status defunct (1967)
Founded 1966
Founder Myron Fass
Country of origin United States of America
Headquarters location New York City
Key people Carl Burgos
Publication types Comics
Fiction genres Superhero, Teen humor, Western
Imprints Country-Wide Publications
Captain Marvel
Publication information
Publisher M.F. Enterprises
First appearance Captain Marvel #1 (April 1966)
Created by Carl Burgos
In-story information
Alter ego Prof. Roger Winkle
Species Alien android
Team affiliations Earth, Dartmoor University
Partnerships Billy Baxton, Tinyman (D.A. Jack Baker)
Notable aliases The Human Robot, Mr. Marvel (name he used when he first arrived on Earth)
Abilities Robotic body gives him superhuman strength, speed and durability, interplanetary flight via jet-propelled Astro-Boots, laser-vision, computer brain that can alter internal electronic components to whatever function needed including breathing underwater, generating force fields and time travel, and can split off body parts at the joints and have them fly around performing separate tasks.

M. F. Enterprises was a 1966–67 comic book publisher owned by artist and 1970s pulp-magazine entrepreneur Myron Fass, whose holdings also included the black-and-white horror comics magazine imprint, Eerie Publications.

M.F.'s best-known effort was "Captain Marvel" (no relation to the old Fawcett Comics superhero nor to the later Marvel Comics characters of that name). The first issue of the character's comic book claimed he was based on a character created by Golden Age writer-artist Carl Burgos, creator of the original Human Torch.

This masked, redheaded [1] Captain Marvel was a jet-booted and laser-eyed alien android powered by an "M"-emblemed blue medallion who had been sent to Earth by his creators to escape the final atomic destruction of their war-ravaged planet. Vowing to protect the peace of his new home, the self-proclaimed 'Human Robot' took the secret identity of journalist turned university professor Roger Winkle and fought crime by crying “Split!” and dividing his red-clad robotic body into independently moving parts (head, torso, arms, legs, hands, etc.) which would fly around and do whatever task required and then reuniting it by crying “Xam!”[2]

Accusations of plagiarism were common with this character. Not only did his name belong to a previously existing popular hero, he had a kid sidekick named Billy Baxton who was the first person he met when he arrived on Earth and fought villains like the super-stretchy Plastic Man who after his first appearance was re-dubbed Elasticman and was, despite his human appearance, an alien Gronk left behind by the Blue Men of Venus, the bristly-mustached Terry-Thomas-style mad scientist Dr. Fate who was obsessed with learning the secret of the Captain's electronic powers, and the somewhat more equivocal Tarzac who, despite his name, was a bald Aquaman/Sub-Mariner-style "King of the Sharks".

Other antagonists like the nuclear physicist turned metal-mouthed pirate Atom-Jaw who could bite through solid steel and the miniature Tinyman who could enlarge himself to the size of a full-grown man when necessary [3] and who later reformed to become the local district attorney bore a strong resemblance to classic Golden Age characters Iron Jaw and Doll Man. The only foe Captain Marvel actually hated (because he was pre-programmed to by his makers) was the mighty Destroyer, a literally fiery-eyed, skullcap-clad android created by the enemy Volcano People of the hero's home planet who also escaped the death of their world and was now allied with Earth's own hostile subterranean race, and he had the exact same powers as the original Human Torch except that he fired flames out of the golden circle on his chest instead of his hands.

The straw that broke the camel's back, however, was the high-flying hypnotic mastermind known as the Bat whose strong resemblance to a certain caped crusader brought a quick phone call from the lawyers at DC Comics and a quick name change to the Ray, with the only real change to his costume being the addition of a lightning bolt emblem to his chest.[4][5]

The title lasted four issues, followed by two issues of Captain Marvel Presents the Terrible Five. (The M. F. Enterprises' version of Captain Marvel made a cameo appearance—along with other alternate versions of Captain Marvel—in issue #27 of The Power of Shazam! [DC Comics, 1997]. The character is shown performing his trademark division while wearing a traditional Fawcett Captain Marvel thunderbolt costume. Other versions shown include Captain Thunder, Monica Rambeau, Mar-Vell, and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.)

M. F. Enterprises also published Henry Brewster, an Archie-style teen humor comic created by artist Bob Powell which lasted seven issues and followed the adventures and misadventures of the title red-headed All-American teenager and his friends, the big, squeaky-voiced jock Animal, brainy, bespectacled nerd Weenie and the beautiful Debbie and Melody. Keeping with the spy craze of the period, their teacher was a former secret agent named Mr. Secrett who was always happy to lend a handy gadget when needed.[6]

Although the M. F. Enterprises brand stopped publishing comics in 1967, publisher Myron Fass continued with his Eerie Publications line of black-and-white mostly horror comic magazines until 1981.

Titles published

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Although for some reason he always had blond hair on the covers.
  2. ↑ Howlett, Mike, The Weird World of Eerie Publications, Feral House, 2010 p. 281
  3. ↑ A reverse spin on such shrinking superheroes as the Atom and Ant-Man.
  4. ↑ Howlett, Mike, The Weird World of Eerie Publications, Feral House, 2010 p. 282
  5. ↑ http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/46/
  6. ↑ Howlett, Mike, The Weird World of Eerie Publications, Feral House, 2010 p. 283

External links


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