Herky, December 18, 1938

Herky, December 18, 1938

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Herky by Clyde Lewis was about a young boy who was given the name Hercules due to the unusual strength he possessed as an infant. In addition, he also exhibited increased cognitive abilities, and was quite articulate even at a very young age. This seems like the setup for some kind of superhero story, but it turns out it's just a normal gag comic the main joke of which is a baby who does things that babies wouldn't normally do. It had very charming art, and the gags were good enough, but after Lewis decided to age Herky up a bit from baby young child, readers lost interest. It ran for 6 years and ended in 1941.

Here we see Herky as a toddler helping out his younger sister Honey. Since he has an increased language capacity, he's able to talk to Santa Claus and let him know what Honey wants for Christmas. Herky is also apparently honest to a fault, as I imagine Honey would rather he not mention the times she hasn't been so good this year. I'm not sure she's entirely helping her case by distracting Santa with a candy cane, though, as I would think that bribery would get you put on the naughty list. Also, where exactly did she get the candy cane from?