Herbie is one of the strangest characters in comics - an unlikely hero with no defined powers, motivation, or goal. This certainly makes him unique and interesting.

However, it also makes this collection too long by half. Once you get the premise of Herbie, the "stories" don't really go anywhere. It's quirky Scooby-Doo with a Bugs Bunny sensitivity, but not nearly as memorable.

This is totally a comic you should be familiar with, but you don't need to read more than about 5 issues. ( )

Created and written by American Comics Group editor [author:Richard Hughes] under one of his many pseudonyms, Herbie chronicled the adventures of the most unlikely of heroes, the rotund, everyman Herbie Popnecker. This most memorable title from ACG relied on sharp witted scripts and [author:Ogden Whitney]'s understated art. Energized by his arsenal of magical lollipops, Herbie exhibited a wide range of powers in a variety of genres against an odd assortment of villains. Fifty years after its initial publication, this handsome collection of the first sixteen Herbie stories demonstrates that these tales still supply a simple, near perfect parody of superhero comics and its fandom while remaining uniquely its own entity.

(Sample Story)
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My family's favourite comic from the 1960s is reprinted in this 3-volume series. I suggest starting with the second Dark Horse archive because the first includes early stories in which the character was evolving, the second includes the origin of the Fat Fury, and the third includes two reprints from the first. A Catalog of Herbie Stories is available at perlypalms.com along with an exhaustive compilation of recurring themes in Herbie stories. ( )

incredible. just *incredible* ( )