Post No. 546"

I think every comic book collector has at least one of those quirky sort of titles they like to read. Something another collector would probably make fun of and think worthless.

For myself, it's always been the Gold Key/Whitman Super Goof.

Super Goof first appeared in Gold Key's The New Adventures of The Phantom Blot (an old Mickey Mouse villian) #2, in early 1965. And, the character of course, was Walt Disney's "Goofy" (the dog) who in this first appearance as a super-powered being gained his powers by accidently drinking a glass of chemicals concocted by that wacky inventor, "Gyro Gearloose". Obviously, Super Goof was a hit because it wasn't very long at all, Oct.(cover date),'65 in fact, that Gold Key gave him his own title.

Between these issues, his appearance and origin changed somewhat. Originally in PB 2 he wore just the red longjohns with a white "G" on his chest, and a blue cape. By SG #1 he reacquired that silly "Goofy hat", probably just because the Disney readers more identified him with such. And in Super Goof #1, his powers originated from peanuts he'd eaten, grown in his backyard garden. This later became the infamous Super Goober he'd eat when he wanted to change from Goofy to Super Goof. The powers would last for a while, then he'd have to down another 'nut.

He also looked differently on the cover of PB #2 than he did in the Super Goof title, as in that first app. the colorist reversed the red and blue on his cape and 'johns (although on the interior story they were the same as in SG #1).

SG's powers were pretty much just like Superman's, naturally, since that's the character he was spoofing. He had the usual super strength, telescopic vision, flying, invunerability, etc., etc. And all from eating a peanut. (And no, I won't go so low as to say he really got a nut from that!)

You would think that this silliness would play out pretty quickly, but SG's title lasted a full 74 issues spanning the mid to late Silver Age, the complete Bronze Age and into "the Modern" (1965-1984), changing from Gold Key to the Whitman imprint in the number 50's, a couple of reprint issues under the Top Comics (a Whitman imprint) banner in 1967, and there was even a "Dynabrite" (yet another Whitman imprint) special ("Super Goof Meets Super Thief"; 1979) published, giving him immortality among the ranks of other real"longjohn characters" such as "Herbie", "Supersnipe", "Forbush Man" and "Mrs. Hunkle" (the original Red Tornado).