Obnoxio the Clown (1983) 1

Continuing to observe International Clown Week, Four Color Holidays presents Obnoxio the Clown in his first – and only – special.

Obnoxio the Clown (1983) 1

Alan Kupperbert is judge, jury and executioner in this one-shot. He has everyone chewing the scenery like a Stan Lee-scripted comic book in Something Slimey This Way Comes.

A classic misunderstanding has the protagonists pummeling each other for a majority of the book. When the real villain is discovered, he is quickly dispatched in one panel and a witty retort.

Something Slimey is followed by Jury Duty or: “Oy, the Jury.” More slapstick and abusive asides make up the short story. The tale of tropes is not as entertaining as its predecessor, but suffices.

The book is rounded out with a few one-page puzzles and gags and wrapped up in a neat bow of homage in the form of a Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up.

Obnoxio was created by Larry Hama as a mascot to Crazy magazine. He’s described as “slovenly, vulgar and middle-aged.”

His career would cross over into comic books after Crazy. His first appearance in four color was What If..? (1977) issue 34. The second his special recounted above. Following that, the clown was basically forgotten until What The–? in 1992.

Outside of the printed world, Obnoxio made a guest appearance in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Fear Itself episode. His likeness was used for robots in the Spider-Man and the X-Men game Arcade’s Revenge video game.