While other Street & Smith heroes got their start in prose fiction before being adapted into comic books, Supersnipe, created by writer-artist George Marcoux, was designed specifically for comics and as a meta commentary on the medium. McGinness explains, "'Supersnipe' is the story of a boy, Koppy McFad, who had the greatest amount of comics in the entire world. He would break the wall of reality when he would read his comics and transport himself into a superhero. Even though he would be still in his suburban bedroom with his parents downstairs, he was fighting evil creatures and villains all over the world in his imagination."
"That character, as an attempt, was to create a more younger-skewing character within this universe," McGinness continued. "[That] was really interesting, especially when we found instances where the Supersnipe character would team up with The Shadow and Doc Savage in their comic form, and they would unite — almost, in a sense, forming an early version of the Justice League before such a concept really came into being." In our age of superhero cinematic universes and "Deadpool"-style self-aware comedy, these forgotten comics prove surprisingly prescient of where popular culture was heading.
"Pulp Power: The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the Art of the Street & Smith Universe" is now available in stores.
