Obnoxio the Clown

Obnoxio the Clown as depicted in Deadpool: Back in Black volume 1.

Obnoxio the Clown is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics as the mascot of the humor magazine Crazy.^[1] He was created by Larry Hama.

Characterization

Obnoxio is portrayed as a slovenly, vulgar, cigar-puffing middle-aged man in a torn and dirty clown suit, with a dyspeptic and cynical attitude.

Background

Larry Hama created Obnoxio immediately after he became the editor of Crazy. He explained, "I thought the old mascot was too 'nebbishy.' I wanted someone proactive, and somebody who actually had a voice, unlike all the other humor magazine mascots." The character's face was modeled after Al Milgrom.^[2]

Artist Alan Kupperberg, who would become heavily associated with the character, recounted, "Obnoxio's first appearance was in a one-panel illustration to accompany a subscription ad in Crazy, written by Larry and calling for likenesses of P. T. Barnum and Marcy Tweed among others. This was right up my alley, so I pulled the reference and really went to town, doing a very nice half-tone illo. I think the piece impressed Larry quite a bit, because if my memory is correct, Larry left me strictly alone on anything and everything Obnoxio the Clown-related." Most of the Obnoxio features were written by Virgil Diamond, who according to Hama "was a high school English teacher in Brooklyn. I heard from him a few years ago when he retired. He really labored on those pages and was constantly fussing with them."^[2]

Obnoxio the Clown appeared in several single-page gags in What If? #34 (August 1982).^[2]

Marvel also published a one-shot Obnoxio the Clown (titled Obnoxio the Clown vs. the X-Men on the cover) comic book in April 1983 following Crazy's cancellation.^[1][2] The plot centered on Obnoxio as a villain and unlikely ally of the X-Men.^[1] He and the group battle Eye Scream, a villain who can transform into ice cream.

The sole issue of the comic book was written, illustrated, colored, and lettered by Alan Kupperberg;^[3] in a comment which Kupperberg attributed to Peter David,^[4] and which David attributes to James Owsley,^[5] the comic was described as "written, penciled, inked and lettered by Alan Kupperberg. Yes, it’s untouched by human hands."

Long after Obnoxio had disappeared from the spotlight, Marvel published two stories written and drawn by Kupperberg in What The--?! #13 (July 1991) and #24 (December 1992).

In other media

• Obnoxio appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Fear Itself", voiced by John DiMaggio.^[6]
• Android clones of Obnoxio appear in Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge.
• Obnoxio appears in the novel Doctor Doom: The Chaos Trilogy.

References

1. Campbell, David (April 20, 2005). Obnoxio the Clown Marvel Comics, 1983, Accessed August 2008.
2. Arnold, Mark (September 2016). "What The--?!: Obnoxio the Clown". Back Issue! (91). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 68–71.
3. Comic Collector live. Obnoxio The Clown #1. Accessed November 2008.
4. Kupperberg interview from Comic Book Artist #16, archived at AlanKupperberg.com; via archive.org
5. Not in Any Store…, by Peter David, from Comics Buyer's Guide #1003, February 5, 1993; archived at PeterDavid.net
6. "Obnoxio Voice - Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 12, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

External links

• Obnoxio the Clown - General information (blog).
• Marvel Appendix entry on Eye Scream, villain from the one-shot.