Supersnipe

{{Short description|Fictional comic book character}}

Supersnipe is a fictional character who appeared in a series of comic books published by Street & Smith from 1942 to 1949. Supersnipe was the imagined alter ego of Koppy McFad, "the boy with the most comic books in the world."{{cite web |last1=Markstein |first1=Don |website=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |access-date=2 April 2020 |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/suprsnip.htm |title=Supersnipe}} He was created by writer-artist George Marcoux, who had previously assisted Percy Crosby on the comic strip Skippy.

Koppy McFad has read so many comic books ("he reads 'em, breathes 'em, and sleeps 'em") that in his imagination, he turns into a costumed super-hero himself. He acts out his superhero adventures a la Don Quixote, annoying his family and his neighbors.{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Kurt |last2=Thomas |first2=Roy |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944 |date=2019 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490892 |pages=157, 228, 259}} He has no powers, but when he fills his suit with helium, he can fly.{{cite book |last1=Nevins |first1=Jess |title=Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes |date=2013 |publisher=High Rock Press |isbn=978-1-61318-023-5 |page=264}}

In his adventures, Supersnipe sometimes partners with Ulysses Q. Wacky, another boy who is referred to as an "inventor and genius unlimited."{{cite book |last1=Mougin |first1=Lou |title=Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics |date=2020 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=9781476638607|pages=303–304}} In 1943, the strip introduced a rival, Roxy the Girl Guerrilla. 1944 added two more members to the cast — Wing Woo Woo, and a boy detective, Herlock Dolmes.

The character first appeared in issues of Shadow Comics (vol. 2 no. 3) and Army and Navy Comics (vol. 1 no. 5). The strip was so popular that the next issue of Army and Navy was retitled Supersnipe Comics. Supersnipe appeared for a total of 44 issues before ceasing publication in 1949.{{cite book |last1=Benton |first1=Mike |title=Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History |date=1992 |publisher=Taylor Publishing Company |location=Dallas |isbn=0-87833-808-X |url=https://archive.org/details/superherocomicso0000bent |url-access=registration |access-date=8 April 2020 |page=[https://archive.org/details/superherocomicso0000bent/page/186 186]}}

Supersnipe has been described as "the first comic book to deal with comics themselves as subject matter."{{cite book |editor1-last=Misiroglu |editor1-first=Gina |editor2-last=Roach |editor2-first=David E. |title=The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes |date=2005 |publisher=Omnigraphics |isbn=978-0780807723 |page=101}}