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Joe Palooka | |
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Author(s) | Ham Fisher (1930–1956) Moe Leff (1956–1959) Morris Weiss (1959–1984) |
Illustrator(s) | Ham Fisher (1930–1955) Moe Leff (1955–1959) Tony DiPreta (1959–1984) |
Current status/schedule | Concluded daily & Sunday strip |
Launch date | April 19, 1930 |
End date | November 24, 1984[1] |
Alternate name(s) | Joe the Dumbbell |
Syndicate(s) | McNaught Syndicate |
Publisher(s) | Columbia Comics Harvey Comics IDW Publishing |
Genre(s) | Sports |
Joe Palooka is an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher. The strip debuted on April 19, 1930[1] and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers. It was cancelled in 1984.
The strip was adapted to a 15-minute CBS radio series, 12 feature-length films (chiefly from Monogram Pictures), nine Vitaphone film shorts, a 1954 syndicated television series (The Joe Palooka Story), comic books and merchandise, including a 1940s board game, a 1947 New Haven Clock & Watch Company wristwatch, a 1948 metal lunchbox featuring depictions of Joe, Humphrey and Little Max, and a 1946 Wheaties cereal box cut-out mask. In 1980, a mountain in Pennsylvania was named for the character.