As the remembrances of Larry Hagman continued to roll in, I fell into a deep wormhole. End of the internet kind of forums.
There, I found a Hagman world unknown to me: comic books. His first starring appearances were in two I Dream of Jeannie comics, printed by Dell Comics in the sixties. There were only two I Dream of Jeannie comics ever printed by Dell, so it’s fair to say Hagman’s mug didn’t sell too well.
That wasn’t enough to keep him out of his most interesting role: himself. According to Scott Johnson, at comicbook.com:
However, Larry Hagman’s most unusual comic book appearance came courtesy of Marvel Comics’ Iron Man. In Iron Man #222, Larry Hagman appeared at one of Tony Stark’s parties with a number of other eighties celebrities. Besides Larry Hagman, other party guests included Dr. Ruth and William “Refrigerator” Perry.
Just when I thought I’d reached the end of this particular peyote trip, I found this, a post about Hagman not starring in a comic, but serving as the model for a comic character.
Back in the Fifties, when Hagman was an up-and-coming actor seeking to make a living in New York City, he was hired by acclaimed cartoonist Leonard Starr as the model for a character in Starr’s hugely popular comic strip series, Mary Perkins On Stage. Hagman provided the likeness for Jed Potter, the hot-tempered son of a legendary movie actor.
The story of Jed Potter has been assembled in the second volume of the On Stage reprint series published by Classic Comics Press. In fact, a rendition of Hagman circa 1958 is featured on the cover of the book.
Jump for a page of Mary Perkins goodness.
