Created by Charles Varrel (text) & Martin Filchock (art)
FIRE-MAN was a short-lived superhero from the 1940s whose real identity was that of JIM REUBEN, who ran a small detective agency called The Fire-Man Association.
Not such a secret identity, I guess.
Jim was initially a mere lad, working as a firefighter at a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp during the Great Depression in northern Utah, when he was rendered unconscious and taken prisoner by a “weird thing” during while fighting a forest fire, and became a victim of a mad scientist’s diabolical experiments.
Against his will, Jim was transformed into a lighter-than-air being made from carbon-monoxide and other gases with super-strength who could fly, control fire, and was impervious to resist heat. He’s sort of like the anti-Human Torch–he can’t burst into flame, but he can extinguish them just by touching them. Upon discovering his new powers and realizing their potential, he makes a vow: “I will do all I can to aid humanity. I’m going to fight fire and crime.”
And so he sets up the Fire-Man Association, where he greets clients dressed in his bright red jumpsuit, with a lovely yellow cape and a spiffy winged helmet.
I tell ya, they don’t write ’em like that anymore.
Fire-Man appeared in only a handful of stories, all back-up features, in Liberty Scouts (which soon changed its title to Liberty Guards after complaints from the Boy Scouts of America) and Man of War, alongside such other forgotten heroes as Vapo-Man and Undercover-Man.
COMICS
- LIBERTY SCOUTS
(1941-, Centaur)
2 issues
For some reason, this comics first issue was #2.- “The Fire-Man” (June 1941, #2)
- “The Fire-Man” (August 1941, #3)
- MAN OF WAR
(1941-42, Centaur)- 2 issues(November 1941, #1)
- (January 1942, #2)
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
