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<HEAD><TITLE>Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Flatfoot Burns </TITLE> <script language="JavaScript"></script> <META name = "author" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "description" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "subject" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "keywords" content = "comic books animated cartoons animation comics comix syndicated comic strips"> <META name = "publisher" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "format" content = "text/html"> <META name = "language" content = "EN"> </HEAD><BODY> <body onload="if (self!= top) top.location = self.location"></body> <BODY BGCOLOR="FFFFFF" TEXT="000000" LINK="0000EE" VLINK="551A8B"> <TABLE><TR><TD WIDTH=330 VALIGN="CENTER"><IMG GALLERYIMG="NO" ALIGN="LEFT" HEIGHT=280 WIDTH=320 ALT="Flatfoot Burns. Artist: Harvey Kurtzman." SRC="flatfoot.jpg"> <TD VALIGN="CENTER"> <H1>FLATFOOT BURNS</H1><FONT SIZE=4> <B>Medium:</B> Comic books <BR><B>Published by:</B> Quality Comics <BR><B>First Appeared:</B> 1943 <BR><B>Creator:</B> Harvey Kurtzman<FONT SIZE=3> <! BEGIN DONATION CODE> <HR><FONT SIZE=2 COLOR="993366"><CENTER> If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, <BR>Please contribute to its necessary financial support. <BR><A HREF="http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T1237L0BCY25QA" TARGET="_blank">Amazon.com</A> or <A HREF="https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=don%40toonopedia.com&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_cod e=USD" TARGET="_blank">PayPal</A> </FONT></CENTER><HR> <! END DONATION CODE> <P><A NAME="cont"> A periodical named <I>Police Comics</I> may seem an unusual place to find a slapstick character like Flatfoot Burns. But maybe not. Considering it started out full of  <P ALIGN="RIGHT"><A HREF="#cont"><FONT SIZE=2><I>continued below</A></FONT> </TABLE> <CENTER><! BEGIN ADSENSE "LEADERBOARD" CODE> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <! END ADSENSE CODE></CENTER> <P><TABLE><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP"> <A HREF="glossary.htm#superhero">superheroes</A> such as <A HREF="plas.htm">Plastic Man,</A> <A HREF="firebrnd.htm">Firebrand</A> and <A HREF="h-bomb.htm">The Human Bomb,</A> maybe it was simply appropriate that after a couple of years it began to feature an actual policeman, even if not a very serious one. <P> Burns was an early work of <A HREF="glossary.htm#cartoonist">cartoonist</A> <A HREF="kurtzman.htm">Harvey Kurtzman,</A> probably best known to the public as the creator of <A HREF="anniefan.htm">Little Annie Fanny.</A> Tho he was already working in comics (on super guys like <A href="lash-l.htm">Lash Lightning</A> and <A HREF="magnodav.htm">Magno & Davey,</A> who were published by Ace Magazines), Burns was his first humorous creation — thus setting the tone for his future career, which included founding <I><A HREF="mad.htm">Mad</I> magazine.</A> <P> Flatfoot Burns first appeared in <I>Police Comics</I> #24 (November, 1943), replacing <A HREF="phanlady.htm">Phantom Lady.</A> He was a very short guy with a bulb nose, and wore a green plaid hat sort of but not quite like Sherlock Holmes's deerstalker, and a matching green plaid jacket. To say he displayed the lighter side of police work would be a severe understatement. In fact, he was out-and-out silly, without a serious line in either dialog or pictures. <P> Kurtzman's association with the character was brief — three episodes, to be exact. In #27, Burns was written and drawn by Marvin Stein, who also worked for Prize Comics, <A HREF="marvel.htm">Marvel</A> and other publishers. Al Stahl (<A HREF="deathpat.htm">Death Patrol</A>) handled him after that. Others followed over the next few years of the <I>Police Comics</I> series, the only venue Burns ever had. The character was last seen in <I>Police</I> #67 (June, 1947). Actual policemen didn't return to <I>Police Comics</I> until 1950, when Inspector Denver and <A HREF="tman.htm">Treasury Agent Trask</A> joined the line-up. <P> Technically, Harvey Kurtzman's first venture into funny stuff is as likely to <A HREF="dc.htm">DC Comics,</A> which acquired assets from <A href="quality.htm">Quality Comics</A> (publisher of the <I>Police</I> title) in 1956. But like <A HREF="candy.htm">Candy,</A> <A HREF="marmadkm.htm">Marmaduke Mouse,</A> Honeybun, <A HREF="bozorobo.htm">Bozo the Robot</A> and many other Quality Comics properties, DC has never made use of this one, so its ownership, if any, is kind of a moot point. <P ALIGN = "RIGHT">— DDM <P><A HREF="index.htm">BACK</A> to <I>Don Markstein's Toonopedia</I> Home Page <BR><A HREF="today.htm">Today in Toons:</A> Every day's an anniversary! <P><! 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