Flaming Carrot Comics


Flaming Carrot Comics is a comic book series by cartoonist Bob Burden. The title character first appeared in Visions #1, a magazine published by the Atlanta Fantasy Fair in 1979. Flaming Carrot can be seen as a parody of various aspects of the superhero genre. Burden refers to the character as "the World's first surrealist superhero!" Flaming Carrot is often noted for his distinctive exclamation "Ut!" Flaming Carrot adventures have been published by Aardvark-Vanaheim, Renegade Press, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics, among others. He has guest-starred and made cameos in comics published by Fantagraphics, Mirage Studios, Atomeka Press, and others.

Concept and themes

The Flaming Carrot was in part inspired by the obscure Golden Age character The Fin. Burden recounted that, "I took this particular idea and scratched it down one night when I came home about three o'clock in the morning. I'd been out on the town all night, and it was one of those nights when I came home tired, and fell asleep with my clothes on." Asked to explain the meaning of "Ut!", he stated,

Publication history

The Flaming Carrot first appeared in Visions #1, a direct-market magazine published as the program booklet of the Atlanta Fantasy Fair. Flaming Carrot stories went on to appear in each yearly edition of the magazine through 1987. Bob Burden worked as illustrator and writer with Roxanne Starr working as letterer.
In 1981 Burden, under the company name Killian Barracks Press, self-published Flaming Carrot Comics #1, an oversized one-shot. Four- to eight-page Flaming Carrot stories appeared in each subsequent annual issue of Visions through #4, that last of which contained an apocryphal Flaming Carrot history that convinced Dave Sim, of the self-publishing company Aardvark-Vanaheim, to publish Flaming Carrot as a regular comic, First, however, Sim included back-up stories of the Carrot in the pages of Aardvark-Vanaheim's Cerebus' #61–62. The Carrot eventually guest starred in the series proper in Cerebus #104.
In the meantime, Aardvark-Vanaheim had published Flaming Carrot #1-5. The company also published a 3-D special, A-V In 3-D #1.
After Dave Sim and Deni Loubert, the couple behind Aardvark-Vanaheim, divorced, Loubert established Renegade Press to publish all of Aardvark-Vanaheim's former titles apart from Cerebus. Flaming Carrot was one of these, and remained with Renegade until the publisher went bankrupt in 1988. Renegade published issues #6-17. Burden also published a short Flaming Carrot piece in the Fantagraphics anthology Anything Goes!.
After Renegade, Burden took Flaming Carrot to Dark Horse Comics, which published 14 more issues of Flaming Carrot, #18-31. Dark Horse also published Flaming Carrot stories in its anthology Dark Horse Presents #20 and its annual anthology San Diego Comic Con Comics #1.
Following issue #31 in 1994, the character appeared only sporadically in one-shots over the next decade. In winter 1994, Dark Horse published Flaming Carrot Stories No. 1, referred to on the cover as a "Text Version of Future Issue", although a standard pictorial comic version did not later appear. From 1997-1998, the company published four volumes of the Flaming Carrot Comics Collected Album, which was the first time the series had been reprinted, and the 64-page "Flaming Carrot Comics Annual No.1", featuring a new story. In 1999, Dark Horse published four issues of the spin-off series "Bob Burden's Original Mysterymen Comics", which did not feature the Flaming Carrot. In 2002, Dark Horse published the crossover special Flaming Carrot & Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, listed as Flaming Carrot Comics #32 in the indicia.
At times, entire Flaming Carrot storylines would simply be abandoned, and numerous projects and spin-offs promised in the series various letter pages and "Bob Speaks" columns never came to fruition.
In 1993–1994, Mirage Studios published the four-issue series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/ Flaming Carrot Crossover. Burden did not do the art for this series, however.
Flaming Carrot was relaunched in 2004 with Image Comics and Desperado Publishing. This series lasted two years, comprising four issues.
The final appearance of Flaming Carrot was the 2006 Photo Comic Special #1, featuring photographs instead of illustration. Burden has not published original comic book work since 2007.

Fictional character biography

The Flaming Carrot origin states that "having read 5,000 comics in a single sitting to win a bet, this poor man suffered brain damage and appeared directly thereafter as—the Flaming Carrot!"
The Carrot, who lives in Palookaville, a neighborhood of Iron City, has staved off at least three alien invasions, a Communist takeover of Iron City, flying dead dogs, the Man in the Moon, Death itself, and a cloned horde of evil marching Hitler's boots. Possessing no real super powers, the Carrot wins the day through sheer grit, raw determination, blinding stupidity, and bizarre luck. Flaming Carrot even died in #6, was brought back from clinical death in #7, described his sojourn in Limbo in #8 and got back at those who sent him to Limbo in #9.
Flaming Carrot was also a founding member of the blue collar superhero group the Mystery Men, introduced in a flashback/dream sequence in Flaming Carrot Comics #16. The story of this group was later made into the 1999 movie Mystery Men and a short-lived spin-off comic book series. The Flaming Carrot himself does not appear in the film, although a handful of characters like Mr. Furious, the Shoveler, and Dr. Heller do.

Powers and abilities

The Carrot wears a costume that consists of a giant carrot mask which extends from above his head to below his crotch, a white shirt, red pants, and flippers on his feet. The mask has a continually burning flame at the top and a secret compartment containing a nuclear-powered pogo stick. Flaming Carrot also wears a crime fighting utility belt, but unlike that of Batman, his is filled with Silly Putty, rubber bands, random playing cards, sneezing powder, and other similarly frivolous items. Dr. Heller upgraded Flaming Carrot's equipment after bringing him back from the clinically dead. The Flaming Carrot also relies heavily on his 9mm Radom pistol to kill his enemies without hesitation.
Flaming Carrot is able to go into a self-induced state of "Zen Stupidity" in order to face danger and evil boldly and without trepidation.

Awards