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Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan

An American folk legend.

Name:
Paul Bunyan
Real name:
Aliases:
Birth date:
None
Gender:
Male
Powers:
  • Super Strength
First issue:
National Comics (1940) #1 National Comics
cover

Origin

The character derived his stories as somewhat synonymous of the American attempt to control the West and the wilderness of their large country (though he is also conversely a popular character in the mostly urbanized North Eastern states). He became a character associated with great feats in the wilderness such as pulling a crooked road to straightness. His faithful companion is Babe the Blue Ox.

Creation

As a fold character he was popular by description and by word of mouth before he was ever described on paper. He was thus a popular enough character in the very early days of comics before superheroes when characters were borrowed from literature and myth and the majority of his appearances have been as renditions of his tales.

Character Evolution

The character serves as an allegory of the westward expansion of the United States and thus doesn't really evolve per se. Rather regional versions of the character exist, all the way from the Northeast to the Northwest.

Major Story Arcs

Again as with other myths that are put to paper, there is often no real developments for the character, rather anecdotal events from the character's life. He appeared in the JLA story arc Queen of Fables.

Powers and Abilities

Usually depicted as a giant, the character has a great strength (in the JLA story arc this was shown to be on par with Superman and Wonder Woman.)

Issues

March 1944

November 1948

September 1951

November 1964

December 1988

March 1991

August 1994

January 2001

August 2004

January 2005

October 2006

December 2006

January 2007

May 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

September 2008

October 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

January 2010

Volumes

1939

1942

1963

1968

1983

1994

1997

2004

2005

2006

2008

2014

2017

2018

2023

Friends

Teams