Flaming Carrot

Flaming Carrot is a Superhero created by Bob Burden. The character first appeared in Visions #1 (1979), the yearly Atlanta Fantasy Fair publication. He made regular appearances there to 1987. Burden self-published the one-shot Flaming Carrot Comics #1 (1981). But the real launch of the character took place when Dave Sims of Aardvark Vanaheim decided to hire Burden. Launching Flaming Carrot Comics as a regular series. The series changed publishers a couple of times, running for a total of 31 issues (May, 1984- October, 1994).

During its run, Carrot also appeared in anthology titles, mini-series and a couple of crossovers, notably with Cerebus and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage. Since Burden owns the character, any publisher doing business with the creator has access to him. Since 1994, reprints, mini-series, and crossovers have kept appearing. The Carrot's superhero group, the Mystery Men, have at times appeared without their most famous member. And even had a film based on them.

Flaming Carrot has an origin similar to that of Don Quixote. Alonso Quijano constantly read Chivalric Romances. The habit drove him insane, giving him the delusion of being a vagrant knight. The Carrot, real name unknown, read 5,000 comics in a single sitting. The experience caused him brain damage and turn him into a superhero, just like the protagonists of those comics. He went to acquire a costume, gadgets, and a distinctive mask. This mask, depicting a giant carrot, extends from above his head to below his crotch. It's perpetually on fire. He never seems to take it off

The Carrot patrols Palookaville, a decaying section of Iron City. The City itself is described as a midwestern steel town that has seen better days. He works alongside Police Inspector Keene and the Mystery Men, other bizarre vigilantes. His speech patterns -- a tendency to drop pronouns and articles when excited and often going into long, rambling, stream-of-consciousness rants -- tend to confound his opponents.

Tropes used in Flaming Carrot include:

Almighty Janitor: He's a vagrant; when not righting wrongs, he doesn't do much except drink corn whiskey with other bums and read comic books.
Ascended Fanboy: Went insane and decided to become a superhero after reading too many comics in one sitting.
Abnormal Ammo: Flaming Carrot's baloney gun.
Chess with Death: Lampooned on the cover of #2 of the comic:

Flaming Carrot: : Yes, Mr. Death ... I'll play you a game! But not chess!!! Bah ... Fooey! My game is... wiffle ball!!!

This was an edited second version, by the way, in the original, his game was Jarts. The writer felt not enough readers would know what Jarts was, so it was changed.

Cloudcuckoolander: The title character himself.
Crazy Awesome
Crazy Prepared/Goggles Do Nothing: Flaming Carrot wears flippers in case he has to swim.
- More troperly, subverted, as one of The Flaming Carrot's greatest powers is his Zen Stupidity.
Crossover: With Cerebus The Aardvark post-Cerebus Syndrome. Yeah...
- And with Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, a fellow indy/underground comic s... hero.
- On occasion, there have also been crossovers with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- Flaming Carrot also appeared in the Normalman/Megaton Man special, as well as War of the Indepedents.
Dada Comics
Darker and Edgier: Subverted.
Dirty Commies: some of his enemies.
Fauxreigner: The pygmy tribe. They're actually white kids who have become disenfranchised with their own culture.
Guile Hero: While he is strong enough to bend steel bars, he pretty much has little to help him but his wits.
Idiot Hero: Even his official introduction describes him as "quintessentially retarded".
Improvised Weapon: The only weapon he regularly uses is a pogo stick stored in the hollow lower part of his mask, for chasing crooks. Otherwise he uses whatever is handy, like a vacuum cleaner to capture ghosts, an umbrella handle to slide down ropes, and the like.
In a Single Bound: Nuclear-Powered Pogo Stick.
Kavorka Man: The ladies love him.
No Fourth Wall
Superhero: a low rent one.
Super-Hero Origin: His lack of one has been noted. There have been some hints that he's actually Jim Morrison, but they're not very serious. Incidentally, that's probably the strongest argument in its favor.
- In at least one issue his origin is given as having been a normal person who read 5000 comic books at a sitting, on a bet, and went insane.
Useless Accessory: He wears flippers all the time. Why? In case he needs to swim of course.
Verbal Tic: "Ut!"
What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?
Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Sometimes Flaming Carrot does. Sometimes he doesn't. Consistency isn't high on the lovable madman's list.
You Cloned Hitler: Occurs in 'They Cloned Hitler's Feet!'