Rutland Halloween Parade - Appearances in Comics

Appearances in Comics

In the 1970s, the Rutland Halloween Parade achieved a degree of fame when it was used as the setting of a number of superhero comic books, in titles published by industry rivals DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Tom Fagan was himself featured as a character in a number of these stories, usually depicted as an acquaintance of the title characters. Due to the nature of the masquerade parade, these issues often saw people dressed as Marvel heroes appearing in DC publications, and vice-versa, marking some of the first (unofficial) intercompany crossovers in comics. Caution was exercised, however, over widespread use of the competition's characters — Fagan, (who in real life typically hosted the parade dressed as Batman), was usually drawn as Nighthawk in Marvel-published Rutland Halloween stories.

In the fall of 1972, writers Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, and Len Wein crafted a loose three-part story spanning titles from both companies. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein (and Wein's first wife Glynis) interacting with Fagan and Marvel or DC villains (and heroes). Beginning in Amazing Adventures #16 (by Englehart with art by Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin), the Beast hitches a ride from Englehart, who is driving the Weins and Conway to Rutland. The story terminates after Juggernaut attempts to steal Englehart's car. The action continues in Justice League of America #103 (by Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano), with Batman and other JLAers wind up leading the parade while attempting to capture Felix Faust. Faust ultimately steals Englehart's car, but is pulled over by the police. In the third part of the unofficial crossover, Thor #207, (by Conway, John Buscema, and Vince Colletta), the three comics creators (and one wife) again visit Fagan, during which visit Englehart's car is stolen by the unseen and unmentioned DC villain Felix Faust, as shown in JLA #103.

In the letters page of What If? #22 (August 1980), a reader asks, "Does Rutland, Vermont, annually become a nexus of realities similar to that existing in the swamp near Citrusville, Florida?" Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald, writing as The Watcher, responds, "While the nexus in Citrusville is a natural aperture, the nexus near Rutland is an artificial one that fluctuates in size and accessibility. For reasons that I have not investigated, it has not been opened in recent years."

In 1986, the parade again appeared in WaRP Graphics' Thunderbunny #5. The town of Rutland was portrayed in DC's Animal Man #50 (1992), but not the Halloween parade itself. Most recently, the parade was featured in Marvel Comic's Generation X #22 (1996) and Superboy and the Ravers #16 (1997) from DC Comics.