Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope had their own DC comic-books. Lewis frequently met DC superheroes, though the adventures were humorous, cartoony affairs which did not particularly connect to the rest of the DC universe. Insult comedian Don Rickles, however, not only fought alongside Superman on more than one occasion, he did so within DC continuity and in connection with one of their more serious and influential storylines of the 1970s.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen received his own title in 1954, possibly in part due to the popularity of the character on the Superman TV show. DC kept the comic running for more than a decade, largely on the theory that being Superman's pal made you a magnet for weird transformations and pop-culture trends. Over the years, highly unusual circumstances transformed the junior reporter into a werewolf, a human porcupine, a Plastic Man clone, and a giant Turtle Boy, just to name a few. He also had issue-long careers as a James Bondian spy and a Beatlesque pop star.

When Jack Kirby moved to DC, he remade Olsen as a hip adventurer, and connected these tales to his New Gods/Fourth World titles. These titles, with their introduction of Darkseid, Orion, High-father, Barda, and Boom Tubes, would profoundly affect the future of the DC universe, and influence George Lucas's Star Wars. However, the old silliness was never absent, and in issue #139, Rickles made one of his appearances as both the familiar, acerbic comedian and his suppressed super-hero alter-ego, "Goody Rickles."

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