Holy smokes! Hellzapoppin' down at the old firehouse, and Smokey Stover, perhaps the nuttiest fireman in comics history, is on the job. Spewing out puns both visual and verbal as if from a firehose, cartoonist Bill Holman's creation stands as one of the most surreal newspaper strips ever. Dark Horse Comics is commemorating this ground-breaking vintage comic strip with the May release of a limited edition Smokey Stover statue -- the 21st entry in the publisher's hit Classic Comics Characters series of collectible statues.

Holman, along with cartoonists Rube Goldberg and Milt Gross, was one of the major players in the 1930's "Screwball Comics" craze. His absurdly hilarious strips paved the way for underground and independent comics artists for years to come, and modern comics fans and historians now recognize Holman and his funny fireman for their trend-setting influence. Now Smokey will take his rightful place along other classic characters such as Dick Tracy, Krazy Kat, The Phantom, and Popeye as part of the Classic Comics Characters line. The Smokey Stover statue stands approximately 5 1/2" tall, and comes packaged in a full-color, litho-printed tin box that also includes a certificate of authenticity and a Smokey Stover pin-back button. These Classic Comics Characters statues are crafted from a wood-like, polyresin material, giving an authentically vintage feel to each piece.

This statue is limited to only 600 numbered copies and will be available for the retail price of $49.95 starting May 2.