The Rutland Halloween Parade is an annual event held on (or around)

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

in the city of

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

, since 1960. The parade has a strong

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

theme and has been the setting for a number of fictional

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

adventures. Local officials maintain that it is one of the largest and longest running

parades in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Tom Fagan (1932–2008), a local writer and

fan, is credited with having a hand in the parade's early development and

theme. The parade began as an annual tradition in 1959; Fagan had letters and text pieces promoting the parade published in a number of DC and Marvel titles, including DC's ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #327 (May 1964) and Marvel's ''

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

'' #88 (May 1971). According to a 2006 ''Boston Globe'' article, "in 1965 ... the Joker,

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the first superheroes to ...

, and

Dr. Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

were roaming the streets of Rutland, along with

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

(presumably Fagan, but like Bruce Wayne, the Caped Crusader wouldn't divulge his identity). More comic book heroes appeared every year. ... " According to a 2008 ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' obituary of Fagan ... The 2006 ''Boston Globe'' story explains that "... Fagan was friends with many comic book authors and artists, most of whom hailed from New York. Fagan persuaded some of them to take part in the Rutland Halloween Parade in comic book character costumes. Many creators stayed as guests at Fagan's 24-room mansion outside of Rutland, which has since become the Antique Mansion Bed & Breakfast. Comic book creators known to have attended the parade over the years include

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

Dennis O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

, Alan Weiss,

Wendy and Richard Pini Wendy Pini ''née'' Fletcher, (born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known '' Elfquest'' series of comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are also known as ...

Dave Cockrum David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, and Mystique, as well as the antiheroine Black Cat. Cockrum was ...

, and

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...

After Fagan

By the mid-2000s Fagan was no longer directly involved in the planning of the parade. The popular event continued nonetheless, with Fagan and a close personal friend of the 'inner circle', attending as a guest in 2006 and 2007, sitting with the judges. Fagan had planned to attend the parade in 2008 but died on October 21 of that year. An article eulogizing Fagan in the ''

Rutland Herald The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont (after ''The Burlington Free Press''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards t ...

'' stated "Without Tom, there wouldn't be a Halloween parade in Rutland. ... That's his legacy." The parade celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

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 DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

and

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The first appearance of the parade was in ''

'' #83, published by Marvel with a cover-date of December 1970; this was followed by DC's ''

'' #237, with a cover-date of December 1971. Tom Fagan was himself featured as a character in a number of 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 comic books, an intercompany crossover (also called cross-company or company crossover) is a comic or series of comics in which characters, that at the time of publication are the property or licensed property of one publisher, meet character ...

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 The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name i ...

in Marvel-published Rutland Halloween stories. In the fall of 1972, writers

, and

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 Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasman ...

and Frank McLaughlin), the Beast hitches a ride from Englehart, who is driving the Weins and Conway to Rutland. The story terminates after

Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...

attempts to steal Englehart's car. The action continues in ''Justice League of America'' #103 (by Wein,

Dick Dillin Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early li ...

), with Batman and other JLAers wind up leading the parade while attempting to capture

Felix Faust Felix Faust is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Justice League of America #10'' (1962), created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. He is depicted as an mystic sorcerer obse ...

. 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 John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

, and

Vince Colletta Vincenzo CollettaColletta, Vince, in (October 15, 1923 – June 3, 1991) was an American comic book artist and art director best known as one of Jack Kirby's frequent inkers during the 1950s-1960s period called the Silver Age of comic books. Thi ...

), 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

, as shown in ''JLA'' #103. In the

letters page A comic book letter column is a section of an American comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns (or lettercols), letter pages, letters of comment (LOCs), o ...

of '' What If?'' #22 (August 1980), a reader asked, "Does Rutland, Vermont, annually become a nexus of realities similar to that existing in the swamp near

Citrusville The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

, Florida?" Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald, writing as The Watcher, responded, "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."Gruenwald, Mark. "The Watcher Knows," ''What If?'' #22 (Marvel, Aug. 1980). In 1986, the parade again appeared in

WaRP Graphics WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the '' Elfquest'' comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company ...

' ''

Thunderbunny Thunderbunny is a comic book about a boy who transforms into a superhero resembling a large pink humanoid rabbit. It was created by Martin Greim. Publication history Thunderbunny's first appearance published by a major company was '' Charlton Bull ...

'' #5. The town of Rutland was portrayed in DC's ''

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" t ...

'' #50 (1992), but not the Halloween parade itself. Most recently, the parade was featured in Marvel Comic's ''

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

'' #22 (1996) and ''

Superboy and the Ravers ''Superboy and the Ravers'' is an American comic book series that ran for 19 issues, from September 1996 in comics, 1996 to March 1998 in comics, 1998. The comic book chronicles the adventures of Superboy (Kon-El) and a group of superhumans called ...

'' #16 (1997) from DC Comics.

Chronological list of appearances

''note'': Not all of these appearances feature the Halloween Parade. Some feature Tom Fagan and some simply the town of Rutland. * ''

'' #83 — "Come On In, The Revolution's Fine!" by

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

, and Tom Palmer (Marvel, Dec. 1970) * ''

'' #237 — "Night of the Reaper!" by

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

, and

(DC, Dec. 1971) * ''

Marvel Feature ''Marvel Feature'' was a comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. It was a tryout book, intended to test the popularity of characters and concepts being considered for their own series. The first volume led to the launch ...

'' #2 — "Nightmare on Bald Mountain!" by Roy Thomas,

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

, and

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as artist of ''The Spectacular Spider-Ma ...

(Marvel, Mar. 1972) * ''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

'' #206 — "Rebirth!" by

, John Buscema, and

(Marvel, Dec. 1972) * ''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

'' #103 — "A Stranger Walks among Us!" by

Dick Dillin Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' #16 — "...And the Juggernaut Will Get You ... If You Don't Watch Out!" by

Marie Severin Marie Severin (; August 21, 1929 – August 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics. She is an inductee of the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame and the Harvey Awards ...

, and Frank McLaughlin (Marvel, Jan. 1973) * ''Thor'' #207 — "Firesword!" by Gerry Conway, John Buscema, and Vince Colletta (Marvel, Jan. 1973) * ''Avengers'' #119 — "Night of The Collector," by Steve Englehart, Bob Brown, and

Don Heck Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septembe ...

(Marvel, Jan. 1974) * ''Thor'' #232 — "Lo, the Raging Battle!" by Gerry Conway, John Buscema, Dick Giordano, and Terry Austin (Marvel, Feb. 1975) * ''

The Occult files of Dr. Spektor ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' #18 — "Masque Macabre," by

Donald F. Glut Donald F. Glut (; born February 19, 1944) is an American writer, motion picture film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing The Empire Strikes Back (novel), the novelization of the second ''Star Wars'' film, ''The Empire Strikes ...

and

Jesse Santos Jesse Santos (June 24, 1928 – April 27, 2013) was a Filipino comic-book artist. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Dagar the Invincible'' and ''Tragg and the Sky Gods'' with writer Donald F. Glut. Biography Jesse Santos was born in Tere ...

( Gold Key, Dec. 1975) * '' Freedom Fighters'' #6 — "Witching Hour for the Warrior Wizards!" by

Bob Rozakis Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and Editing, editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man". Career Bob R ...

Ramona Fradon Ramona Fradon (born October 2, 1926) is an American comics artist known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950. Early life Ramona Fradon was born in Chicago and mo ...

, and Bob Smith (DC, Jan./Feb. 1977) * ''Justice League of America'' #145 — "The Carnival of Souls!" by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin (DC, Aug. 1977) * ''

DC Super Stars ''DC Super Stars'' was a comics anthology series published by DC Comics from March 1976 to February 1978. Starting off as a reprint title, it finished its run with original stories. Publication history The tagline "The Line of DC Super-Stars" wa ...

'' #18 — "The Gargoyles," by

Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...

Romeo Tanghal Romeo Tanghal (born July 24, 1947) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked primarily as an inker. He became well known in the industry in the 1980s for his work on DC Comics' '' The New Teen Titans''. Career Romeo Tanghal was born and raised ...

, and Dick Giordano (DC, Jan./Feb. 1978) * ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' #95 — "All the Stage Is a Haunt," by

Paul Kupperberg Paul Kupperberg (born June 14, 1955) is an American writer and comics editor. He is currently a writer and executive editor at Charlton Neo Comics and Pix-C Webcomics, and a contributing author with Crazy 8 Press. Formerly, he was an editor for D ...

, Michael R. Adams, and

Tex Blaisdell Philip Eustice Blaisdell (March 30, 1920 – March 14, 1999), better known as Tex Blaisdell, was an American comic-strip artist and comic-book editor. He worked on 22 syndicated features, including '' Little Orphan Annie'', which he drew for f ...

(DC, Dec. 1980) * ''

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

'' #100 — by

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

Don Perlin Don Perlin (; born August 27, 1929) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for Marvel Comics' ''Werewolf by Night'', ''Moon Knight'' (a character he co-created), '' The Defenders'', and ''Ghost Rider''. In the 1990s ...

, and

Joe Sinnott Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the la ...

(Marvel, Oct. 1981) * ''

'' #5 "Moonlight Miss," by

Martin L. Greim Thunderbunny is a comic book about a boy who transforms into a superhero resembling a large pink humanoid rabbit. It was created by Martin Greim. Publication history Thunderbunny's first appearance published by a major company was '' Charlton Bull ...

and

Brian Buniak Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

(WaRP Graphics, Feb. 1986) * ''

'' #50 — "Journal of a Plague Year," by

Tom Veitch Tom Veitch (September 26, 1941 – February 14, 2022) was an American writer, known for his work in the comic book industry. He was also a novelist and a poet. He was the brother of comics writer and artist Rick Veitch. Early life Veitch was ...

and

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London in 1962 and raised i ...

(DC, Aug. 1992) * ''

'' #22 — "All Hallows Eve," by

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous ''X-Men'' series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely ''Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans ...

Chris Bachalo Chris Bachalo (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian comic book illustrator known for his quirky, cartoon-like style. He became well known for stints on DC Comics' ''Shade, the Changing Man'' and Neil Gaiman's two Death (Sandman), Death series. Chr ...

, Al Vey, and

Scott Hanna Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

(Marvel, Dec. 1996) * ''

'' #16 — "Half-Life of the Party," by Steve Mattsson,

Karl Kesel Karl Kesel (born January 7, 1959, Victor, New York) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio and is best known for his collaborations with fellow artis ...

Josh Hood Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

, and Dan Davis (DC, Dec. 1997)

References

External links

* * * *
Skellies
{{Halloween events, state=collapsed DC Comics locations Halloween events in the United States Marvel Comics locations Parades in the United States Vermont culture