Captain RibMan was created by John Sprengelmeyer (& Rich Davis) and became a nationally syndicated comic strip distributed by Universal Press Syndicate and Tribune Media Services to more than 300 newspapers. The strip earned Yahoo!’s Online Comic Strip of the Year award and was featured in The Hollywood Reporter, The Washington Post, and Variety. It was honed under the editorial guidance of Jake Morrissey, the legendary editor behind Calvin & Hobbes, The Far Side, and FoxTrot.

The World of Captain RibMan

At its core, Captain RibMan follows the adventures—and frequent non‑adventures—of an inappropriate, profoundly unmotivated superhero. RibMan prefers reclining in his La‑Z‑Boy in a secret hideout, eating chips and commenting on world events rather than improving them. Disguised as Jack Bull, ace reporter for The Daily Weekly, he knows the grittiest and most dangerous corners of the crime world and cleverly uses that knowledge to avoid them entirely. RibMan happily exploits his superhero‑celebrity status to hawk cheap products, sell his name for a quick buck, and generally do as little good as possible.

Powers and “Abilities”

Despite his apathy, Captain RibMan is equipped with an unusual (and largely impractical) set of powers: flight (after eating a can of beans), x‑ray smell, super strength, extraordinary lethargy, colossal apathy, super‑human ennui, and extremely poor eating habits. His interactions—often with a neighbor boy—underscore the strip’s satirical take on heroism, celebrity, and American culture.

Cultural Impact & Celebrity Guest Appearances

The popularity of the comic strip spawned a syndicated advice column, Ask Captain RibMan, in which RibMan dispensed highly questionable advice. Together, the strip and the advice column made Captain RibMan “the most widely distributed character in college newspapers” (The Hollywood Reporter). In 2003, the character’s cultural footprint expanded even further with the opening of Captain RibMan’s Meat Market, a real‑world restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas.

Throughout its run, Captain RibMan frequently featured guest appearances by real celebrities who helped co‑write strips or contribute to Ask Captain RibMan. These included Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Hamill, Howie Mandel, Mike Nelson (MST3K), Tony Hawk, Sid Caesar, Fred Willard, Bender (Futurama), Bill Nye, Carmen Electra, and several Playboy Playmates.

The Collected Anthology: MASSIVE DUMP

The legacy of the strip is collected in the 110‑page book Captain RibMan’s MASSIVE DUMP: The Incomplete & Poorly Researched History of America’s Most Wanted Superhero. Designed as both a comprehensive anthology and a deeply unserious historical record, the book compiles Captain RibMan’s exploits and exploitations through comic strips, fake advertisements, and memorabilia spanning the entire run of the series. Whether encountered as entertainment, reference material, or a solution for balancing a wobbly table, MASSIVE DUMP serves as the definitive companion for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

The book is available on Amazon at MassiveDump.CaptainRibMan.com.