Capitalizing on the immense popularity of MMA and the UFC, IDW Publishing will launch Joe Palooka, the first full-length MMA comic ever, late this year.  Joe Antonacci, a ring announcer, acquired the trademark of Joe Palooka, a comic strip character dating back to the 1920s, and has created a new character unrelated to the old using the name. 

 

Ham Fisher created the Joe Palooka comic strip, which was incredibly popular during.  There was also a comic series which ran from 1945 through 1961 for over 100 issues that reprinted strips at first and then went to new comic stories.  Joe Simon was also involved during its early issues as a co-writer and artist. 

 

Antonacci developed the modernized, MMA-inspired Joe Palooka title through a Web-based subscription service in 2011 and planned a printed version in early 2012 (see "Confessions of A Comic Book Guy--The Unexpected Return of Joe Palooka").  Antonacci's series was written by Mike Bullock and drawn by Fernando Peniche, culminating in six issues. 

 

For this relaunch through IDW, Bullock and Peniche are also credited alongside letterer Josh Aitken and colorist Bob Pedroza.  The story involves Palooka attempting to clear his name and trying to join the Legion of Combat international fighting tournament.  Phil Ross served as MMA technical consultant.