Hugo Hercules

The creation of cartoonist William H.D. Koerner, Hugo Hercules was the titular hero of a comic strip that ran from September 1902 to January 1903 for the Chicago Tribune.

Characters and story
A good-natured man endowed with superhuman strength, the character of Hugo wandered about town, helping people with their problems and shocking them with his surprising displays of power. He was so strong he could pick up an elephant, kick a house like a football, wield an artillery cannon like a handgun, and lift a locomotive engine off the tracks and pull its cargo behind him at train speeds.

Sometimes referred to as the first superhero, the strip was not a great success and Koerner eventually left comics to become a painter.