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{{short description|DC Comics comic book series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox comics character
| character_name = Stanley and His Monster
| image          = Stanley and His Monster.jpg
| caption        = Stanley Dover and his monstrous companion, with his grandfather, Stanley Dover, Sr. on the background of a page of ''Green Arrow: Secret Files & Origins'' #1 (December 2002); art by [[Phil Hester (comics)|Phil Hester]] & [[Ande Parks]].
| publisher      = [[DC Comics]]
| debut          = ''[[The Fox and the Crow (comics)|The Fox and the Crow]]'' #95 (January 1966)
| creators       = [[Arnold Drake]] and [[Win Mortimer]]
| real_name      = Stanley Dover
| alliances      = Justice League
| hero           = y
| addcharcat2    = DC Comics
| module         = {{infobox comic book title | subbox = yes | italic title = no
| title          = Stanley and His Monster
| image          = StanleyandhisMonster109.jpg
| imagesize      = 100x180px
| caption        = ''Stanley and His Monster'' #109 (May 1968), the debut issue, featuring several supporting characters. Cover art by [[Bob Oskner]] (penciler).
| publisher      = DC Comics
| schedule       = Monthly
| format         = [[Ongoing series]]
| issues         = 4
| main_char_team = Stanley Dover<br />The Beast With No Name a.k.a. S.N. Massachusetts a.k.a. Spot<br />Shaugnessy Poltroon<br />Schnitzel<br />Napoleon's ghost<br />Marcia
| ongoing        = y
| genre          = Humor, Fantasy
| startyr        = 1968
| endyr          = 1993
| startmo        = May
| endmo          = May
| writers        = [[Arnold Drake]]<br />(vol 2.):<br />[[Phil Foglio]]
| artists        = [[Win Mortimer]]<br />(vol 2.):<br />[[Phil Foglio]]
}}
}}
'''Stanley and His Monster'''<ref>Title spelling as per [http://www.comics.org/series.lasso?SeriesID=1856 Grand Comics Database: ''Stanley and His Monster'']</ref> is an American [[comic-book]] humor feature and later series from [[DC Comics]], about a boy who has a monster as his companion instead of a dog. Created by writer [[Arnold Drake]] and artist [[Win Mortimer|Winslow Mortimer]] as a backup feature in the [[talking animals in fiction|talking animal]] comic ''[[The Fox and the Crow (comics)|The Fox and the Crow]]'' #95 (January 1966),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Markstein |first1=Don |title=Stanley and His Monster |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/stanleym.htm |website=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |accessdate=24 March 2020}}</ref> it went to its own 1960s title and a 1990s revival [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]].

==Publication history==
The backup feature "Stanley and His Monster" appeared in [[DC Comics]]' comic ''[[The Fox and the Crow (comics)|The Fox and the Crow]]'' #95–108,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Korte |first3=Steve |last4=Manning |first4=Matt |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |last6=Wilson |first6=Sven |title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe |date=2016 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-5357-0 |page=281}}</ref> upon which the series became ''Stanley and His Monster'' from #109–112 (May–Nov. 1968), the final issue.<ref name=Chron>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |pages=38, 215}}</ref>

The characters' next major appearance was in a 1993 four-issue [[mini-series]], ''Stanley and His Monster'' vol. 2, by writer-artist [[Phil Foglio]], who had previously done their origin in ''[[Secret Origins]]'' #48 (April 1990). This humorous adventure series, revealing the monster as a demon from [[Hell (DC Comics)|Hell]] who had turned good and was cast out by [[Lucifer (DC Comics)|Lucifer]], incorporated and parodied elements of DC Comics' mature-reader [[Vertigo (comics)|Vertigo]] imprint in a lighthearted, general-audience fashion. Among the characters who appeared are [[List of The Sandman characters#Remiel|Remiel]], [[Duma (DC Comics)|Duma]], the [[Phantom Stranger]], and the [[John Constantine]]-like Ambrose Bierce.

The characters appeared in 1999's ''Conjurers'', a limited, three-issue, ''[[Elseworlds]]'' series. The run was written by [[Chuck Dixon]], et al., and drawn by [[Eduardo Barreto]], et al.. The series was later collected in the compendium, ''Elseworlds: Justice League, Vol. 3''. Wise-cracking, self-possessed Stanley appears to be in his mid-teens. His monster is said to have arrived on earth having been sent to retrieve a device stolen from the monster's people ("the Elders") a million years prior, and with which the "Father of Magic" (i.e., the thief) created the first generation of humans possessed of magical abilities. At the same time, he removed all evil from the monster. In the present, their magical descendants now comprise ten percent of the world's population. The crisis to be overcome is that the Elders still want their device back and want the Father of Magic brought to them so that they may consume his soul.

The title characters returned in 2001 as supporting players in the ''[[Green Arrow]]'' series, written by filmmaker [[Kevin Smith]], but in a much darker tone than any previous appearance, and with Stanley by now a young teenager. They next appeared in the 2005–06 miniseries ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'', where, in issue #6, they are part of a gathering of supernatural characters attempting to summon the mystical spirit of vengeance, the [[Spectre (DC Comics character)|Spectre]], for aid.

The characters next appeared from April to July 2011 in ''[[Batman/Superman]]: Sorcerer Kings'' as members of a mostly magical Justice League in a dystopian future. Stanley appeared as a young adult.

==Fictional character biographies==
Stanley Dover is a six-year-old boy who finds his monster companion in a sewer. In a twist on monster lore, the creature – a tall, bulky, pink-furred behemoth with small tusks – proves as scared of the world as the world is of it. The monster, whom Stanley names '''Spot''', comes home to live with the boy, with many hijinks ensuing.<ref name=Chron/> These occasionally include the bickering [[leprechaun]] Shaugnessy Poltroon, a [[gremlin]] named Schnitzel (sold to the Dovers as toys in issue #99), the ghost of French emperor [[Napoleon]] (introduced in issue #97) and teenaged babysitter Marcia. Comedian [[Jerry Lewis]] once visited them as well (issue #110).

The monster, unbeknownst to Stanley, is in fact a demon known as "The Beast With No Name", banished from Hell by [[Lucifer (DC Comics)|Lucifer]] for being "too nice" for Hell.<ref>''[[Secret Origins]]'' #48 (April 1990). DC Comics.</ref> Lucifer had hoped that frightened and bigoted humans would embitter the Beast and make him accept his destiny as a being of evil, a plan that almost succeeded. However, when Stanley meets the monster and takes him in as his friend, the monster chooses the path of good and continues living on Earth. The first name the Beast took was "Massachusetts", because the [[Massachusett]] were the first people who were kind to him, but since the closest Stanley could struggle out was "Mathatoothis", readers were encouraged to send in a new name that Stanley could say.<ref>''The Fox and the Crow'' #96 (March 1966). DC Comics.</ref>

Stanley's middle-class parents, Mitch and Sheila, firmly believe their child's companion to be imaginary until eventually learning otherwise.<ref>''Stanley and His Monster'' (vol. 2) #2 (March 1993). DC Comics.</ref> They initially want the monster gone, but after becoming aware of the creature's good nature decide that in a world of [[superhero]]es, magic, and alien invasions, they decide that having a benign demon companion for their son seems rather normal and allow him to stay.

Years later, it is revealed that other arcane forces have played into the monster's arrival on Earth (events of this telling of the story fundamentally invalidate any earlier versions, to the extent that tying them together becomes impossible). The monster had accidentally been bonded to Stanley by Stanley's demon-worshiping grandfather, also named [[Star City Slayer|Stanley Dover]].<ref name=ga>''Green Arrow'' (vol. 3) #9–10 (December 2001–January 2002). DC Comics.</ref>

Some time later, Stanley and his monster appear with the several other of the world's magic users to help summon the [[Spectre (DC Comics character)|Spectre]] during the ''[[Infinite Crisis]]''.

Stanley and his monster also appeared in a possible future/alternate timeline as members of the [[Justice League]]. With [[Aquaman]], [[Scare Tactics (comics)|Scream Queen]], [[Klarion the Witch Boy]], [[Traci Thirteen]], [[Batman]], and [[Superman]], they fight to prevent an Armageddon of magical proportions.<ref>"Sorcerer Kings" (''[[Superman/Batman]]'' #81 – #84, April–July 2011). DC Comics.</ref>

A version of Stanley and his Monster appears on Earth-13 in the Tavern of Mystery.<ref>(''Justice League Incarnate'' #2, January 2022). DC Comics.</ref>

== In other media ==
* Stanley Dover and Spot appear as character summons in ''[[Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure]]''.

==Further reading==
* "[https://archive.org/details/Rue.Morgue.Library.006.February.2016.Blood.in.Four.Colours/page/n37/mode/2up/search/%22stanley+and+his+monster%22?q=%22stanley+and+his+monster%22 Stanley and His Monster]" in ''Rue Morgue Magazine's Blood in Four Colours: A Graphic History of Horror Comics'' by Pedro Cabzuelo, Marrs Media Inc (2016), page 39
* ''[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo00rovi/page/290/mode/2up/search/%22stanley+and+his+monster%22?q=%22stanley+and+his+monster%22 The Encyclopedia of Monsters]'' by Jeff Rovin, Facts on File (1989), pg 290
* ''Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideals'' by M. Keith Booker, ABC-CLIO (2014), pg 521
* "Man Behind the Bat (Lash)" by Jon B. Cooke, in ''Comic Book Artist Collection: Volume 2'', TwoMorrows Publishing (2002), pg 96-101

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?query=stanley+and+his+monster&type=title&sort=alpha&Submit=Search ''Stanley and His Monster''] series at the [[Grand Comics Database]]
* {{gcdb series|id=866|title=''The Fox and the Crow''}}
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/stanleym.htm Stanley & His Monster at Don Markstein's Toonopedia] verified March 9, 2006

{{Green Arrow}}

[[Category:1966 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Characters created by Arnold Drake]]
[[Category:Characters created by Win Mortimer]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1966]]
[[Category:Child characters in comics]]
[[Category:Comics about friendship]]
[[Category:Comics about children]]
[[Category:Comic strip duos]]
[[Category:DC Comics titles]]
[[Category:DC Comics characters]]
[[Category:Fantasy comics]]
[[Category:Fiction about monsters]]
[[Category:Humor comics]]
[[Category:Hell in popular culture]]