|
Post by codystarbuck on Mar 28, 2019 12:44:48 GMT -5
I am loving this analysis of Valiant and Shooter's subsequent companies. Any chance of discussing the new Valiant (even though it won't technically count as "classic" for another two years)? Dark Horse will be fun. I get very nostalgic for its early days -- I miss Concrete and the original DHP! I haven't read any of the new Valiant material and don't own any of the material, in any format. I cede that discussion to those who are more familiar with what has been done in the revival. I pretty much dropped Valiant within a year (or so) of Shooter being fired. I found the changes in direction to be pretty boring and I didn't care for most of the new material. Acher and Armstrong and Eternal Warrior were the ones I stuck with longest; but, once BWS was gone, I soon followed. I wanted to like Defiant but really didn't click with the material War Dancer I tried the hardest, as I was a fan of Alan Weiss. His art looked good; but, the level of violence was off-putting and I just wasn't into the story. I tried the first issues of broadway and said enough is enough. Shooter really had run out of ideas; or, was so worn down from the fights he wasn't able to do much with them, in my estimation. Valiant was really him executing his conception for the New Universe and there are lots of parallels in books and characters. Solar and Star Brand share many of the same concepts, while Nightmask could be said to have stylistic parallels to Shadowman. Harbinger and DP7 are very close in nature. A lot of this was tweaked, with input from others; but, the basic ideas were carryovers from New Universe, plus the original Gold Key material. Defiant was more of the same, with things like Prudence and Caution seeming like Archer & Armstrong, in drag. By Broadway, it just seemed generic. Also, by that point, I was wary of start up companies, especially if their wares were superhero oriented. I was burned by a few and many just seemed like a total rip off. Lightning advertised their low print runs, aiming at speculators; yet, they offered nothing in their comics that wasn't a bland derivative of a well known property, or just amateurish junk. They died a quick death (deservedly so). Majestic was yet another superhero launch, quickly killed because of shenanigans behind the scenes, at the parent company. They were trading card printers, who had an NFL license and were pirating their own cards for resale. There were also financial irregularities and weird relationships with evangelical groups, which siphoned off money. They only published 2 or 3 comics, before things crashed. Their Superman was called Legacy and there was a super power lottery, which would lead to a group, which was an interesting idea; but, never got the chance to develop. Image was just grinding out drek, before they dumped Liefeld and Valentino took over, recruiting self publishers and publishing some alternative material. Dark Horse and Caliber were companies I could depend on, for something different, while Vertigo and the odd DC project could keep my interest, until Didio and his gang sucked the life out of that. Moore's ABC line was like a godsend to me. Other than Busiek & Perez, not much got me to read Marvel, except maybe those Steve Rude retro projects. I'm looking forward to exploring Early dark Horse, before they got caught up in the superhero boom, and were churning out Aliens and Predator series. It really was a company that latched onto the potential of comics and independence. They were also one of the few well run independents, maintaining a cash flow and slowly building their business, rather than trying to compete immediately. They burned very few bridges and had some smart people working there.
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,376
|
Post by shaxper on Mar 28, 2019 12:59:48 GMT -5
I am loving this analysis of Valiant and Shooter's subsequent companies. Any chance of discussing the new Valiant (even though it won't technically count as "classic" for another two years)? Dark Horse will be fun. I get very nostalgic for its early days -- I miss Concrete and the original DHP! I haven't read any of the new Valiant material and don't own any of the material, in any format. I cede that discussion to those who are more familiar with what has been done in the revival. I pretty much dropped Valiant within a year (or so) of Shooter being fired. I found the changes in direction to be pretty boring and I didn't care for most of the new material. Acher and Armstrong and Eternal Warrior were the ones I stuck with longest; but, once BWS was gone, I soon followed. I wanted to like Defiant but really didn't click with the material War Dancer I tried the hardest, as I was a fan of Alan Weiss. His art looked good; but, the level of violence was off-putting and I just wasn't into the story. I tried the first issues of broadway and said enough is enough. Shooter really had run out of ideas; or, was so worn down from the fights he wasn't able to do much with them, in my estimation. Valiant was really him executing his conception for the New Universe and there are lots of parallels in books and characters. Solar and Star Brand share many of the same concepts, while Nightmask could be said to have stylistic parallels to Shadowman. Harbinger and DP7 are very close in nature. A lot of this was tweaked, with input from others; but, the basic ideas were carryovers from New Universe, plus the original Gold Key material. Without Shooter, Valiant was a money-hungry publisher without a soul. And yet, amazing things happened at both DC and Marvel during eras when this was true of them as well. Shooter built a universe, and he did it amazingly well, but as you yourself pointed out, Shooter was very into control, and no artistic vision that wasn't his could flourish in such an environment. So, when he left, some titles suffered for lacking his vision, while others truly grew into their own. I still think Magnus and Rai were the brightest examples of the latter. As for modern day Valiant I haven't really stuck with it, and I'm not the biggest fan, but I find the story of how the company came to be, as well as the ideals it worked hard to adhere to prior to acquisition, quite impressive and worthy of analysis.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Apr 11, 2019 16:26:37 GMT -5
The year is 1986. It's a seminal year for the comic industry. Marvel is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary, under that name, with special anniversary covers on all of their books and the launching of their New Universe. DC has finished their 50th Anniversary celebration, which was capped off by Crisis on Infinite Earths. They followed that year with a true renaissance of their line, in '86, with the publications of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, The Man of Steel, a special Harlan Ellison-penned issue of Detective Comics, the 400th issue of Batman, the integration of the Charlton heroes into the DCU and Alan Moore continues his seminal run on Swamp Thing, laying the foundation for what will become Vertigo. The independents are very strong, as we have publications from: Eclipse, First Comics, Comico, Mirage, Malibu, Kitchen Sink, Aardvark-Vanaheim, WaRP Graphics, Renegade Press, Fantagraphics, and RAW. Heavy Metal is still going strong, though sales are down from their peaks from before and around the movie. The TMNT have touched off a boom in black and white comics, which will see a massive influx of new publishers in the next year. Jump ahead ten years and most of those independent companies are gone or are in deep financial trouble. Jump to 20 and most are consigned to bargain bins and footnotes in reference books or websites. Eclipse, First & Comico bit the dust in the 90s. Malibu and Kitchen Sink got bought out and buried (KS was a bit more complicated; see previous entries in this thread). Mirage eventually sold off. Dave Sim had divested himself of everything but Cerebus, then completed it and moved on to other projects. WaRP pretty much ceased publishing in the 2000s, turning to others to publish the material and spending more time managing their properties for potential movies and such. Art Spiegelman moved on from RAW. Renegade Press died fairly quickly, though not for lack of trying. Fantagraphics nearly went under, but survived to continue publishing, though with a greater focus on prestige book collections of old material and publishing their critical hit Love & Rockets, with a smattering of other material. One comic publisher debuted in 1986 and is still going strong today. They have weathered the B&W Bust, the Speculator Boom & Bust, the Distributor Wars, the bankruptcies of book retailers, the shrinking of comic retailers, the loss of licensed titles and just about everything thrown at them.. They did it by following a sound set of principles that escaped many indie publishers: publish quality material, put it out on time, have it financed up front, don't carry heavy debt, develop IP that can be exploited in other media, develop and showcase young talent, provide a home for established talent, pay homage to history, build the future and do all of this consistently. That company is Dark Horse Comics. The story of Dark Horse begins with Mike Richardson. richardson was born and raised in the Portland, OR area and went to college at Portland State Univ, where he majored in art. He built a steady list of clients, while in college and had planned to open his own agency, as Dark Horse Graphics. After college, he was working for a furniture company, providing art and designing products, when he up and quit and moved with his new family. Using a credit card with a $2500 limit, he opened a small pop culture store, called Pegasus Fantasy Books. First and foremost, Richardson was a businessman. He was smart and built his business slowly, reinvesting his profits in the company, rather than rapid expansion and debt financing. He opened new stores and changed the name to Things From Another World, in 1993, eventually pulling back from brick-and-mortar retailing to online selling. Along the way, Richardson would host signings in his store(s) and he would hear talk from pros about owning their own works, vs everything going to big companies. He and partner Randy Stradley decided they would put together a comic where contributors would own their material and anything else they published would be owned by those creators. It wasn't a new idea, as most indies had been started on that principle, although the terms of "ownership" varied. Epic had first right of refusal, while First Comics had exclusive publishing rights for extended periods. Eclipse shared some rights. Richardson and Stradley went ahead with their idea, recruited contributors and financed the publication of a black & white anthology comic, with 100% of the profits going to the creators. he hoped to at least sell 10,000 copies, to break even. The comic sold 50,000 copies and Richardson was true to his word. That comic was Dark Horse Presents. Now, you look at that cover and you see yet another gun-toting psychopath, following on the heels of the Punisher and the men's adventure novel heroes that preceded him, as well as Rambo, the Terminator and every other Death Wish-inspired vigilante. However, if you opened that cover, you'd see that it was only one feature and it wasn't the feature that grabbed everyone. No, it was the story of a celebrity going through his fan mail, then going off to a party, where he is paid to mingle with the guests. Sounds different, if a bit mundane. There is a twist; the celebrity is a hulking rock monster, with a gentle soul. That monster is Concrete and the story is Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (after the Robin Leach wealth-porn tv series). (some changes to the story in that motion comic) Here, Paul Chadwick, who had worked in motion picture storyboarding, created something truly different. You might look at Concrete and see Ben Grimm; but, that would be way off. Instead, there is Ron Lithgow, a former speechwriter whose mind was put into this body by aliens. That doesn't appear in this story. We have no idea who Concrete is, other than he just appeared on the Tonight Show and is receiving fan mail. He sits in a chair, made of cinder blocks, as his assistant opens the mail, because his fingers are too rough to do delicate work like that. He has to be transported in a truck, due to his weight. Nothing is easy in his life, yet he goes to this party and discovers it is a child's birthday party, hosted by someone who cannot pay $15 K. he was tricked; but, the mother charms him into staying and he has a wonderful time playing with and entertaining the children. He leaves happy; but he also pulls a bit of a prank on the mother, as payback for her ruse. It is all very gentle and very warm. It is a tale of humanity, in a non-human package. Chadwick sucks you in with a fantastic visual, then charms you with the depth of his writing. It was a standout in any company and word spread fast. A North Carolina seller passed on a copy to a professional writer and raconteur, who had a major radio show, in LA. That man was Harlan Ellison and he plugged the comic and Concrete on his show. Everyone who encountered the comic did the same. The first printing of DHP sold out! It would be reprinted, then later receive a commemorative reprinting. Concrete would set the tone for what Dark Horse Comics would be. That first issue also featured Black Cross, the gun-toting psychopath on the cover. Except, he is more than what he seems. He was the brainchild of Chris Warner, who had worked a bit for Marvel, on such things as Alien Legion. Black cross is set in a dystopian future, where a special operations soldier, veteran of brutal fighting in Honduras, has had enough of killing innocents and crosses sides. The world is a bit vague, but there are some kind of Back Zones, quarantined areas away from "civilization." Crossing from a Black Zone to the "inside" is not allowed, without special passes. Scanners reveal Black Crosses, " those from the outside. Our "hero," Conrad, stops the killing of an old man and kills his cohorts, then goes into exile in the Black Zones. His story is expanded in future appearances and a special, though it never becomes a major seller for Dark Horse or Warner. Instead, he goes on to be an editor and staff artist at Dark Horse, drawing, editing and developing future projects, which we will discuss later. Dark Horse Presents, or DHP, as it becomes known, becomes the heart of Dark Horse Comics. Every issue features stories from up and coming talent and gems from established pros. Features are given a tryout, before moving into their own books, and new features start, while old ones end, keeping the reader interested in picking up the next issue. Dark Horse Presents, in its original run, would last 14 years and 157 issues. For an average comic, that is a pretty good run. For an independent comic, it is amazing. For an independent black & white anthology comic, with no set feature, it is awe inspiring! Over the years, DHP would bring us such features as Ron Randall's Trekker, the Mask (which starts as Masque), Frank Miller's Sin City, John Byrne's Next Men, Mike Mignola's Hellboy, Matt Wagner's Aerialist, Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot, Michael T Gilbert's Mr Monster, Eddie Campbell's Deadface (aka Bacchus), and such features as Heartbreakers, Race of Scorpions, Boris the Bear, Roachmill, Vitruvian Man, Christopher Moeller's Iron Empires, tales from Paul Pope, Terry LaBan's Eno & Plum, and so many, many more. There was usually something for everyone, with nearly every genre covered. Aliens vs Predator was launched there, with stories establishing that the Predators hunted the Aliens, as a rite of passage and for sport. Sin City debuted there and grew to mass media status. It was the foundation for the Legend imprint, showcasing superstar talent, in their own work. It had the sequel to the Epic retro mini-series Crash Ryan, and the lesser known John Workman feature, Roma, with a cheesecake style that showed touches of Toth and Spiegle, as well as others of their generation. With DHP, Dark Horse fired a shot across the bows of both the Big Two and all of the other independents, saying that you can produce quality comics and be honorable with your contributors. You can be successful and not live hand to mouth. You can published licensed material and make them even bigger. You can use cash cows to fund more singular work. You can evolve at a deliberate pace and sustain it. You can weather setbacks and refocus. You can challenge the giants and still be satisfied with your place in the market. Most indies died in 5 years; few made it to ten. Dark Horse is over 30 and counting (only Fantagraphics pre-dates it) and shows no signs of stopping. Next, we will look at those early offerings of Dark Horse, with Boris the Bear, Trekker and Concrete.
|
|
|
Post by Rob Allen on Apr 11, 2019 16:47:23 GMT -5
He opened new stores and changed the name to Things From Another World, in 1993, eventually pulling back from brick-and-mortar retailing to online selling. Things From Another World still has four brick-and-mortar stores - three in the Portland area and one in LA. I go to their Beaverton store every Free Comic Book Day.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Apr 11, 2019 18:03:53 GMT -5
He opened new stores and changed the name to Things From Another World, in 1993, eventually pulling back from brick-and-mortar retailing to online selling. Things From Another World still has four brick-and-mortar stores - three in the Portland area and one in LA. I go to their Beaverton store every Free Comic Book Day. I wasn't meaning to imply he stopped retailing; rather pulled back from expanding his brick and mortar retailing for more e-commerce. The retailing end of his business was one of the advantages he had over other publishers. Those stores provided a steady source of income, beyond the publishing; so, cash flow wasn't the big issue that it was elsewhere. Jim Shooter tried the venture capital route and found that his investors had more say in his com[any than he did, despite the share ownership. That same has proven true of other capital funded groups. Malibu and Pacific were built on the backs of comic distribution; but, nad hits on the distribution end swallowed up the cash flow for the publishing. Eclipse was financing new titles via back issue sales and their flood destroyed the majority of their backstock, killing their cash flow. They had expanded too much and couldn't produce enough income to maintain what they had and started bouncing checks and were cut off by printers left and right. They had to pay for printing up front, which meant long delays in books like the Mike Grell james Bond, which killed initial momentum and soured relationships with creators. Dark Horse has made missteps and lost sales; but, they haven't had the crippling hits to cash flow that others had. He also was smart enough to not put all of his eggs in one basket, when it came to what he published. he chased the indie superhero line fad and paid for it, though he got a pretty solid winner out of it, with Ghost (though that wasn't a great success percentage, given how many books there were in Comic's Greatest World). It is a tough market and Dark Horse doesn't put out as many titles as they did in the 90s; plus, they have lost some big money making licensed books. Success in Hollywood has also helped them.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Apr 18, 2019 16:18:12 GMT -5
Dark Horse started slow, giving us a taste of characters and concepts in DHP, then launching their own series. One of the first out of the gate was James Dean Smith's Boris the Bear. Boris is a teddy bear, living with Dave, in a suburban neighborhood. Boris is a bit on the grumpy side and indulges in comic collecting. Well, in 1986, if you went into a comic shop, you might see a hell of a lot of books with a title that had Adjective, Adjective, Noun Noun naming convention (or some variation). We had Adolescent Radioactive Blackbelt Hamsters, Sultry Teenage Super-Foxes, Pre-Teen Dirty Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos, Geriatric Gangrene Jiu-Jitsu Gerbils and worse. People were churning these things out left and right. And they sold! In fact, DHP was probably aided by this, when it launched. However, for every boom there is a bust and it was starting to happen. Mike Richardson wanted to savage this phenomena, and Boris the Bear was the perfect vehicle. Issue one features Boris losing his mind over these comics and going on a rampage. His first victim is Usaji Yojimbo, which he regrets; but, madness knows no bounds. cerebus gets his, then he finally stumbles upon the real targets and goes nuts. however, innocent Looney Tunes and other fondly loved anthropomorphic animals get hit in the crossfire, before Dave talks him down. Boris ends with satisfaction, as he reads his own comic. The whole thing is rather violent, if delightfully over-the-top. Boris in DHP had a Tom & Jerry (or Foghorn and Hound Dog) relationship with the neighbor cat, Rufus. Here, he's a violent agent of parody and satire. In the second issue he goes after the Transformers and other transforming robots and mecha, with other robots getting theirs, plus a confused Iron Man. Issue after issue Boris met up with yet another comic book target and mayhem ensued. Issue 11 had him meetup with the actual (in a comic book sense) THUNDER Agents, as John Carbano tried anything to make a buck off them. Along the way, Boris also introduced Mike richardson and Randy Stradley's Wacky Squirrel, who had back up stories, played sidekick and had his own book. However, the fun wouldn't last forever and a disagreement broke up the band, as boris went out on his own. Dark Horse would publish 12 issues, and 2 more would be done independently. Boris would return for DHP #64. I've already talked about Concrete, a bit, last time. Concrete proved to be the star of Dark Horse Presents and the signature title for Dark Horse, just as Love & Rockets became the prestige title for Fantagraphics. Critics loved it and fans did, too. Not in massive droves; but, in a steady stream, much as they had L&R. Quality will win through. After anchoring DHP, Concrete got his own series, lasting 10 issues. Now, thing is, this wasn't a planned thing. After the DHP stories, Chadwick had other publishers making offers. Mike Friedrich acted as his agent and Dark Horse was able to secure the series for their line and Chadwick continued to publish at a place where he felt comfortable. The first issue back tracks a bit, as we see how Larry joined Concrete, acting assistant and see him dispatched to help rescued coal miners, in kentucky, trapped after a cave-in. Unlike most comics, Concrete doesn't save the day. Oh, he rescues a couple of miners, then gets buried in another cave in. Concrete ends up the one in need of rescue. The other miners were killed when the second wave of rubble collapsed. Along the way, though, we see people having real conversations, about real things. We get to know them. Issue 2 features a trans-Atlantic swim, which goes wrong and #3 features the backstory of how Ron Lithgow became Concrete. Issues 8 and 9 features adventures in nepal, and a climb of Everest, solo. Concrete has adventures; but, the heart of the story is never the adventure, itself; it's the people, their feelings, their relationships. Issue 10 has Ron reunited with his mother, who thought him dead. he must first convince her it is him inside the alien cyborg body, then reconnect with the woman, who is dying. he also has to contend with nosy and hysterical neighbors. The word that describes Concrete best is "gentle." He is a soft soul and the stories have a gentleness that was so refreshing, in a world of violent battles and universe devouring cataclysms. Conrete may have been gritty (on his surface); but, he was never grim. The series would win multiple Eisner and Harvey awards and continue as a series of minis and one-shots. A color special came out in 1989, with a new story, where Concrete investigates strange events in a remote area, plus color reprints of the first couple of HP stories. 1990 gave us the Concrete Celebrates Earth Day special, with not only Concrete, but contributions from Moebius and Charles Vess. The opening story is rather clever, in its design. Paul Chadwick frames an address about environmental concerns as Concrete, practicing a speech. however, the speech is directed at the reader. It was a wake up call to how we are endangering the planet with rampant consumerism, waste of resources, destruction of ecosystems and other concerns. It also addresses the political backlash against environmentalists, which sought to rebrand them as eco-terrorists, nutjobs, and tree huggers; bleeding hearts standing in the way of progress. Moebius presents a worldless tale, while Vess gives us the beauty of nature. Chadwick provides a second tale, showing how interconnected nature is, from the smallest, to the largest, and how one action affects all others, to illustrate how dependent we are on the natural world and how conscious decisions to stop its destruction and preserve it can reverse the tide. Pretty heady stuff, for comic books. Further minis would follow.... Along the way, Paul Chadwick became part of the Legend group, for which a sub-imprint had been created. Chadwick wasn't quite the high profile book as Hellboy or Sin City; but, the quality of the material stood equally with the superstars. Concrete exemplifies the idea of comics as both art & literature, not just entertainment. It is entertaining; but, it is so much more. It is a gentle look at the world and the people around us, through slightly different, yet thoroughly human eyes. As the 90s progressed, books like Concrete were left behind; but, they hung in there, making their sporadic appearances, showing another approach. It truly is the mascot for Dark Horse, more than the chess piece; it is a mix of adventure, horror, and humanity, in a quality package. Now, I promised one other title and we will look at that, now, though briefly. That series is Ron Randall's Trekker. Ron Randall was one of the first wave of graduates from the Kubert School, which led to work at DC, on such books as Sgt Rock. he also provided art on the back-up strip, The Barren Earth, in Warlord, illustrated the graphic novel Me & Joe Priest, and handled some art for Swamp Thing. Trekker was his own baby, first seen in Dark Horse Presents #4 (with stories through #6), then in it's own series. Trekker features the future noir adventures of bounty hunter Mercy St Clair, a bounty hunter in the city of New Gelaph, in the year 2226. Bounty hunters are known as Trekkers and their world is far more dangerous than Dog the Bounty Hunter of Ralph "Papa" Thorson (subject of the Steve McQueen movie, The Hunter). Her only living relative is an uncle, Alex St Clair, who is a lieutenant of the New Gelaph Police Force. She has a boyfriend, Paul Clemmons, who is also a cop, yet far more in touch with his emotions than Mercy. Her best friend is Molly Sundowner, who owns a modest music store. She keeps a pet dox (dog/fox crossbreed), named Scuf. Her adventures often cross paths with Lasmusi, an underworld thug with a healthy respect for Mercy. Thompson Richards is an academic, who lives in Mercy's building, who helps her with research, from time to time. Then, there is Jason Bolt, a revolutionary from Rigel. Trekker mixes in the trappings of the detective series and science fiction, much as the cinematic (and literary) Blade Runner did. However. Mercy isn't hunting wayward Replicants; she is hunting pure humans, the most dangerous game. She keeps herself tightly wound, as she hunts murderers and criminals, in some of the worst environments imaginable. The series is as much at home with Hammett and Chandler as it is PKD. Randall's art is detailed and lively, and really adapts to telling stories in (mostly) black & white. Trekker was never a huge hit; but it was a highly regarded cult book, which continued at Dark Horse, sporadically (with a color special from Image), as well as a Kickstarter-funded project. However, don't just take my word for it, check out Ruth and Darrin Sutherland's excellent Trekker Talk podcast, devoted to the series. Then, check out their equally awesome podcasts devoted to the works of Mike Grell and Xenozoic Tales. They are wonderful people and they are true fans. Tell 'em Jeff sent you. Next time, a look at some more early DHC books, including the obscure The Mark, Mark Verheiden's The American, and the continuations of Roachmill, Flaming Carrot, and (eventually) The Rocketeer. I will also take a peek at Dark Horse's companion anthologies, Cheval Noir, featuring material from around the world; and, Mayhem, with action-adventure material in a rather violent vein. All of this, plus, The Mask.
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Apr 18, 2019 16:31:23 GMT -5
Man I love those early DH comics in black and white. Buried in a box in my comic book room and will have to dig through and pull these out as I haven't read them since their original publication! Boris, Concrete and Trekker were all on my pull list (along with Mr. Monster and Flaming Carrot)! Great memories and remembrances of times spent every week at my 2 favorite new LCS. You are stirring up fond times here codystarbuck. Keep up the great reviews.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Apr 20, 2019 19:22:46 GMT -5
As time wore on, Dark Horse became a home for comics whose publishers had gone under or whose creators had bad experiences. Roachmill left Blackthorne for DHC.. as did Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot... ..which arrived after the demise of Renegade. FC stuck around a while, appearing in his own book, in DHP stories, and in one-shots and specials. The association with Dark Horse would help turn Mystery Men into the movie, with Mike Richardson listed as one of the producers. Dave Stevens woud, eventually, finish the Rocketeer Adventure Magazine (begun at Comico) at Dark Horse, with the third and final installment published there, in 1995, with DHC collecting the whole thing into one volume. Unfortunately, the timing was too late for the movie, which had hit theaters in 1991 (and was part of the reason Stevens was so late with the conclusion of this project). We Rocketeer fans were used to waiting; but, this was agony. It's still a great story, though, featuring Cliff and Betty in New York, with characters based on the Shadow, Rondo Hatton, and others. Michael T Gilbert brought his Mr Monster over, with a few DHP stories and the mini-series, Origins... There, we learned of the history of the original Mr Monster, hiw wedding, and the birth of his son, our Doc Stearn, and the tragedy of the family, which kept the younger Doc in the monster-fighting business. Mr Monster was always great fun, poking fun at horror conventions and stories, while also delivering rousing and spooky adventures. Origins added pathos and drama to the series, while still keeping a twinkle in the eye. Unfortunately, Mr. Monster didn't stick with Dark Horse and kind of bounced around, after that, with a 3-issue mini from Tundra, a series of specials and one-shots at places like Penthouse Comix, Caliber, and Image, before eventually returning to DHP, Vol 2, in 2011. Dark Horse would launch one of my favorite early titles, in 1987... The series features reporter Dennis Hough, who stumbles on the biggest story of his career, one that will likely get him killed. A standoff is occuring in Beirut, as American hostages are held in an airport terminal section. A special operations team is at work, with agents setting explosives and weapons up, while speaking cynically of some special agent, who is busy getting his picture taken. They don't seem to like the guy. The rescue operation gets underway and we see the agent, a costumed soldier, known as The American, turn up at the terminal. The terrorists fire at him and he seems unconcerned, until teflon-coated bullets penetrate the kevlar armor of his costume, killing him, as a young boy looks on. However, back in the States, the boy is reunited with his rescuer, who is very much alive, at a press conference. The kid is shocked and has a heart attack, on live tv, with Secret Service agents cutting off the feed. Dennis pursues the story and the reaction of the kid, calling a friend, named Candy, with government connections. She gets him a copy of an unaired 20/20 special, about the American, which featured the official story, as told in comic books, and a blackout interview with his sidekick, Kid America, who was sent packing, acing him out of 50% of the merchandise royalties. They also highlight some less-than-spectacular missions. Dennis is intrigued. he attends another public appearance for the American, which is interrupted by terrorists, seeking revenge for Beirut. they throw a hand grenade at the stage, catching the American in the explosion. One goes on the run and Dennis chases after him, while Secret Service lockdown the cameras. The terrorist reveals that his brothers were burnt to death in the rescue mission. The terrorist is killed by government agents and dennis is warned away from the story. Dennis' camera woman is killed in the fight. Dennis doesn't let the story lie and shouts out at the American at an appearance and the man starts to respond, when he is cut off. We see the American, later, in a cell. Agents are sent to silence Dennis and he is saved by the American, who has gone rogue. he then finds out it has all been a propaganda project that dates back to Eisenhower, with different soldiers in the uniform. They eventually track down the former Kid America, now a fat, middle aged man, and break into the training and command base for the project. There, they find an army of Americans, a living Dwight Eisenhower, now a cyborg, called Cyber-Ike, and a poor tortured old man who played the Communist enemy of the original American. The series was the brainchild of Mark Verheiden, who had been the force behind APA-5, a comic fanzine, and Chris Warner, who had been doing the Black cross stories, in DHP. Verheiden wanted to take a look at a patriotic her, through a more adult and cynical lens, using it to comment on how patriotism is used to sell bad ideas and projects. this was the height of the Reagan Years (about to become the Bush years), where patriotism was being used to sell all kinds of things, including secret wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, while trading arms to enemy regimes in the Middle east, for cash for these secret operations (Iran-Contra). Verheiden tapped into a certain feeling of some, as expressed in Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," and Billy Joel's "Allentown," that there was something rotten under this patriotic facade. It was Captain America, in a darker age. It was political and it was bombastic; and, it was good! Warner had a nice, harsh line that suited the darker tone of the story. He would only work on those initial stories, though. After that first storyline, the Americn project is revealed and the soldier must now face life after a period of lies. He tries to find a way forward, in a land that doesn't live up to the ideals he believes in. The story continued for 4 more issues, then a special, as well as a DHP story or two. Then, the soldier goes off on his own, trying to find America, in a new mini, The American: Lost in America. Sadly, the American never rose above cult status and Verheiden moved on to other things, including higher profile comics and work in Hollywood. Chris Warner continued to work at Dark Horse; but was involved in developing other projects. Grant Miehn had followed on art, then got work at DC, on Manhunter and The Shield, for DC's Impact line, featuring the MLJ/Archie heroes. The American is largely forgotten, though the first 4 issues were collected in a trade paperback. At least the series got that, which is more than our next feature got... The basic concept was intriguing. In the fascist state of Lutzany, the citizens are keep under the heel of an iron boot. Those deemed inferior have been locked away fro experimentation and extermination, in the pursuit of racial and genetic superiority. However, inside a government facility, one of those experiments has yielded a surprise. A large young man appears to be mentally handicapped, shuffling around a mental institution was catatonic and otherwise enfeebled inmates. However, it is all a facade, as the man is lucid and cunning. He uses this cover to covertly strike out against the state, wearing a cross between a ninja suit and Batman's costume (minus cowl). The symbol of Lutzany is a "Greater Than" arrow, while the Mark wears a "Less Than", the mark of the under-class. he creates havoc within the state, hoping to spark revolution. Stry was by Randy Stradley and art on the first 3 issues was from larry Stroman, before he moved on to Marvel and X-Factor, and Image and Tribe. he was followed by Tony Salmons, who had done work for Marvel. However, it was even less of a cult book than The American, though both were better written than your average DC or Marvel hero. However, black & white vs color was a big handicap, even in a robust Direct Market. The Mark would continue in Dark Horse's anthology series, Mayhem (which I will get to in a moment), then got a mini-series after that, which came and went with little fanfare. I don't have copies of either, anymore, so most of this is from memory. the series mostly escaped the internet and I am left to wonder if anyone besides me read the thing? If you can find it at all, you can find it cheaply and it is worth seeking out. It's not Alan Moore; but, what is? It's a really good premise that suffered from timing and creator turnover. It would make for a great tv series, which makes me wonder why it hasn't been exploited further, by Dark Horse Entertainment. Same question about The American. Mayhem was launched in 1989, as a new anthology for more action-oriented stores. The Mark was one of the features, carrying on from the original series. Also featured was The Mask, which was a revamp of The Masque, as featured in DHP, about which I will explore, later. The other feature was Mecha. Mecha was by Randy Stradley (sense a pattern here?) and Harrison Fong and was inspired by the explosion of robot mecha in Japanese anime, manga and toys (as seen in things like Voltron, Robotech, Mobile Suit Gundam and more). Here, alien mecha have been discovered on Earth and their presence is a mystery that is explored by the characters. Aagin, this is another obscure early title, which seemed to pass the internet crowd behind. Me, too. My only experience was in the 4 issues of Mathem, and I tended to skim over those, for the more interesting (to me) The Mark and The Mask. Mayhem picked up where the series ended, though I recall nothing about it. Mayhem's main feature was The Mask and that is our final topic, for this installment. The Mask began life as a drawing by Mike Richardson, submitted to mark Verheiden's APA-5. When Dark Horse started up, Richardson pitched the idea to Randy Stradley and Mark Badger and they started the series, in the pages of Dark Horse Present. The basic premise is that the protagonist finds a mask that when worn, causes a change in personality, usually in a violent manner. The original Masque stories were a bit more political and filled with more social commentary and satire, and were a bit of a departure form Richardson's original conception. He was given a makeover by Chris Warner and the new version, under the title The Mask, was launched in Mayhem. This version is Stanley Ipkiss, a poor schlub who buys the mask in a curio shop, as a present for his girlfriend. When, he puts it on, his Id is released and he becomes a violent avenger of past tresspasses (ala Falling Down, with Michael Douglas). The mask passes on from Stanley to others, with violence always being the end result. Mayhem would lead to a mini-series... The Zero Issue reprints the Mayhem stories, while the mini picks up from there. That was soon followed by The Mask returns... Writer John Arcudi and artist Dennis Mahnke were the architects of this version. Over=the-top violence and wild visuals were the hallmark of the series, as well as very dark humor and satire. It was like a tex Avery cartoon come to life and taking a chainsaw to the world, oblivious to whatever might be in its path. This being the 90s, it became a massive hit, as violence and adult humor became the norm. It was Dark Horse's homegrown breakout hit and propelled them to the top. Dark Horse made contacts in Hollywood, in the course of producing licensed comics (more on those in another installment) and would soon form Dark Horse Entertainment to sell their roperties to Hollywood. At first, this resulted in minor stuff, like a horror movie, called Dr Giggles, which they co-produced and adapted in comics form. Soon, several Dark Horse properties would be optioned for movies, both company-owned and creator-owned, published by Dark Horse. The Mask would be the first homegrown property to reach the cinema. The Mask was pitched to Hollywood, back around 1989 and New Line Cinema was involved in developing it as a horror property, with dark humor. However, there was serious trouble in crafting a workable script and the project stalled. It was restarted as a romantic comedy, with some horror elements, though heavily toned down. The studio wanted to cast Martin Short or Rick Moranis in the role of Stanley, though richardson resisted them, until Jim Carrey, who had become the breakout star of In Living Color, was put forward (aided by the success of Ace Ventura, Pet Detective). Also cast as the love interest, in her first major role, was Cameron Diaz. The end result was a massive hit, which elevated the profile of the property. The film toned down the violence, taking the Tex Avery style and running with it. The comics, however, continued in their form. A regular series followed... Other crossovers and specials would follow, most with Arcudi at the helm. After a while it kind of blurred into the same old thing, as did similar things, like Lobo. Some of the more interesting projects included a crossover with Marshall Law and DC's Joker... The Mask would point the way forward, for Dark Horse, as they began to focus more om commercial properties and more superhero-oriented things. However, before getting to that point, Dark Horse would find it's first commercial success with properties from other media. Unlike Western/Gold Key, they would actually put some effort into these properties, helping to elevate them and providing material which would then fuel the film franchises. That is our ext subject, as we look at Dark Horse's first big commercial success, with Alien, and its even bigger success with the Predator license. This will be followed with Terminator and the big one; comics based on a minor sci-fi property, which had become old hat.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Apr 21, 2019 7:11:17 GMT -5
ps I had mentioned covering Cheval Noir; but, I will delay that, for the moment, as I want to use that as a jumping off poit for discussing Dark Horse's larger publication of European material.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Apr 24, 2019 15:25:10 GMT -5
So, in 1988, after 2 years in existence, Dark Horse was still a small independent; but, one with a reputation for quality, with the critical darling Concrete, adventures series The American, The Mark, and Trekker, plus the various pieces in Dark Horse Presents. They next looked in an area that was an old stand-by for comics: Licensed properties. Western had made an industry of publishing licensed comics, both adaptations and new stories using said characters, from their association with Dell, up through the Gold Key & Whitman years. However, they rarely did a direct continuation of the plot. Dark Horse, from the start, decided to do just that. They also decided, unlike DC and Marvel, to do their adaptations as limited series and one-shots, rather than as a continuing series. Their first title was Aliens. The series was scripted by Mark verheiden and drawn by Mark A Nelson. It picks up after the events of James Cameron's Aliens, with Newt and Hicks alive, and have difficult lives after the events of the film. Newt is in a mental hospital, suffering from dreams of her friends being infected with Alien embryos. She suffers from anxiety and has problems interacting with others. Hicks is returned to the Colonial Marines, where he is ostracized, for fear of catching an infection. he is repeatedly involved in drunken brawls, yet he hasn't been court martialed. He is tapped to take part in a mission to retrieve Alien specimens, after records of a Coast Guard (they handle the space areas near Earth orbit) encounter with an Alien. Meanwhile, there is a cult growing, who see the Alien as some sort of messiah. Pretty F-d up! Hicks break Newt out of the hospital and takes her along, as a stowaway, though she is discovered. Along the journey, she finds herself attracted to a crewmember, who is later to be revealed as a synthetic person. They end up in battle with the Aliens, and the religious nuts and come in contact with the race of the space mariner, from the derelict ship that Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo first discovered (and which was later surveyed by Newt's parents, leading to the infestation of the colony facilities). There is an ending; but, ist sets up Book 2, which continues the story for Newt and Hicks. The black & white art, a necessity for a small company, worked perfectly for the story, adding mood and atmosphere that matched the films. Verheiden expanded upon the backgrounds of Newt and Hicks and their bond, from the film. He also showed the insanity of the corporations and the religious nuts, not to mention the military, which seemed devoid of common sense. The series became a surprise hit, aided by the fact that there hadn't been an Alien comic since the Goodwin/Simonson graphic novel, for Heavy Metal, of the original Alien. Fans had just seen Cameron's rollercoaster take on the dea, with its gung ho fights and exciting sequences. Verheiden tended more towards Ridley Scott than James Cameron; but, there is a nice mix of the two films. Things proved successful enough that book 2 was done in color. The story continues, with more Aliens being encountered and a climactic reappearance, by Ripley. This led into Aliens: Earth War, from Verheiden and a not quite superstar Sam Kieth. The three mini-series form one bigger narrative, feeding the questions and ideas of fans of the previous 2 films. Dark Horse had a good thing and continued to add to the franchise, with new stories and new characters. However, the release of Alien 3, with the revelation that Newt and Hicks were dead, caused issues. Later reprints of the material renamed Hicks and Newt and subsequent stories followed the revamped continuity. ironically, William Gibson's earlier script for Alien 3 was more in line with what Dark Horse had been doing, having New reunited with relatives (a grandmother, I think) and Hicks and Ripley going off on another adventure. More series followed, including crossovers with Green Lantern, Batman and Superman, Stormwatch & Judge Dredd and a monster showdown, which I will get to in a minute. Generally speaking, the Aliens material was pretty good, though, over time, it got repetitive. The original trilogy of minis, from Verheiden are must reads. After that, it's a matter of opinion. Dark Horse followed up the success of Alien with another Fox franchise: Predator. Like Aliens, Predator continues where the film left off. However, it doesn't focus on Dutch, Arnie's screen character. Instead, it focuses on his brother, who is an NYC police officer, who encounters a Predator, during a drug bust gone wrong. He ends up meeting up with a mysterious general and goes from the urban jungle to Columbia, where he encounters the Predator in the environment in which his brother fought. Mark Verheiden was again the writer and he picked up the threads of the original film and expanded the world. The series would prove influential on the film franchise, as the followed Dark Horse's lead by setting the sequel in an urban setting. However the sequel would come after Dark Horse established a further history. Predator proved as popular, if not more so, than Aliens and multiple series and crossovers ensued. Again, the early stuff is probably the best, before commercial interests took over. However, Dark Horse continued to make individual stories engaging and some of the crossover, like Batman vs Predator and Tarzan vs Predator. Aliens and Predator turned out to be big hits for Dark Horse, so the inevitable occured. Since both franchises were owned by 20th Century Fox, they could coexist in comics. First, there were the teasers, in Dark Horse Presents, where we see that Predators hunt the Aliens, both as a rite of passage and as part of a celestial feud. These issues sold like hotcakes, far more than the regular issues of DHP. They quickly became speculator items, skyrocketing in price. All of this led to Aliens Vs Predator.... Cover artist Dave Dorman made his name on these franchises, as well as other Dark Horse covers, leading to work from all over comics and sci-fi. The first confrontation centered around an Earth colony, with a bitchy administrator, labor issues, and a lot of conflict. These colonists discover Aliens and the normal pattern ensues. then, the Predators showed up. Thing is, the Predators didn't mind killing humans any more than the Aliens. The administrator ends up fighting with a Predator, against the Aliens. As with the Predator series, the Predator species speak only through repeating words they have heard from humans, in different context. It made for an interesting dynamic. It took a while before we got more AVP, with Chris Claremont taking a turn at it, after being dumped from X-Men... Claremont focused (unsurprisingly) on female characters, as we have a human and a female of the Predator species, fighting an Alien queen. This was a long one, clocking in at 12 issues. Further AVP publications followed; and, Fox (eventually) produced a film, though with little relation to what Dark Horse had done, even though they gave them the idea. Dark Horse would also pick up the Terminator franchise, after one mini-series published at Now Comics. Again, individual minis are quite good; but, a steady diet brought a feeling of sameness. James Robinson and Paul Gulacy's Secondary Objectives is one to read and the first, with Chris Warner on art and The Mask's John Arcudi writing, is also a good read. Dark Horse also picked up Robocop, for more mayhem, including stuff from Frank Miller and Walt Simonson, as the cyborg police officer fights the cyborg Terminator. More Robocop followed, though it seemed to wear out its welcome sooner. terminator would also run its course, after a while. Dark Horse would dabble with other films, as adaptations and continuations. However, the big one was to come. Set your Wayback Machine for the late 8s. Star Wars was done. Return of the Jedi came our in 1983, closing the original trilogy. George Lucas, fresh from a divorce and creative burnout, abandoned the idea of doing more films. instead, he concentrated on running his company, filming more Indiana Jones, and other projects (including the abomination that is Howard the Duck!). The books had mostly petered out. Marvel had canceled their comic series (though published Droids and Ewoks). However, Tom Veitch (brother of Roarin' Rick) and Cam Kennedy had pitched an idea to Archie Goodwin, at Epic, who had greenlit the idea. However, he left Marvel and they let the book drop. Dark Horse was more than receptive and the end result was Star Wars: Dark Empire. The series features a revived Emperor (cloned), with Imperial factions still fighting the New Republic. It was a massive hit. A sort of synergy (somewhat calculated) occurred as the revived Star Wars comics were hitting the stands as a revived novel series was beginning, with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. Suddenly, a new generation was catching Star Wars fever. It would lead to the 25th Anniversary, as Lucas tinkered with the films, then launched the Prequels. Meanwhile, Dark Horse expanded their offerings, though in the past, looking at the days of the Jedi, far before the time Lucas would cover. Slowly, though, they explored later stuff, as Lucasfilm coordinated the novels, comics and video games, as the Expanded Universe. Star Wars was a major cash cow for Dark Horse and they produced tons of products, from adaptations to originals. They even produced Star wars comedy, with Kevin Rubio's stories in Star Wars Tales and Tag & Bink Are Dead. Dark Horse would also reprint the original Marvel Comics stories, in a series of trade collections, with the movie adaptations published in collected volumes of their own. The also published Classic Star Wars, with reprints of the newspaper strip, especially the run of Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson (and Carlos Garzon) We got adaptations of things like Splinter of the Mind's Eye, new stories of Vader's Quest to find the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, a return of Boba Fett and the missions of Rogue Squadron. They even did Star Wars what ifs... John Ostrander would do some excellent work on the Star Wars books, as well as artist Jan Duursema, while others came in and out, including Paul Gulacy, Dave Gibbons, Chris Sprouse, Tim Truman and more. Of course, we all know what happened. Disney bought Lucasfilm and the Star wars franchise and then yanked the license from Dark Horse, returning it to Marvel, whom they had also purchased. Many thought this would be the death of Dark Horse; but, they have soldiered on. Next, we'll backtrack a bit to Cheval Noir, as Dark Horse starts a new anthology to introduce European comics to America, beyond what Heavy Metal had done. Stop back for a discussion of work from Moebius, Jacques Tardi, Andreas' Rork, and The Forever War. I'll also discuss the series connection to a minor European erotic/adventure film, based on a fetish comic strip and then look at other European works published by Dark Horse, including the obscure Propeller Man, from Mathias Schultheiss.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on May 2, 2019 15:27:16 GMT -5
So, now we come to one of Dark Horse's more unique experiments, in comparison to most other indie publishers. Several companies were dabbling in translating manga stories, from Japan, with Eclipse being the earliest (Mai the Psychic Girl, Kamui the Ninja, Area 88), soon joined by First (Lone Wolf & Cub). Dark horse would be joining them; but, that is for another installment. Japan was fine; but, what about Europe? Heavy Metal, mostly, had a monopoly on that. They were a conduit for material from Metal Hurlant; but, that was only one publication (Heavy Metal did expand to other publishers, over time). What about material from Pilote or Au Suivant? NBM had come along and was releasing album collections of European material and would be joined by Catalan Communications (again, in album format) and Dargaud would open an American branch and publish a few things, like Valerian and Stan Drake's Kelly Green albums. However, Heavy Metal was the big monthly does of Europe. Dark Horse changed this with Cheval Noir. I knew nothing about this new anthology, until I saw the first issue on the stands of by LCS. I immediately spotted the Dave Stevens cover and also recognized the homage... The Perils of Gwendoline (in the Land of Yik-Yak) was a French film, distributed by the Samuel Goldwyn Company, in the US, starring Tawny Kitaen (of White Snake music video fame, Bachelor Party, and The New WKRP in Cincinnati). It was not a hit in the US; but, gained cult status on video, mainly due to copious amounts of nudity and fetishism. The cover is an homage to later stages of the film, when Gwendoline and companions have found a hidden city and Gwendoline has to go under cover as one of the Amazonian warriors... Of course, the film was (loosely) inspired by the fetish cartoons of Alexander Scott-Coutts, aka "John Willie, "The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline".... However, if you were expecting any of this inside the issue, you were grossly mistaken. Instead, what you would find would be Druillet, Schuiten, Tardi, Cailleteau & Vatine, Andreas, Hiroyuki Kato & Keisuke Goto, and spot illustrations from Geoff Darrow. it was a visual and story treat, as we got Lone Sloane, A Fever in Urbicand, Adele Blanc-Sec, Fred & Bob, Rork, and Angel Fusion. These were mind blowing works, in a variety of styles and intent.Lone Sloane is Druillet's masterpiece of a space wanderer and his psychedelic adventures. A Fever in Urbicand is part of Schuiten and Benoit Peeters Les Cities Obscures cycle, where a strange cube is unearthed at a building site, then begins to grow, geometrically, until it engulfs the city, creating new links between the cities and strata of society. Adele Blanc-Sec features a journalist investigating weird events, with horror tinges. Fred & Bob features comical misadventures by a pair of juvenile nitwits. Rork features Andreas' white-haired supernatural investigator, with creatures crossing dimensions into an old, dilapidated house. Angel Fusion is a dream-like piece, mixing traditional manga stylings with Moebius influences. Suddenly, you had access to some of the vital newer material emerging from Europe, not just the sci-fi/fantasy material of Heavy Metal. Sure, Druillet and Schuiten had appeared in Heavy Metal; but, there was more here. Andreas was a revelations, mixing American influences, like Neal Adams, Bernie Wrightson and Joe Kubert, with Europeans Moebius and Hermann. Tardi used a more primitive style, a sort of offshoot of the linge claire style of Tintin and its followers; but, with a broader feel to it. His storytelling is first rate and the imagery unsettling. Cheval Noir serialized features across issues, mixed with single stories (like Angel Fusion and Fred & Bob, which were episodic comedies). Everything was in conjunction with NBM, as Terry Nantier assisted with editing and translation, as did Jean-Marc Lofficier. Cheval Noir serialized the works in black & white, while NBM published (mostly) color album collections. Additional material would appear, such as Marvano's adaptation of Joe Haldeman's sci-fi classic The Forever War, some of Moebius work, more from the Cities of the Fantastic and others. The work was decidedly adult and did feature a mature reader label warning. Soon joining the book would be Brian Bolland (his Mr Mamoulian cartoons and others), Eddie Campbell (The Eyeball Kid) John Bolton (a vampire tale), Rick Geary (several stories), Mike Kaluta (Sunstroke), Phil Elliott (Post Apocalypse), Cosey (Voyage to Italy), Rosinski & Van Hamme, (The Great Power of Chninkel.... And that's just the first dozen issues! Each issue was packed with material. The first year or so featured about an 80 page count, with it trimmed to about 30+ in later issues. The series would last 50 issues (probably more to reach the milestone, by the time the plug was pulled). I have to think it wasn't a huge money maker; but, it was a prestige series that showed a maturity at Dark Horse. Some features would end up overlapping with DHP, such as Eddice Campbell's Eyeball Kid (especially in the serial, Hermes vs the Eyeball Kid) and Brian Bolland's cartoons were published in several places (including Caliber's Negative Burn anthology). There is just a wealth of great material to be found in these 50 issues. Cheval Noir wouldn't be the only place for European work, at Dark Horse. One of the earliest features to get it's own printing was Propellerman, from Mathias Schultheiss. Schultheiss was a German writer/artist whose biggest success was Bell's Theorem, which was printed by Catalan Communications, in the US. Schultheiss pretty much abandoned the German market, as it wasn't particularly interested in newer works; and, instead, went to Italy and France & Belgium to publish his stories. Here, we get an original, featuring the tale of an amnesiac escaped weapon, who searches for his creator. The world is a dystopian future, ruled by powerful corporations (sounds familiar).. It was a wild, violent, interesting adventure/drama, which was a bit more in tune with the marketplace than Cheval Noir and its features. It generated positive buzz from fans, though little discussion that I ever encountered, in the comic press. Whatever audience it attracted, it seems to have been relatively small, as it seems relatively unknown to the internet world and fandom, in general. I've often wondered if anyone besides me read it. It put me on a hunt for more Schultheiss (with Bell's Theorem about the only other thing published in the US. Schultheiss withdrew from publishing comics and focused on teaching graphic arts, before returning in the late 00s with a couple of new works. he's an intriguing artist, though there is a dark, violent tone to these works (which should have been perfect, for the 90s crowd). His later material is reportedly more optimistic and brighter. Dark Horse kind of cooled on the European material for a bit; but, returned at the end of the 90s, with Rocco Vargas... Rocco Vargas is the brainchild of Spanish artist Daniel Torres. Torres' work has appeared in Heavy Metal (including one or two Rocco Vargas stories), after dazzling the European publishers. His work began appearing in the Spanish magazine El Vibora, which featured Underground material. Rocco Vargas began in 1982, with the story "Triton." Catalan published the first three albums, Triton, The Whisper Mystery and Saxxon, while this hardcover collection has all three, plus the new story, Far Star. Torres uses a style inspired by the Franco-Belgian ligne claire (as popularized in Tintin) style, while also mixing in design elements from art deco and the Underground cartoon styles. Rocco Vargas is an intergalactic adventurer, who masquerades as novelist Armand Mistral. He has been away for a while, in the first adventure, before a mysterious woman, on the run, comes to him for help. Dark Horse would publish a few more Rocco Vargas albums, in the early 00s... I posted some samples of Rocco Vargas in the Catalan section of this thread, a few pages back (before the Valiant discussion). Belgian artist Hermann (Hermann Huppen) would also be reprinted by Dark Horse. His Jeremiah had been done by Fantagraphics, Catalan and Malibu and was also reprinted by Dark Horse. Jeremiah features a post apocalyptic world, with civilization reduced to a few pockets of fortified communities. Jeremiah and his two friends travel around, performing jobs. It was later adapted into a tv series, produced by Joe Straczynski, though with little actual adaptation of the stories (just characters and setting). Dark Horse would also reprint Hermann's medieval series, The Towers of Bois-Maury, about a knight trying to reclaim his ancestral homeland. One of Dark Horse's bigger collections has come from Italian publisher Sergio Bonelli Editore, with their features Dylan Dog, Nathan Never and Martin Mystere. Dylan Dog is from writer Tiziano Sclavi, with various artists. Dylan Dog features a London-based paranormal investigator, who worked previously for Scotland Yard. He is a massive phobic, near penniless, and a failure at love (with new relationships in practically every story). It features supporting characters like Groucho, a Grouch Marx double who spouts puns; and Inspector Bloch, his former superior. Groucho had to be altered for the US editions and was renamed Felix, to avoid legal issues with the Marx Estate. The series was one of the most popular in Italy (after the western series, Tex) and eventually spawned the movies Cemetary Man, made in Italy, and the SU film, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, with brandon Routh. The US film was produced by Platinum Studios, which had been formed out of the partnership of Malibu Comics publisher Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Strip Art Features publisher Ervin Rustemagic, who had published some of SAF's material under the Platinum Editions Banner (Abraham Stone, among others). The film was a flop and widely panned. The series features a private detective in a future urban setting, where police work with private detectives to solve crimes. It's a mixture of crime fiction and urban-oriented sci-fi, like Blade Runner. Finishing up the trilogy of Bonellie translations is Martin Mystery, based on Martin Mystere. Martin Mystery (to use the English name) is an archeologist, historian, anthropologist, adventurer and collector, based in NYC, who works with the police, government agencies and individuals on cases involving strange investigations, digs and other projects. His assistant is Java, a neanderthal from a lost city. He goes up against various men in Black, Loki and Morgan La Fey, and collector Sergej Orloff. Another very popular series in Italy and Europe, which even featured a crossover with some other Italian adventure characters, including Corto Maltese, in a special anniversary feature. Martin Mystery also spawned an animated series, rather loosely based on the concept; but, featuring a teenaged Martin. Dylan Dog, Nathan Never and Martin mystery all exist within the same universe, at Bonelli, though different time frames (since Nathan never is set in the future). Dark Horse would also publish Bonelli's biggest hit, Tex (Tex Willer). This edition featured the team up of joe Kubert, with series writer Claudio Nizzi. Tex is one of the most popular comics in Europe and the biggest in Italy, featuring tales of the Old West. Jordi Bernet has also worked on the series. Definite must for western fans. Dark Horse would return to Andreas, publishing his Cromwell Stone. Dark Horse's most recent dabblings in European stuff were their Manara volumes. Unfortunately, the American market has never been very supportive of European works, with a few exceptions (the glory years of Heavy metal, the Epic Moebius graphic albums). Humanoids had a short-lived co-distribution deal with DC, in the early 00s, Catalan went out of business in the early 90s, NBM moved more into home grown material (with some reprints continuing), Dargaud USA died quickly. Cinebook, Europe Comics, and Humanoids are still at it. There is still a wealth of material untouched by US publishers and may great classics long out of print. Hopefully, Dark Horse might dip their toes in the water, again; but, I don't hold my breath. Next time, we will look at more successful foreign material, for Dark Horse: their manga titles.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on May 11, 2019 20:01:41 GMT -5
You know, I forgot to mention a connection between the cover of Cheval Noir and one of the interior stories, despite it not depicting a scene or characters from any of the stories in that issue. As I said before, the cover image, by Dave Stevens, was an homage to the French film, The Perils of Gwendoline, starring Tawny Kitaen (directed by Just Jaeckin, who also directed The Story of O, based on the Pauline Reage erotic novel). One of the conceptual designers on that film was a young(ish) Belgian artist: Francois Schuiten, whoe Fever in Urbicand, begins its serialization inside that first issue. So, now on to the other side of the world. Dark Horse would soin join a couple of other independents in translating manga titles. Now, it didn't immediately jump on that; but, they were there fairly early on, in their tenure. Starting in 1988, they brought out their first manga title, and it was a big one, culturally speaking... Now, Dark Horse's first Godzilla comic was new material, from her in the good old US of A... This was a one-shot from Randy Stradley, Steve Bissette and Ron Randal, with Tony Salmons and Art Nichols inking. The story was brand new and helped usher in Dark Horse's run with the King of all Monsters. That was soon followed by a mini-series, which reprinted the Japanese manga adaptation of the Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1985, in the US). Kaiju fans snapped these up, making them a lot scarcer than other early Dark Horse comics, especially when they heard how faithful they were (since they originated in Japan). More comics would follow, including Godzilla and Charles barkley (based on the commercials for Nike)... and Dark Horse's own Hero Zero, from their Comics greatest World line... Sadly, we never got Aliens vs Predator vs Godzilla or Godzilla, with the Mask (wearing it, and acting kaiju goofy). For what most people would consider honest to goodness original manga, DHC's first entry was Outlanders... The series tells the story of an alien princess and a Tokyo news reporter, who are trying to stop an invasion by the princess' father. Venus Wars came in 1991... about an Earth colony on Venus, after a cosmic accident makes terraforming possible, and rising tensions between the two nation-states on the planet. 1993 saw Dirty Pair revived at Dark Horse, after the demise of Eclipse Comics... The rights were actually held by Toren Smith's Studio Proteus, which had been translating and reconfiguring manga titles for Eclipse, before Eclipse's financial problems led Studio Proteus to cease working for them and sue for unpaid fees. Dark Horse was able to convince them to bring the title there. Like you would expect, this is satirical stuff with babes and guns. technically, it's not manga, since it wasn't Japanese. The characters were originated in Japanese novels and then adapted into anime and manga. This series was created by Toren Smith and Adam Warren, specifically for the US. Smith later bowed out and Warren continued on his own. 1994 brought Hellhounds... This series features an armored special police unit that fought against anti-government forces, culminating in an attempted coup. The series featured excellent art, but with a healthy dose of violence and deliberate fascist imagery, via the Germanic stylings of the armor. 1993 also brought Oh My Goddess! The series was one of the longest running titles in Japan and is the longest published, in the US. The stories revolve around College student Keiichi Morisato, who accidentally calls a goddess help line and gets a response, from Belldandy, who will grant him one wish. he thinks it is a joke and wishes that she would stay with him forever. Well, be careful what you wish for and all that. She stays, hsi life gets disrupted; but, also improves. They have their adventures as their relationship grows. The gods and goddess stuff is actually derived from Celtic and Norse myth, rather than Japanese, and played for humor. The series went on for 26 years, from 1988 to 2014. Dark Horse published them in comic format, then switched to the phone book style that is now the standard. 1995 would bring Dark Horse's second fairly prominent manga title, The Legend of Mother Sarah... The series was written by Akira's Katsuhiro Otomo and was illustrated ba Takumi Nagayasu. It features a dystopian future (surprise, surprise, surprise...)where the earth has been poisoned and the people live on colonies above. Tragedy forces them to the poisoned world and a mother is separated from her family and seeks to reunite with them. I didn't read most of the Dark Horse manga titles; but, Otomo is a name to recon with. The last of the titles for which Dark Horse was known, before the manga explosion of the late 90s, was Blade of the Immortal. It features the story of a cursed samurai, who must live on, never dying, until he redeems himself by killing 100 evil men, to make up for the 100 virtuous men he killed. Like Oh My Goddess!, Dark Horse first published it as comics, then started solely printing the series in phone book collections, from 2007 on. Dark Horse would continue to dabble in manga, though not to the extent of Viz or Tokyo Pop, focusing more on adult titles, rather than the pre-teen and teen manga series that proliferated in the late 90s and after. They would also reprint manga from other sources, including Katsuhiro otomo's Akira, which had been translated and serialized by Marvel's Epic line, with Mary Jo Duffy doing the translation/writing. Dark Horse collected it into thick volumes... Akira is on a whole 'nother plane, compared to much of the manga brought to the US. This is deeply layered, mature stuff. Mature, meaning well developed and literate, rather than sophomoric jokes and cheap titillation. Dark Horse had the advantage of collecting the completed work, while Marvel had to contend with delays from otomo, while he worked on the anime film. The books were big sellers and were one of Dark Horse's biggest forays into mainstream bookstores. Dark Horse also picked up the rights to Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's Lone Wolf and Cub... The series had been begun at First Comics and was a huge hit with them; but, delays and financial problems cut out some of the audience and First went bankrupt, after their failed revival of Classics Illustrated. First had published individual chapters, rather than whole books. Dark Horse reprinted the volumes as they had originally been done in Japan, 28 in ttal. They were much smaller, like a really fat digest book, smaller than your average Tokyo Pop book; but, denser. Anyone familiar with this series doesn't need me to sell it. It is probably the finest historical/samurai comic in all manga, which spawned a highly regarded film series (a favorite of Tarantino). Dark Horse would also publish a reimagining of the series, in a future setting, with Lone Wolf 2100... They also published Koike's sequel to the original, Shin Kozure Okami, as New Lone Wolf & Cub This picks up the story of young Daigoro, after his father's death, as he is mentored by another samurai. Dark Horse would also reprint Koike and Kojima's Samurai Executioner.... and Koike's Lady Snowblood (another Tarantino favorite, adapted into a film) Dark Horse was also the home for Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell. The anime was second only to Akira and was noted for its cyberpunk touches. They would also publish the sequel. Dark Horse would continue with more manga; but, never quite had the same penetration in the non-comics market as did the bigger manga publishers, like Viz, Tokyo Pop and others. I wasn't really reading that much manga, apart from Lone Wolf & Cub and Akira, and really am not that familiar with the large part of their output. They published works from the CLAMP collective (Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, etc) and more. Generally speaking, Dark Horse had good taste and their anga titles are usually worth sampling, if not collecting. Next, a look at Dark Horse's big publishing coup, as some of the big guns, from the Big Two, decide to publish at DHC. Come on back for the birth of Legend, with John Byrne's Next Men, Mike Mingola's Hellboy, and Frank Miller's Sin City and Give Me Liberty. We'll look at the evolution of the relationship between Frank Miller & Dark Horse, Byrne's arrival, and subsequent series and the founding of the Legends inprint.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on May 14, 2019 17:17:16 GMT -5
So, now we come to Legend, the imprint of Dark Horse, formed by Frank Miller and John Byrne. It has its origin in Miller's first project for Dark Horse: the Tabloid magazine-sized comic Hard Boiled... This comic was most people's introduction to Geof Darrow, unless they were one of the cult few who read Cheval Noir. The initial issue is confusing as hell. Insurance investigator Carl Seltz has memories of being a violent tax collector, named Nixon. Carl goes off on a case, where he is tracking two figures and crashes into them, an old woman and a child. in the violent confrontation, the old woman is revealed to be a robot. So is Carl. The story had weird mixes of dream and reality, with shifting memories and repetition, to the point you had to read it 3 or 4 times to get things straight. I was about to abandon it, if it were not for the closer study of Darrow's work. there are tons of sight gags and easter eggs within the pages and panels, as Darrow produces what looks like Sergio Aragones Mad Marginals, on acid. We see a car with the model name Jesus Chrysler and witness people fornicating in a mass crowd scene, as we see cameos, pop culture references, and satirical advertising. Darrows figures tend to the grotesque; but, his design sense is just mindblowing and it takes forever to ingest it all. Miller's writing, on the other hand, could have used some editing from someone like Archie Goodwin or Denny O'Neil. Issue 2 came out 3 months later, with more exposition, revealing that Carl and Nixon are just cover identities and that he is Unit 4, a robot assassin for the corporation who has a monopoly on building robots. He liquidates them when they break programming. His family are actually paid handlers. We'd have to wait a year and a half to get the third and final issue, which didn't earn Miller or darrow brownie points with fans. Darrow's expansive art took a lot of time and Miller was a bit overcommitted and had delays on other projects (the Elektra graphic novel and one for Daredevil, which eventually became Daredevil: Man Without Fear, with JRJR). I can't post some of the crowd scenes; but, if you google the series, you can see examples of them. Once completed, the series made more sense and it reads best as a collected work, which it eventually became. Somehow, though, it seems to be the forgotten Frank Miller Dark Horse series. At the same time (released before Hard Boiled), Miller teamed up with Watchmen's Dave Gibbons, to tell another violent, somewhat satirical story: Give Me Liberty This new series featured Martha Washington, a precocious African-American girl, who lives in the violent and hellish Cabrini Green housing complex, in Chicago. The real complex was noted for violent crime, drugs, extreme poverty and hopelessness. Miller taps into that as Martha witnesses murder and is nearly killed, herself. However, she escapes and becomes a soldier for PAX, a quasi-governmental/corporate army, fighting proxy wars in Latin America and elsewhere. She finds herself at the heart of political intrigue, violence, and battles against oppression, while meeting up with Raggy Ann, a telepath (who resemble the Raggedy Ann doll) and Wasserstein, a member of an Apache rebel faction. there is also the Surgeon general, leader of separatists who are anti-porn, anti-rock and anti-birth control. Martha proves to be a very capable warrior and technician and helps defeat some schemes. the series progresses onward, with Martha growing in a leadership role and rebellion against the conglomerates that rule. Happy Birthday Martha Washington features a short story, that is an homage to Jack Kirby, via a very Captain America-like character, which speaks of the exploitation of his talents by publishers, compared to the financial rewards and respect he was given by them. Miller's writing gets pretty gonzo; but, the stories make far more sense than Hard Boiled and are far more uplifting and inspiring than Sin City. Dave Gibbons really bring s a lot to the table, via his expressive art. he makes Miller's tendency to go overboard work, while reining in some of his excesses. The made a very good team. Give Me Liberty was a massive hit and one of the most popular and successful indie titles of the period, which made the investment in the color printing and prestige format worthwhile. Miller's next trick was also the start of controversy for him. Miller was a lifelong fan of crime fiction and he set out to do a crime comic. it debuted in the Dark horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special. It was called Sin City. Miller tells the story of Marv, a bruiser of a guy, usually seen in a trenchcoat, who has a night with a prostitute, Goldie, and wakes up to find her dead. he goes on to find out who did it, and navigates through a world of killers, corrupt priests and bishops, prostitute/assassins, mercenaries and all forms of depravity. Miller said he was most influenced by noir films, especially the Warner Bros gangster films and the films based on James M Cain (The Postman Always Rings twice, Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity), as well as hardboiled writers like cain, Jim Thompson and Mickey Spillane (as well as Hammett and Chandler). Marv's story is soon followed by Dwight, in Dame to Kill For, The Big Fat Kill, and Family Values Dwight is a man with a violent, reckless, and booze-soaked past, living a life of abstinence to stay out of trouble. After being betrayed and manipulated, he becomes a nihilistic force. If Marv was dark, Dwight was dour and depressing. Miller wasn't done. there was That Yellow Bastard... This one is set in the past and deal with detective John Hartigan, who on his last case rescued Nancy Callahan from the son of Sen Roark, who was a vicious pedophile killer. hartigan succeeds, and shoot off the genitals of Roark Jr, as well as part of an ear. Hartigan is taken out by a corrupt partner and framed for Roark Jr's crimes. He survives a lengthy prison sentence, beatins, abuse and attempts to kill him, to help out the adult nancy, a stripper, who is involved with peace-keeping prostitute assassins. This is where I tapped out on the series. Marv was dark and violent; but, i liked the character. dwight, not so much; but, it was Miller and I read A Dame to Kill For and Big Fat Kill. I wasn't enjoying them much. I picked up that Yellow Bastard and was sickened by it, but, was a completist. This broke me of it and I walked away from the series. It was dark, depressing and almost unredeeming. Everyone was shades of inky gray to pure depraved black. Women were prostitutes, femme fatales and victims. It was nihilistic, misogynistic and horrid. It was also well written and the art was arresting. That's what made it difficult. In the end, I could find no virtue in this world and I am a believer that there are good and virtuous people in even the worst environments. It is part of what drew me to comics and heroic adventure. This was the antithesis of that, for me. Your mileage may vary. The series drew sales and recognition and controversy. there were charges of misogyny, with the portrayal of female characters. The level of violence and depraved figures was another target. However, the elephant in the room came in the artwork. Miller evolved his style into this blockier, heavily shaded form. except, it wasn't that unique, except to the general comic audience. to those whose horizons were broader, it looked familiar. Alack Sinner was a series of graphic novels from Jose Munoz and Carlos Sampayo, set in a world of crime and corruption. Munoz employed a very stylized noir technique, which influenced many artists, including Miller and Kieth Giffen, as well as his own teacher, Alberto Breccia. Giffen was called out by the Comics Journal and other sources for swiping from Munoz and Miller was next on the list. However, it wasn't just style, as content bore alarming similarities. The Journal didn't stop there, as they also illustrated similarities in passages and lines of dialogue, with Spillane. That controversy was mostly segregated into the world of Journal readers, which was smaller than the Sin City audience; so, not as much came of it. Issues with women got more play in the comic press and fanzines, than any other element, with many wishing Miller would return to Daredevil or something more mainstream, which had more to do with wanting the same old same old, rather than any problems with the content of Sin City. Sin City led to the film, directed by Robert Rodriguez, with Miller directing a little on it, which put the bug into him, which The Spirit cured, as he wasn't suited to it. Not on Eisner, anyway. I'm not a fan, as I found the dialogue more than hokey, though the Marv segment worked well enough for me and Bruce Willis was more credible with the dialogue than most of the actors. Like I say, enjoyed the Marv segment, not so much the dwight or Yellow Bastard parts; rather like the source material. Miller reunited with Geof Darrow on a new, more accessible project: The Big Guy and Rusty, the Boy Robot. Once again, the work was done in a tabloid sized magazine format, with only two issues this time, with no delays in publishing. It is a grand homage to Gigantor (Tetsujin 28-Go)and Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom), two early anime that appeared on US tv. The Big Guy is an older robot, who is Earth's last line of defense against alien and monstrous threats. he operates from an orbital base. Rusty is a newer, inexperienced model, who fails to stop a kaiju that attacks Tokyo, necessitating the call to the Big Guy. Together, the pair are able to defeat the monster. Again, we got more great Darrow art, with easter eggs and homages to Ultraman, Godzilla, Gigantor, Astro Boy and more. It was violent; but, more in the Godzilla way and was more upbeat and brighter. it was a welcome change for Sin City and would spawn a Fox cartoon series, which ran 26 episodes, with Pamela Adlon (King of the Hill's Bobby) as Rusty, and Jonathan David cook as the Big Guy, with R Lee Ermey, M Emmet Walsh, Stephen Root and Kathy Kinney voicing characters. Controversy would continue for miller and his Dark Horse Projects. His next was The 300. The series was inspired by the film The 300 Spartans and the story of the Battle of Thermopylae. Miller, being more interested in drama and arresting visuals, played fast and loose with history and ignored some of the more negative aspects of the Spartans, while focusing on the macho warrior culture (and mostly giving a pass to the homosexual relationships that Spartan warriors would have in the field). He also furthered the Spartan denigration of Athens, ignoring the history that rebutted that, with the Battle of Marathon, among others. The Persians were also depicted in historically inaccurate ways, leading to further criticisms, which gained even more traction when the work became better known, in the wake of the film version, and with Miller's next project. Miller was concerned with drama and he delivers that and it can be enjoyed while still noting the criticisms. Personally, I tapped out with the second issue. I just found the Spartans, as Miller depicted them, tiresome and ancient jock a-holes. I also was growing tired of darker fiction. Again, your mileage may vary. The work is still a graphic triumph, though there is a lot of tackle swinging about (ignoring that the Spartans wore the same hoplite armor as the other Greek states). These controversies were minor compared to Miller's Holy Terror. I think most are familiar with thost post-911 work, which started out as a Batman project; but, which was widely condemned as Islamophobic and just plain hateful. Even Miller backpedalled on it, later. Now, Me, I like Hard Boiled, love Martha Washington and Big Guy and Rusty, enjoyed the first Sin city arc; but, really found myself not enjoying Miller's work, from Sin City on. Again, it is a matter of personal taste. My opinion doesn't dispel the acclaim or popularity. From here, we will step back and look at that other work that emerged in those dark Horse Present pages, in 1990: John Byrne's Next Men, as we explore Byrne's work at Dark Horse, during a period when he was a very vocal critic of the founding Image partners. As we will discover, byrne was living in a bit of a glass house. More to come.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on May 15, 2019 13:47:21 GMT -5
Hey, John Byrne; you killed Jean Grey, you revamped Superman, you ..............um............did OMAC?"Yeah." So, what's next?"I'm going to Dark Horse Land!" While Frank Miller was punching us in the face with Sin City, Byrne hit is from the side, with Next Men, in the pages of Dark Horse Presents #54-57. This was a prologue to the story, which would set up an ongoing series. The project began life at DC, as a plate in The Official History of the DC Universe Portfolio, titled "Freaks." The idea had been pitched to DC, as a series; but, didn't come off. Byrne tweaked it a bit and brought it to Dark Horse. Part of the tweaking was to tie it to his graphic novel, 2112... That's the Rush album!Yeah, that one!2112 also didn't start out at Dark Horse. Byrne had been developing this idea, when he was contacted by Stan Lee to edit a line of books, set in the future, but with little direct connection to main Marvel Universe. Byrne saw the potential for 2112 to fit in there and pitched it to Stan. He put together a 64 page "pilot;' but, Stan wanted more references to the past Marvel Universe. Byrne created additional material, then the project didn't happen and Byrne took back 2112. he states he felt uneasy about doing it at DC and Roger Stern suggested Dark Horse. he excised the Marvel-centric pages, tweaked it a bit and then published it at Dark Horse, in November of 1991, just after Next Men debuted in DHP. 2112 is really only tangentially related related; mostly through dialogue and theme. The future is a place of Economic Zones and corporate rule, where Safeguard is the private paramilitary peace force. It is a world of synthetic servants and mini-dinosaurs, genetic engineering and technological wonders, rescuing the Earth from environmental collapse. Young Safeguard agent Thomas finds himself partnered with David Tanen, aka Agent Red, a field agent who is the big time and is hunting Sathanas, leader of a rebellion of mutates, creatures whose 'trigger genes" have caused disforming mutations. They are the serpents in this Garden of Eden. Thomas soon learns that there is a conspiracy to hide the past of these creatures, as we learn that the trigger gene was isolated in 1963; but, those who had been triggered into new forms soon passed it on via sexual contact, causing an epidemic of mutations. Things were reined in; but, Sathanas and his mutates stand against the face of that. Next Men takes place in the "present," before the cataclysm that leads to the world of 2112. Here, a group of experimental subjects, in a genetics project, are awakened from virtual reality prison, and escape from the project, with the help of a government agent, who is investigating the project, which was the brainchild of Sen. Aldis Hilltop. The youngsters, Nathan, Jack, Jasmine, Bethany and Danny all have special abilities, as a result of the project. The government agent, Tony Murcheson, works for Control and becomes a guardian to the youngsters, who soon go on missions, under Murcheson's guidance. As the series progresses, we learn that in 1955, a mysterious Antarctic explosion (linked to the climax of 2112) finds mutated bodies and Sathanas, who kills all of the investigating scientists, except one, who takes him to meet Hilltop. Together, the three create Project Next Men, leading to the events at the start. Sathas still exists and exerts influence on Hilltop, who progresses from Senator to President. meanwhile, two of the characters conceive a child, while another passes on powers to a woman, who can't control them. One character goes in search of his birth mother. On the surface, it seemed like Byrne was just doing his version of the X-men, by way of Mark Evanier and Will Meugniot's DNAgents. There is some truth to that; but, Byrne was going beyond just the similarities, exploring more mature themes than allowed on something like X-Men. Topics included abortion and child abuse, as well as genetic modification, corporate domination of society, and other topics of the day. There were surface parallels to X-men characters. Nathan has mutated eyes and seeson a wider spectrum (Cyclops, Jasmine is a small, young super acrobat (elements of Kitty Pride and beast), Jack is super strong (Colossus), Bethany is invulnerable, with razor-sharp hair and lack of sensory input, via touch (some Superman), and Danny is a speedster (Flash, Quicksilver). However, their gifts have curses, such as Bethany's lack of touch sensation, Jack's inability to control his strength, etc... The character names of Tony Murcheson and Control were taken from a recurring sketch in Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's comedy series A Bit of Fry and Laurie, about two very docile secret agents, who engage in very polite, mild conversation, rather than the style of spy films and John Le Carre novels (from which the idea of Control was taken). The series was a big hit on its debut and it continued apace. Within the letters pages, Byrne included his own Soapbox column, called A Flame About This High (as in, "You know what burns my ass?"), where Byrne spouted off on all kinds of subjects, generating much reader response and more than a little controversy. It was a place for Byrne to lob criticisms at the Image founders for just doing whitewashed versions of what they had done at Marvel, rather than treading new ground. That seemed a bit pot and kettle, given that Next men bore more than a passing resemblance to X-Men, right down to the name (which may or may not have been deliberate; but certainly invoked the connection). Byrne's next projects didn't exactly rebut the glass house hypothesis. Danger Unlimited seemed very familiar, as a family of scientific explorers, the Carsons, and an adventurer Mike Worley, find an alien ship, in the South American jungles, and unleash a mutagenic substance that transforms them into superbeings. Connie Crason becomes Miss Mirage, who can cast illusions. Robert Carson, Doc Danger, has his intellect massively boosted, causing his cranium to progressively grow and his limbs to atrophy. Rachel's brother Calvin is Thermal, who can fly and control heat and cold. Worley becomes the stone-covered creature Hunk. So, yeah, no retreading old ground there. As the storyline progresses, the series moves from 1959 to 2060, with a new generation of Danger Unlimited heroes, moving away from the pure FF swipe. Byrne's intent was to do an old school sci-fi/superhero adventure series, like what the FF used to be (and the Challengers of the Unknown); but, wasn't exactly doing at Marvel, in the 90s. He had already done similar things in Superman, as a sort of spoof, which introduced Hank henshaw, who would become the Cyborg Superman, during the whole return storyline. Danger Unlimited was pretty darn fun and did have that FF feel. it was supposed to be an ongoing series; but, Byrne called a halt, with issue #4, because of the economics of doing the series. It was meant to appeal to younger readers than the Dark Horse average and the state of the industry, in the mid-90s, meant that pre-orders were low and sales were soft, making it hard to fund continued work. Next men was doing well enough to continue; but, economics soon ended its run, too. Within the series was a back up, featuring a WW2 soldier in a patriotic costume: The Torch of Liberty. There were minor connections to Danger Unlimited; but, the Torch's adventures were totally separate. It was Captain American, in a modified form. The Torch of Liberty Special was a one-shot of the hero in an adventure against Commies. The Torch would actually help create the first crossover, of sorts, when Legend officially launched. Torch and Danger Unlimited would also exist in the same world as Byrne's next book... Babe featured a super string woman, who turns up on a beach, with no memory. She is grabbed by aliens and meets up with Blond Bombshell, the former partner of the Torch of Liberty, then a group of youngsters, known as the Prototykes; plus, the secret of her origin, all in her 4 issue mini. A second 2 issue mini followed, then, no more. If the character description sounds familiar, it's because it sounds rather like She-Hulk, under Byrne; and, it did have the same lighter, semi-comedic touch. Now, despite the similarities, homages and outright swipes, Byrne's Legend material is damn good and makes for entertaining reading and was an evolution from what he had been doing at Marvel, rather than just a hollow copy, as many of the Image books proved (until other writers took on the characters). So, while Byrne might have been living in a glass house, his stones were rather accurate and had some weight to them. Still, he wasn't exacly producing something beyond the past like Sin City. Miller was moving outside of what he had done (though with some thematic and influential crossover) while Byrne seemed to remain in the familiar and comfortable confines of past work, though with more depth to it. Byrne in the 90s was bringing a vitality to the writing, if not as much the art. Byrne's art seemed to take on a messier, less finished look. It varied a bit, across projects; but, it was the subject of reader criticisms. Terry Austin and Karl Kesel were much missed contributors to the visuals of Byrne's work. Economics eventually pulled Byrne away from Legend and back to working at Marvel and DC, where he both wrote and drew projects, though with little real innovation. He spent more time doing standard stuff, with other people's concepts. he would reintroduce a WW2 Wonder Woman, via Hyppolyta, and bridge the gap between the Roy Thomas X-Men and the Len Wein Dave Cockrum (and then Claremont & Cockrum) X-Men and gave the Marvel Universe superheroes of the 50s. He wrote and drew the excellent Batman and Captain America crossover, set in WW2, which was one of the best of that generation of DC and Marvel crossovers. However, it was a long time before he returned to his own creations. Next Men would continue at IDW, for a time, while the other material would be reprinted. With the one-two punch of Miller's Sin City (and past works with Martha Washington and Hard Boiled) and Byrne's Next Men, Dark Horse was looking to entice others from the Big 2 to join them. Thus, the Legend imprint was born. The idea was to give a unified brand identity, much like Image, for superstar creators, working on their own books. Miller and Byrne were the foundation, and they were soon joined by Mike Mignola and Art Adams, as well as Miller's partner Geof Darrow and Dark Horse veteran Paul Chadwick. Eventually, Mike Allred brought Madman to Legend and Walt Simonson would finish his Star Slammers series (started at Malibu's Bravura imprint) here. Byrne and Miller gave superstar prestige to Legend, while Mignola and Adams added young, but growing talent, on their own material.. Chadwick ended up there as Legend became the umbrella for creator-owned material, which is also how Allred ended up there. The sensibilities were much the same, which was an added bonus. Byrne would be instrumental in launching the next Legend project: Mike Mignola's Hellboy, which is next time. We will also look at Art Adams superbly awesome Monkeyman and O'Brian, and Garry Gianni's Monstermen.
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on May 15, 2019 16:10:04 GMT -5
I enjoyed all of Byrne's output for the Legend imprint, and I'd agree that the similarities to popular Marvel properties are mostly superficial (also, I'd add that the Danger Unlimited material set in the early '60s also had a bit of a Jonny Quest vibe to it). Once you start reading them, it becomes apparent that he was really exploring different themes. It's too bad they weren't financially successful, as I really wanted to read more of both Danger Unlimited and Babe.
Best DC/Marvel crossover ever...
|
|