My ScrapbookLuke Cage, Page One The above splash page, presented in all its pre-press, pasted-up, camera-ready glory, is from the very first issue of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (June 1972), garnered a lot of attention when it came up for auction at Heritage Collectibles. Not just because it's one righteous, bad ass piece of … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Luke Cage, Page One
Tag: Marvel Comics
Spider-Man Noir
Created by Stan Lee & Steve DitkoSpider-Man Noir created by David Hine & Fabrice Sapolsky In their endless battle to reel in more customers, it's long been an established practice in the comic book biz to take established superheroes and revamp, revise, reboot and regurgitate them. Pump some new air into tired lungs. Or just … Continue reading Spider-Man Noir
Howard the Duck (aka Howard Duckson)
Created by Steve Gerber & Val Mayerik (art) 'Trapped In a World He Never Made!' -- the most-used tagline In the mythology of the Marvel Universe, HOWARD THE DUCK (real name Howard Dickson) looms surprisingly large--a relatively bit player punching well above his weight. A cranky, cigar-smoking, foul-tempered (or should that be fowl-tempered?) anthropomorphic duck … Continue reading Howard the Duck (aka Howard Duckson)
El Ape & Deadbeat Sleeze (The Sleeze Brothers)
Created by John Carnell & Andy Lanning "There's an old private eye saying that goes like this 'Keep yer ears open, yer eyes peeled, yer nose clean and the rest of ya full of beer." CAN YOU imagine the bastard offspring of The Blues Brothers and Blade Runner in comic form? If you can, congratulations, … Continue reading El Ape & Deadbeat Sleeze (The Sleeze Brothers)
1X, 2X & 3X (The Three Xs)
Created by Robert O. Erisman (text) and Newt Alfred (art) "Baloney!" --3X pretty much sums it up Is this where Marvel's X-Men came from? Except the THREE Xs weren't a bunch of mutant bozos in desperate need of group therapy--they were a team of Baltimore-based private eyes who first appeared in Mystic Comics #1 back in 1940, … Continue reading 1X, 2X & 3X (The Three Xs)
Sian Holt (Star Wars: The High Republic)
Created by Daniel José Older and David Wachter Well, it had to happen... The Star Wars universe has, as far as I can tell, finally unveiled its very first private investigator. SIAN HOLT is a high-priced space shamus who operates during the so-called High Republic Era, which takes place about two hundred years before the events … Continue reading Sian Holt (Star Wars: The High Republic)
Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man)
Created by Len Wein, Chris Claremontand John Buscema JAMIE MADROX was another of Marvel's attempts to create a private eye/superhero hybrid. He first appeared in bit parts mostly, hanging out in various X-books, as Multiple Man, a mutant born with the rather peculiar ability to create endless autonomous duplicates of himself; essentially clones to whom he … Continue reading Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man)
Luke Cage (Hero for Hire)
Created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr. "I ain't about the tights and shit..." -- Cage on why the tiara is gone, in Alias #1 A working class hero is something to be... When LUKE CAGE made his debut in Luke Cage: Hero for Hire in 1972, he was the first African-American superhero to … Continue reading Luke Cage (Hero for Hire)
Rocky Jorden
Created by (unknown) "Things began to happen fast! Shots went off and I felt a searing pain in my left arm! Vaguely, I saw the punk collapse with a death rattle in his throat." -- typical hard-boiled prose, right from Rocky's mouth. Now here's a blast from the past! It's another short-lived attempt to bring … Continue reading Rocky Jorden
Skip McCoy
Created by Allen Bellman One of the earliest private eyes in what would become the Marvel Universe, SKIP McCOY (aka "Detective Skip McCoy") may have been, at best, a minor footnote in comic book history, but he sure got around. We know he was a detective, but he seemed to conveniently fluctuate between working for … Continue reading Skip McCoy