Avengers Reborn!

When you look at the line of "Heroes Reborn" books that were released during 1996-97, it's difficult to do so with an objective eye--that is, without factoring in the upheaval that seemed to be occurring in Marvel itself, set in motion by the "Onslaught" crossover event that few look back on with fondness. It was publication chaos that readers were unfortunately swept up in--a massive reshuffling of creative talent behind the scenes, as well as several of Marvel's major titles being dismantled and rebooted to accommodate new visions that would hopefully suit the company going forward. In the interim, Marvel would outsource the production of its flagship titles to separate studios (Jim Lee's WildStorm Production and Rob Liefeld's Extreme) which would produce alternate versions of these titles that offered a fresh take on both their heroes and concepts. In essence, the new work by Wildstorm and Extreme could be regarded as placeholder titles that would keep the fire stoked for Marvel's characters until such time as Marvel's revamped books were ready to launch, though that categorization isn't intended to downplay the amount of time and effort that Lee's and Liefeld's staff put into their contracted work.

The PPC has already taken a look at the first issue of Liefeld's Captain America book (scripted by Jeph Loeb) produced during this period, which was surprisingly well thought-out and executed; and so let's turn now to another title which also featured Cap but of course had several more diverse characters to take into account--a super-group that not only begins a new chapter in its long history, but does so by rewriting and rebuilding that history from the ground up.

Dead On Arrival

Since alert reader Colin Jones had mentioned at one time that there was a dearth of coverage at the PPC of Deadpool--that is to say, no mention of the character at all (except in passing)--it seemed only fair to set aside some time to profile this slightly unhinged mercenary who went on to become a popular character in Marvel's stable. Deadpool is well named, presumably after the rather appalling game of "dead pool" where those who participate compete at guessing when someone will die. Come to think of it, we were all probably playing dead pool when watching classic Star Trek and coming across an episode where red-shirted security men were beaming down with the landing party--we knew that these officers were dead men walking, though without having seen the episode you couldn't really predict when they would end up biting the dust. (You could probably make the argument that they were dead the moment they stepped onto those transporter pads.)

Deadpool, created by the mind and pencils of artist Rob Liefeld and first scripted by Fabian Nicieza, made his first appearance in New Mutants #98, just as the title was on its way out (and subsequently rebooting into X-Force) and the man known as Cable was taking over as the "commander" of the students that Charles Xavier had been instructing. To complicate matters, Deadpool had been hired to kill Cable by a man known as "Mr. Tolliver," who turned out to be Cable's own son from the future. There were sparse comments on Deadpool in the letters page that covered the issue (along with sparse letters, actually, with the book's editors having one foot out the New Mutants door)--but while Deadpool wouldn't be fleshed out as a character in his own right until much later, he left a respectable first impression with readers.

"Another visually appealing individual, with some character to him, too. Please don't let this be the last we see of him." (CF: From your mouth to Marvel's ear, pal.)

Another writer makes an observation that mirrors my own about Deadpool's banter essentially making him a villainous Spider-Man: "I love him. He looks cool, is obviously the best at what he does, and he has a great attitude. And he's funny. He reminds me of Spidey, both visually and with his wisecracks. In fact, Deadpool is basically Spidey wielding instruments of death rather than webs. But it works! I was hoping he might join the New Mutants, but this seems unlikely since he's a bad guy, not a mutant, and because you guys are canceling this book."

"This book needs Deadpool. I don't think I can get by without a monthly dose of this character. If not in this book, use him somewhere else. Please don't let him fade from sight, he is way too interesting."

Considering how understated you may find Deadpool's introductory appearance in the scenes to follow, you could end up wrinkling your brow in confusion at these readers' over-the-moon high praise of the character. At any rate, Deadpool would continue in X-Force for a time, and of course find his way into many stories in the future.

From what I understand, Deadpool has two distinguishing features to his character. One, he has a healing factor (who doesn't?)--and two, his face is horribly disfigured behind that mask. With the film Deadpool now in release, it appears that actor Ryan Reynolds, playing the title role, is poised to have much greater success with this film than his turn in the disastrous Green Lantern--and he had already taken a spin as Deadpool in the 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But even in 2004, the character was already giving a nod to Reynolds, though not exactly a complimentary one.

As for his introduction into comicdom, Deadpool would do pretty well against Cable and his young charges with the element of surprise on his side. He also seems to be a walking weapons depot, to Cable's detriment.

Cover to Cover to Cover

We've already seen a sampling of the many wrap-around and fold-out covers offered by Marvel and its talented artists--yet there's a wealth of such material that's occasionally been tucked away on the sales rack, gems waiting to be discovered by readers who weren't expecting such a dividend in their comic book purchase. The real treat on these oversize covers, just as with many of their single-page counterparts, lies in the creative way that the artist chooses to convey the representation of characters--symbolic portrayals/collages of the content within, and perhaps one of the last few places to be found where word balloons are, thankfully, verboten.

Today, buyers of music lament the absence of the vinyl jacket with its oversized cover photography and/or artwork; and with the comic book, we've come to realize that when it comes to cover artwork which goes well beyond the cover, in no medium but print can you realize the instant gratification of extending a comics cover in your hands to find much more than first met your eye.

So in that spirit, let's take a look at a few more of these dazzling covers--digitally presented, but still a feast for the eyes.

Art by Kerry Gammill and Bob Layton

Hero, Reborn

I stopped reading Captain America with issue #418 in late 1993--a story which featured Cap in a minor sub-plot tending to Diamondback, while the bulk of the issue focused on Dennis Dunphy, otherwise known as D-Man.

A Captain America issue, starring D-Man. Need I say more.

I had stuck with the book for as long as possible, giving it as much of a chance to turn around as I could, before finally realizing it was no great loss to stop collecting this title, and how silly it was to throw good money after bad. Coincidentally, in that very issue, the following letter was printed in the letters page from another reader who seemed to be of like mind regarding the downturn of the book:

And penned by a member of the military, at that. But I couldn't afford to give much weight to the response: "We think you're going to be happy with developments brewing in these pages real soon...!" Well what else could they say? "It may take awhile for story quality to become better, and we're not quite sure what to do at this point--but we'll get there!"

The title ended its run nearly three years later--and judging by the last few issues, the stories did actually rise to the occasion and allowed the good Captain to end on a reasonably high note. But then the "Onslaught" event occurred, effectively putting an end to a number of flagship titles and placing their characters in alternate tales for roughly the next year. It was almost as if we were getting a trial run of the Ultimates format, where the characters were given histories that deviated significantly from the ones we were familiar with. "Heroes Reborn," the banner under which these stories were grouped, acted as a reset button for Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, and Thor, titles which had all reached unmanageably high issue numbers and were arguably, for want of a better phrase, burned out.

In the case of Captain America, his "rebirth" in an alternate reality would be handled in late 1996 by artist/writer Rob Liefeld, who had already worked with Marvel on the closing issues of New Mutants (which spun off into the new series X-Force, also handled by Liefeld) and Cable, and whose studio would be contracted to handle the new stories of both Captain America and The Avengers. It was during this time that I decided to give Captain America another try--and while "Heroes Reborn" as a whole didn't exactly set the world on fire for me, I was surprised by how much I liked the new direction for and handling of Cap. Liefeld and scripter Jeph Loeb (yes, that Jeph Loeb, scripter of the "red Hulk" issues that threw in practically every guest star combination you could think of, with Hulks falling out of the woodwork) brought a lot of patriotic flair back to Cap, while giving this "new" character some interesting history and compelling sub-plots.

But more than that, the issue as a whole is put together with great care. Liefeld, who is credited with not only pencils but also the story and editing, has obviously given considerable thought to its presentation, and certainly demonstrates a feel for the character both in and out of costume. "Heroes Reborn" no doubt stunned many readers who weren't quite sure what was going on with Marvel. The company seemed in disarray, having lost its sense of direction with its own characters and seemed to be starting over and reinventing them on a clean slate. This issue of Captain America, at least, felt like a port in a storm. Cap, unlike the other characters caught up in the new line of books, needed no makeover in either appearance or concept. His familiar costume and shield comes across on the printed page as boldly as ever; and the principles and standards by which he's guided simply needed dusting off and a jolt of reaffirmation.

And so, rather than begin with any elements of the story, Liefeld opens the issue by presenting its best selling device front and center, with all due fanfare:

The Post-Marvel Years of Jim Shooter and Rob Liefeld

This 1993 ad for the opening of a Mile High Comics "mega-store" in Anaheim, CA was a page I quickly flipped through at the time, since it was in the middle of a story I was reading and I'm far from California--but it offers an interesting exercise in connect-the-dots for each of these distinguished gentlemen:

"Defiant"? "Extreme Studios"? I really wasn't up on what these two men were involved with after they left Marvel, so I was curious to follow their career paths.  We start at the same place and relatively same time for both of them--the exodus of Shooter and Liefeld (along with a number of prominent artists) from Marvel Comics during the 1989-1992 period. Let's follow Liefeld's paper trail first:

• Liefeld and the other artists head over to Image Comics in '92, where they all form their own sub-studios under the Image umbrella. Liefeld's studio would be named Extreme Studios.
• Liefeld (and his "studio") would leave Image in 1996 (three years after his appearance at the Mile High store opening), and Extreme would be renamed Awesome Comics.
• Awesome Comics would fold in 2000 when one of its investors departs.
• Liefeld returns to working on Marvel titles during 2000-2006 on various X-books. In 2004 he forms Arcade Comics. Three years later, he would return to Image to collaborate on the Youngblood series.
• At the end of the decade, Liefeld spends a year working on books and stories featuring Deadpool.
• Liefeld also worked on projects at DC in 2011-2012, but eventually made his way back to oversee his Image properties.

As for Mr. Shooter, he also dipped his toes into other comics-based ventures:

• Following his departure from Marvel (after failing with other investors to acquire the company), Shooter is part of the formation of Valiant Comics in 1989. As with the new studios at Image, Valiant also boasted a collection of high-profile former Marvel talent.
• Shooter departs Valiant in 1992 and is joined by some of Valiant's writers and artists in forming Defiant Comics in 1993.
• Marvel initiates a lawsuit against Defiant in '93, claiming Defiant's first title, "Plasm," violated a trademark for their own Marvel UK book and character, "Plasmer."
• Valiant becomes Acclaim Comics in 1994 after its investor sells the company. Acclaim would file for bankruptcy in 2004 due to poor business ventures with video games.
• Defiant changes its "Plasm" title name, but Marvel continues litigation. Defiant eventually prevails in court, but folds in mid-1995 from having to pay over $300,000 in legal fees.
• Valiant Entertainment is formed in 2005 and acquires rights to the former company's library from Acclaim. After a brief stint at DC, Shooter steps back aboard Valiant briefly to write new stories to accompany hardcover reprints during part of 2008-09.
• Shooter begins doing work at Dark Horse Comics in 2009, writing new stories based on classic Gold Key characters he previously handled for Valiant. Valiant initiates a lawsuit on the matter, which was abandoned in 2010.

That's most of it in a nutshell, I think. It's funny the twists and turns a career in comics will take--true enough for writers, artists, and other creative talents moving from job to job and company to company, but particularly interesting for these two who have certainly been through the mill in their own respective fashion, each taking the reins of different companies and the risks and burdens associated therewith. Many people have had many things to say about both their choices and their methods--but in certain respects, I feel obliged to offer a respectful nod to them for navigating the miasma of corporate and personal acrimony in the pursuit of creativity.  I clearly haven't been in the trenches that they have, and I dare say twenty years in the industry probably saw a good deal of shooting from the hip.

It's A Mini Marvel Christmas

What would Christmas be without "A Charlie Brown Christmas"? A little less Christmas, that's what. Fortunately, thanks to Chris Giarrusso (illustrious creator of the "mini Marvels"), we can add a little Marvel flavor to that classic Christmas special:

You can almost hear Vince Guaraldi's music, can't you? Viewers of the Charlie Brown special of course know this scene from the gathering for the school Christmas play:

Be sure to check out Chris's site for more comics goodness (and don't miss his hilarious Rob Liefeld parody vid).