We’re cracking open one of the most gloriously chaotic books of the 90s — DV8 issue 2. You’ve got underaged super-teens starting a bar fight, random cameos from Spider-Man to Spawn, and enough edgy drama to fill a year’s worth of soap operas.

But this isn’t just about the story. We’re diving into the creators behind it — Warren Ellis before Transmetropolitan, Humberto Ramos before Cliffhanger, and a whole Wildstorm crew that defined the era. Plus, we’ll look at Image’s behind-the-scenes drama, sales crashes, and why this series went from hot debut to forgotten footnote in just a few years.

So grab a seat at Clark’s bar and let’s dig into DV8 #2.

Back from their first mission, where they failed in capturing an alien from a mysterious organization. The Deviants, also known as DV8, visit a local superhero watering hole called ‘Clark’s’ looking for a strong drink. A fight breaks out when they’re refused service for being underaged, a fight featuring none other than members of Fantastic Four, Stormwatch and a few other heroes. Getting swiftly kicked out of the bar, the team are picked up by their head of security, Sideways Bob, and driven to the airport. They’ve got a new mission and are headed to California. Ivana, their handler has tasked them to bring in another gang of Genactive youth calling themselves ‘Twist’, she wants the team to recruit them to become part of the Deviants.

DV8 tracks down the Twist gang to an abandoned farmhouse out in the desert. Where Bliss, acting as temporary leader, discusses the prospect with Menlove, the adult leader of Twist. While negotiations continue inside the farmhouse, the rest of the teams size each other up. Transmorphic Deviant Evo becomes infatuated with Virginia, and she coaxes him into a rendezvous by the barn. Meanwhile, Twist member Blind Lemon, who has the power of foresight, warns everyone that DV8 will kill them all, very soon.

As Virginia and Evo get acquainted she begins to expose this gangs dark secret, and shows Evo the barns basement filled with malformed, severely malnourished children. Evo, enraged by this, kills Virginia. Meanwhile Manlove and Bliss’ conversation takes a dark turn when he pulls a weapon on her and exposes another dark secret about Bliss’ past. Engaged, she uses her abilities against him, with savage consequences.

As the situation rapidly devolves into what looks like a superhero standoff, DV8 members Frostbite, Powerhaus & Sublime leap into action. Frostbite begins to absorb the ambient heat in the sand, getting ready to blast it at anyone standing in his way. Powerhaus’ unique ability to gain strength off the emotions of others goes into overdrive given the shocking revelations and sudden turn of events. As DV8 begin to take down their enemies one by one, Frostbite unleashes all his power towards the farmhouse, killing every member of Twist at the same time. Fulfilling Blind Lemon’s prediction.

Enraged, DV8 returns to New York to confront Ivana and demand why she would want such a group of messed up individuals as Twist on the team. Ivana informs them she had no such intentions, and wanted DV8 to get rid of Twist, which was her plan all along.

This issue was written by one of the creators of DV8 Warren Ellis, Ellis’ co-created several popular series for DC like Transmetropolitan, Global Frequency, and Red. Some of his earliest comic works include a Judge Dredd short and a Doctor Who one-pager. Just four years before this issue was released Ellis was working for Marvel on the series Hellstorm: Prince of Lies, Excalibur and he wrote the four-issue arc for Thor called “Worldengine”. Ellis then started working for DC, Caliber and Image Comics’ Wildstorm studio, writing this title as well as taking over Stormwatch. Ellis would write issues 1 through 8 of DV8, then Mike Heisler took over from 9 until the series ended at issue 32.

Fellow DV8 creator and artist Humberto Ramos drew the cover and interiors of this issue. Hailing from Kaboom Comics where he got his start in 1989, Ramos moved to DC to work on Impulse. By the mid-90’s Ramos was working on Marvel titles like Runaways, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man, he was also the co-creator of Silk. In 1998, Ramos co-founded the imprint Cliffhanger with comic book artists Joe Madureira and J. Scott Campbell.

Colourist Wendy Fouts was making waves in the mid-90’s at Image & WildStorm. She colored seventeen issues of WildC.A.T.s between 1993 and 1997 and subsequently contributed vibrant palettes to titles such as Legends of the Dark Knight, Bombshells, and Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman. Her style helped define the bold look of the era’s superhero comics.

Inker Sal Regla was also making his mark with his high energy and glossy work for WildStorm, DC, Marvel and Aspen. Regla’s sharp blacks and speed lines amplify Bliss and company’s anarchic energy; he also co-inked the cover. Recently he’s resurfaced for indie projects and talked about returning to comics in a livestream interview. His credits span superhero, sci-fi, and action across three decades.

Fellow inker Jason Gorder also worked with DC, Marvel, Image and Aspen, his work can be seen on series like Superman: Godfall, Grifter, Rising Stars, and G.I. Joe. He has collaborated with notable artists like Talent Caldwell and Keu Cha, adding depth and definition to their pencil work.

Writer Mike Heisler served as letterer for this issue, he would go on to write issues 9 to 32 after Warren Ellis moved on from the title. He also penned the Gen13 mini-series Gen13: Interactive and the one-shot Gen13: The Unreal World. Heisler got his start in the industry in the late 1980s as a letterer, primarily for Marvel Comics. From there, he moved into writing and editing. In December 2009, Heisler was announced as the editor of a revived version of the landmark monster movie magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland.

Gigi Barbes served as an assistant editor for this issue, she primarily worked on titles like DV8, Gen13, and Stormwatch.

Sarah Becker was editor of this issue, she worked on this title plus others like Gen 13, StormWatch, WildC.A.T.s, and Team 7. Becker appeared on the fifth season of The Real World in 1996 when she was employed as an editor at Wildstorm.

This issue features a bar-fight scene with cameo appearances by quite a few superheroes including Aquaman, Spider-Man, Silver Surfer, Wolverine, The Thing, Superboy, Savage Dragon, Spawn, Ann O’Brien, Rapture, Vanguard, Zealot—despite them originating from various publishers.

These types of playful cameos were the norm for Image comics when they first launched, these weren’t official crossovers, simply little winks at other universes and characters. They weren’t authorized but were not frowned upon by the comic creator community.

In a final, and telling, nod to other heroes, the bar is called ‘Clarks’, in honor of DC’s Clark Kent, AKA Superman - the signage is an obvious reference. Interestingly enough there is a diner called Clark’s in New York City, specifically on 80 Clark St, in Brooklyn. No reports of superhero brawls occurring there however.

I’ll admit the mid-90s were not my favorite artistic period for comics, colors were flat, proportions all over the place and storylines were unnecessarily loud, violent and bawdy. It’s no surprise this Image comic ticks off all those boxes and then some with this issue. Image, by their own accord, leaned heavily into those tropes that seemed popular at the time.

This being only the second issue of the series, the writers were still introducing us to most characters, this led to some oddly placed exposition dialogue between characters who are supposed to know each other quite well.

I do like the cover by Ramos & Regla, a moody rain soaked scene reminiscent of Blade Runner with the neon sign for “Clark’s” lighting our heroes.

Currently mint issues of this comic are valued at $0 at PriceCharting.com, off its high of $65 in April of 2024. ComicBookRealm.com has issues selling for $4 and Ebay for $5.79, you could also pick up all 33 issues and the two annuals for about $85.

By 1996 Image comics was feeling the same pressure as other publishers at that time, the speculation bubble had burst and comic sales dropped. Image had not done themselves any favors by building a reputation of unreliable and often erratic publishing schedules, which forced already struggling comic shops to shy away from purchasing with them on a regular basis.

As far back as 1993 Image was known for late shipping comics, in the first quarter every Image comic shipped late, by April only 15% were being shipped on time, compared to 90% by DC and 80% by Marvel. Image compounded the issue by sometimes shipping comics out of order. This led to loss of interest by the casual reader and frustrations with dedicated fans and retailers.

Image co-founder Todd McFarlane further enraged retailers when he blamed them for over-ordering, saying he hoped that retailers who over-ordered popular titles, including Spawn, went bankrupt.

Stress between the various creative personalities at Image was reaching a breaking point by 1996, just two years earlier Co-founder founded his own separate company, Maximum Press & Extreme Studios. The other founders followed suit and before you knew it we had Todd McFarlane Productions, Marc Silvestri’s Top Cow Productions, Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Productions, Erik Larsen’s Highbrow Entertainment and Jim Valentino’s ShadowLine.

Liefeld then proposed a merger between Extreme Studios & Top Cow, however when Liefeld realized that Silvestri was going to reject his offer, he decided instead to try to recruit some of Top Cow’s artists, including Witchblade artist Mike Turner.

Meanwhile, Liefeld moved some of his titles from Image Comics to Maximum Press, escalating tensions within the company. By the summer of 1996 Marc Silvestri announced that he would leave Image Comics, citing irreconcilable differences with a then-unnamed Image partner. Later that Fall Liefeld did the same, just before a vote to oust him from the company. Interesting to note that Silvestri then decided to stay at Image. Lawsuits followed and there was a 10 year period of bad blood between the companies, Liefeld later reconciled with the Image partners and returned to the company as a creator, as opposed to partner, in 2007.

Total sales in comics that year was roughly $300 Million, this is almost half of the revenue generated just the year prior. Many comics shops closed, unable to deal with a reduced audience and more stringent credit requirements.

While broad sales numbers are available, the specifics are likely skewed as at that time Diamond Comic Distributors was the exclusive comics-shop reseller of DC, Image, Dark Horse, and Acclaim comics for the entire year while Heroes World Distribution was the distributor of Marvel comics. At that time Heroes World did not report on sales figures, so websites like Comichron.com have had to rely on a mix of data to acquire their numbers.

So, understanding that I do have some top selling comics for 1996 that do not include Marvel comics. They are: DC Versus Marvel #4, Spawn #50. #43. #42 and Superman The Wedding Album Collector’s Ed

Of the top selling Image comics for 1996 we have: Spawn #50. #43, #42, Gen 13 #8 & DV8 #1

DV8, while coming out of the gate with strong sales, continued to see declining numbers, by the 3rd issue their sales were down more than 50% and after a year they were down by 78%, sales of this title continued to drop steadily from then on.

Issue 22 from September 1998 saw a modest sales spike as it was shipped with two open-order covers—one by Joe Madureira, who was extremely popular thanks to his work on Image’s ‘Battle Chasers’ that summer and one by Al Rio. Retailers often bumped orders when a superstar-artist variant was available, and collectors frequently bought both covers.

This wasn’t enough to save the series and it was cancelled after issue 32 in September of 1999, when just over 15 thousand copies were sold. The story of DV8 continues in the Gen-Active anthology series.

This issue contains almost no ads outside the Image and WildStorm universe. I imagine selling comic advertising in the mid-nineties to be a nightmare, which is why no brands are featured. Image and WildStorm were promoting a DV8 trading card game. These were a set of 90 trading cards with art by Humberto Ramos, Richard Johnson and many more.

Another ad was a promo for Grifter #5, Grifter was created by artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi. Grifter is a former government operative and member of the military unit Team 7 and the espionage agency International Operations, an agency with ties to DV8.

There was also a promo for Hazard #7, which would be the last issue of this series. The series centered on Hazard (Mitchell Rafferty), a man who became part of a government super-soldier program.

The ad for Stormwatch #42 features the team in Japan. Stormwatch is a superhero team published by WildStorm, which later became an imprint of DC Comics, created by Jim Lee this first series lasted only 50 issues.

Gen13 Bootleg was another series in the popular Gen13 series from Image and WildStorm, it featured rotating story arcs by a revolving set of Image and Wildstorm artists.

Finally there is an ad for Samson Comics boasting talent like Humberto Ramos and many others. The publisher appears to have gone out of business after only a handful of comics were produced including Blood Bath, Pyrite, Vixen9 and an adaptation of Samson.

This week I wanted to find a comic shop called “Clark’s” in reference to the bar from this issue, but couldn’t find any. So I decided to look for one as close to the California desert as possible. If you’re in the area I recommend you check out Comic Asylum Palm Desert California, which is located at 44-829 San Pablo Ave in Palm Desert, CA or check them out at comicasylumpalmdesert.com.

And that’s DV8 #2 — peak 90s chaos, with bar fights, cross-company cameos, and all the WildStorm drama you could ever want. If you had fun going down this rabbit hole with me, make sure to hit that like button, subscribe to the channel, and ring that notification bell so you don’t miss the next deep-dive.

I cover comics just like this every week — the weird, the forgotten, the groundbreaking, and everything in between. Drop a comment below with your favorite wild 90s comic moment, and I’ll see you in the next one, and don’t forget to read the freaking comics!

Heroineburgh #1 2019

What happens when a meteor over Pittsburgh unleashes powers to a select few women? Welcome to Heroineburgh — a bold indie superhero universe where electric shocks, shadow demons, and giant mutant lizards are just a normal part of the day. In this episode, we’ll dive into high-stakes battles, secret villain plots, and the real-life Pittsburgh landmarks that set this comic apart. You’ll meet the passionate creators bringing these heroines to life — from the page to the screen — and uncover how decades of comic book love shaped this one-of-a-kind series. Stick around, because this is where indie comics, superhero action, and local pride collide… and you’re not gonna want to miss it. Let’s dig in.

A quiet night in Pittsburgh is shattered when a meteor thunders overhead releasing dark energy across the city. In the coming days the city is shocked to learn that this dark energy has mutated the genes of a select few women, giving them extraordinary powers. Some use their powers for good, others for personal gain. A brave band of women form an alliance ‘The Pittsburgh Heroine League’ to combat evil at every turn. This is Heroineburgh.

In a cunning scheme, the hypnotic criminal mercenary Mesmera uses the League’s powers against them to both ruin their reputation and make some quick cash. Mesmera infiltrates Cybertech and knocks out Cybrina, HR Director, who has the ability to produce electric shocks and travel through cyberspace. Mesmera’s mission is successful, she gains access to the League’s whereabouts, and then ambushes Arcana, hypnotizing her to fall asleep and have vivid nightmares of shadow demons, a particularly dangerous dream as Arcana has the power to make shadows tangible. As her dreams become reality, the shadow demons attack innocent citizens at the Cathedral of Learning. Cybrina awakens and alerts the other members of the league. Lunessa, who can turn light beams into solid objects and Spectrina who can control the electromagnet spectrum, combine their powers and destroy the shadow demons while Etherea with her powers of teleportation, finds Arcana and wakes her from her slumber. As the team recover, help those in need and pick up the pieces, Mesmera is pleased with herself for all the damage she has done.

Story two focuses on Kimberly Chiang, a mechanical engineer by day, but by night she uses her extraordinary powers of manipulating magnetic waves as the super-heroine X-Machina. While hard at work on her giant mech robot at Carnegie Mellon University, Kimbely’s former assistant turned evil-doer Serpenta has decided to test her new serum on an innocent lizard at the University’s lab. The results of Serpenta’s serum are immediate and deadly, the lizard grows to enormous size and poses a massive threat to all those in the area! Hearing the news Kimberly slips into her mech and confronts the creature head on! After going a few rounds with the giant lizard alone Arctica arrives and uses her freezing ability to ice the creature until a solution can be found to restore him to regular size. Kimberly and Arctica exchange a few flirty words before heading off on their own. Meanwhile Sepenta and Vaporia reveal their plans to permanently discredit the League by infiltrating the police department.

The story continues in issue #2

This issue and series was written by , Manny has had a life long passion for comics ever since second grade, educating himself on the basics by watching the 60’s and 70’s DC TV shows like Batman, Wonder Woman and Shazam. He was fascinated with shows like The Bionic Woman, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, establishing a foundational love for strong female characters.

While searching for the latest comics at the newsstands he naturally gravitated towards comics with prominent female characters, such as Spiderwoman, Black Cat, Dagger, Dazzler, X-Men, She-Hulk, and New Teen Titans. One special book was Supergirl, which also had the backup story of Dial H for Hero featuring Vicki Grant and Chris King.

Dial H for Hero inspired him to create many original characters, and soon he was sending them to DC Comics. Not very proficient as an artist, Theiner was clever, he would trace the figure of George Perez’s Wonder Girl and then place an entirely different costume and backstory onto it, then mail it away to Dial H for Hero. One of the first characters he created was Savanna, the feline fury, who would end up in Heroineburgh many years later. Unfortunately DC never picked up any of his character creations for print.

After rekindling his love for comics in the mid-2010’s Theiner discovered a thriving underground of superheroine video producers, including Nightveil Media’s Bill Black, of the long-running indie comic Fem Force, and even George Perez himself with his Sisterhood of Superheroines series. This quickly led to Theiner creating his own video series, but more on that later.

This issue was penciled, colored and lettered by Benjamin Zeus Barnett. Barnett is an illustrator, playwright, and comic book artist from Pittsburgh PA. In addition to his numerous illustrations for fantasy and science fiction book covers, he is the creator of The Saturnus Tarot, aka The History of Magick Taro.

Artist Jason Wright designed the cover and overall look of the characters. A graduate of the Kubert School, Wright is a resident of Pittsburgh. Working primarily with DC comics, Write has had runs on Sinestro, Batgirl, Secret Six, Hal Jordan Green Lantern and many others. He colored various promotional posters for the Young Justice animated series, and his work on Wonder Woman has appeared in Entertainment Weekly. He also colored crowdfunded campaigns such as Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore’s Megalopolis series, and recent 9 Lives Comics titles by Shane Davis including Starlight Cats, Inglorious Rex 1 and 2, and the upcoming Annatomic.

Marcel Walker designed the back cover pinup for this issue. Walker is mainly known for his comic book series “Chutz-Pow: Heroes of the Holocaust”, published by the Pittsburgh Holocaust Center.

Illustrator and painter Wayne Brown is a longtime resident of Pittsburgh PA. In addition to Heroineburgh, he has drawn seven issues of Kat Calamia’s “Like Father Like Daughter”, a book about a washed-up superhero and his aspiring offspring, seven issues of “Lesbian Zombies from Outer Space” for Big Things Productions, and two issues of “Signed” for Wayward Raven Media. He has been working on his own comic title, “Killionaire”, about an anarchist anti-hero who hunts the rich.

Other local artists who have worked on the first 4 issues include Howard Bender and “Dandy” Don Simpson, creator of Megaton Man.

Many locations mentioned in this issue are actual places in and around Pittsburgh. One of those is The Cathedral of Learning, this imposing (and awesomely named) skyscraper serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Standing at 535 feet, the 42-story Late Gothic structure is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest university building in the world. Locals & students call it ‘Cathy’, it is a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Next is The Cut at CMU, where our giant lizard makes an appearance. The Cut is a stretch of lawn at the university, essentially a large grassy area of the campus. Finally we have Hamerschlag Hall, the centerpiece and symbol of Carnegie Mellon University. It was named for the first president of the Carnegie Technical Schools, Arthur Hamerschlag.

This indie comic comes with its own web-based video series, which began in 2016 when creator Manny Theiner partnered with Pittsburgh Filmmakers (an educational institution for filmmaking). Using their lights, cameras and other filmmaking tools, Theiner began filming what would eventually be Episode 1 of ‘Heroineburgh’, his love letter to the powerful feminine superhero from his childhood. Three seasons later, Heroineburgh is currently the only narrative live-action PG-13 superhero series in North America produced outside of the streaming format.

The Heroineburgh team also creates custom mini episodes for fans, essentially allowing fans to create characters on paper for the video series team to bring to life.

It was during the making of episode 7 that the concept of working on a comic book came together, using local talent who include some actors on the series, the Heroineburgh comic was launched in 2019. Issue 5 will be out soon!

The video series distinctive theme song was written by Manny Theiner, originally written in the 1980s about a classmate, the song was repurposed and rewritten to incorporate themes from the series. The music was recreated and produced by Jay Dowling, and the lyrics were sung by Midge Crickett, a singer and cellist who was in the local band Middle Children with Jay.

Heroineburgh is part of the larger Comicsburgh collective which currently has six publishers with lots of comic books spanning fantasy, sci-fi, horror, superheroes, and humor. Some of those titles are The Edge, Beowulf, Theme of Thieves, Doctor Carrots, and Trillion.

The actors from Heroineburgh often appear at conventions in and around the Pittsburgh area. They host episode premieres at local movie theaters and entertainment venues, and have participated in workshops and panels about comic creation. The team presented a live concert at a small nightclub where some of the heroines, who also happen to be talented musicians, fronted their bands in costume.

One part sexy and two parts strong, the characters and scenarios from both the Heroineburgh comic and video series are truly a love letter to the genre. Manny Theiner and his team of talented locals are taking their passion for comics to the next level, and their hard work and dedication shines through. World-building a connected universe between two mediums is no easy task (just ask Marvel and DC). The team’s pride in their city and their involvement in local events showcases not just a love for the genre, but for the fans too.

In a world full of $300 million dollar blockbusters, be a Heroineburgh instead. Let your geek flag fly.

So where can you, mere mortals, pick up this indie comic? Issues 1 through 4 are available at heroineburgh.com or at many local comics shops in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Texas or many other states across the USA. Head on over to your local comic shop and ask for Heroineburgh!

Speaking of a local comic shop, this week’s location was recommended by Manny Theiner himself. He highly recommends you check out New Dimension Comics, located at 650 Waterfront Dr in Homestead, just outside of Pittsburgh. Or you can check them out at ndcomics.com

That’s the world of Heroineburgh — a place where Pittsburgh’s skyline is a battleground, villains never rest, and heroines rise to meet every challenge. From the minds of passionate creators to the streets, landmarks, and culture that inspire them, this indie universe proves that great superhero stories aren’t just born in New York or LA. If you loved diving into this issue, there’s a whole world waiting for you in the pages and the live-action series. And hey — if you want more deep dives into comics like this, hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and ring the bell so you never miss an episode. Share this with your fellow comic fans, drop a comment with your favorite Heroineburgh moment, and I’ll see you next time — meanwhile, remember to Read the Freaking Comics!

Morbius is back—and he’s not just biting necks, he’s biting off more than he can chew! In this issue, we dive into a bloody turf war in Brownsville, explosive gang politics, and a vampire anti-hero who just can’t stop making everything worse. But this isn’t just another plot breakdown—oh no! We’re unpacking the real-life history behind North Brother Island, spotlighting the Eisner-winning talent behind the scenes, and connecting the dots between Morbius, The Rose, and Marvel’s ambitious 2013 relaunch. Want to know why this issue matters and what made it one of the grittiest turns for the Living Vampire? Then stick around, because this is more than a comic—it’s a full-blown Marvel autopsy. Let’s get into it.

Continuing the story from previous issues, which sees Morbius on the run after his escape from the prison known as The Raft. He makes his way to Brownsville, just outside of New York, in an attempt to lay low. His plans go awry almost immediately when he crosses paths with Noah St. Germain, the ‘godfather’ of Brownsville. After taking a shotgun to the chest and being left for dead, Morbius confronts St. Germain at his compound, complete with gun-tooting gangsters and St. Germain’s very young nephew. Morbius’ blood lust gets the better of him and he kills St. Germain, leaving a power vacuum in Brownsville but, more importantly, leaving Morbius locked in a warehouse full of people trying to kill him. He manages to escape only to be caught again and returned to the warehouse, where he is tasked with saving St. Germain’s life, but fails to do so.

As issue 4 begins we see a flashback of St. Germain, known then as David Bril, a small-time thug with zero fighting skills or muscle mass, a very far cry from the Noah St. Germain who would take over Brownsville. He is taken to North Brother Island where a mysterious benefactor wishes to discuss his future.

Back in the present, Morbius is confronted by angry gangsters who no longer have a use for him now that St. Germain is dead. The angriest of the bunch is Rochelle, St. Germain’s former girlfriend. Morbius tries to plead his way out of the situation but it’s too late, Rochelle wants him dead and is also willing to kill anyone he cares about, namely St. Germain’s nephew, Henry. Rochelle lets Morbius know that she’s got a man watching him at an all night diner, and all she needs to do is give the word.

As Rochelle and Morbius argue the warehouse is raided by mysterious masked men with a helicopter and heavy weapons, they only seem interested in snatching up St. Germin’s lifeless body. Meanwhile back at the diner Henry’s mother arrives and lets it be known that she is not afraid of the armed gangster or anyone else who wants to harm her son.

At the warehouse Rochelle and Morbius, temporary allies, fight off the masked intruders but fail to stop them from grabbing Noah. One of these masked men fries Morbius with electricity from his fingers, and they quickly vanish into the night. Rochelle tells Morbius about the true impact of his actions; Noah may have been a gangster but he was the only thing keeping people with even worse intentions from taking over Brownsville.

Back on North Brother island our mystery man takes ownership of Noah’s body, happy that it did not get into the ‘wrong’ hands. He bemoans the appearance of Morbius on the scene but doesn’t seem too worried. The final panel reveals that our mysterious man is none other than ‘The Rose’.

The story continues in issue 5

This issue was written by Joe Keatinge. Keatinge is best known for his writing work with Marvel & Image, and as the co-editor of Popgun with Mark Andrew Smith. He began his career working with Erik Larsen on Image Comic’s Savage Dragon. He has contributed to anthology titles such as Negative Burn with artist Evan Bryce and Fantastic Comics #24 with artists Michael Allred and Laura Allred, which was part of The Next Issue Project. He won a Harvey Award for his work on PopGun Volume 1 in 2008 and an Eisner Awards for PopGun Volume 3 in 2010.

This issue was penciled and inked by Richard Elson. Elson has worked on other Marvel titles like Thor and Journey Into Mystery during Kieron Gillen’s run writing the titles. He ended up working on almost the entirety of this short Morbius run.

Colorist Antonio Fabela has collaborated with major publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, contributing to titles such as “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Superior Spider-Man,” “Lucifer,” and “Thanos.” Fabela’s distinctive coloring style has significantly enhanced the visual storytelling of numerous series. Beyond his coloring work, he engages with fans on social media platforms, sharing insights into his creative process and showcasing his latest projects. His contributions continue to influence the comic book industry, inspiring both readers and aspiring artists.

This issue’s striking cover art was created by David López. López started his comics career in his native Spain before moving to the American market in 2002. He is best known for co-creating and illustrating the first volume of Fallen Angel, co-created by writer Peter David, and published by DC. López is also known for his lengthy run on DC’s Catwoman and his work on All-New Wolverine.

Eisner award winning letterer Clayton Cowles worked on this issue. Cowles graduated from the Joe Kubert School just four years prior and immediately began working on big names titles like Daredevil, Star Wars, and Batman. He has worked with Marvel, DC and Image Comics

Editor Sana Amanat has worked on comics such as Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel. Amanat is known for co-creating Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, the first Muslim-American superhero with a solo Marvel Comics series. Amanat runs the annual Women of Marvel panel at Comic Con and does work to make Marvel characters more diverse. Since 2014, Amanat has also co-hosted the Women of Marvel podcast, the podcast has released over 300 episodes.

Editor in Chief at that time was Axel Alonso. Alonso would be Marvel’s EIC until November 2017. In the late 90’s he worked at DC, under their Vertigo line, on titles like Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Hellblazer, and Preacher. In 2000 he went to work for Marvel Comics as a senior editor. In 2011 he was promoted to Editor in Chief, replacing Joe Quesada.

So who exactly is Morbius? Created by Roy Thomas and designed by Gil Kane Morbius, made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #101 in October of 1971. Prior to 1971 the Comics Code Authority, the comic industry’s self-censorship board, banned the use of creatures like Vampires or Werewolves in comics. However loosened regulations now gave Marvel an opportunity to introduce more supernatural-type characters into their stable. Roy Thomas had wanted Spider-Man to fight the actual Dracula, which he eventually does, but Stan Lee wanted a costumed hero instead. So the concept of Michael Morbius was created.

Michael Morbius is a biochemist who contracts a rare blood disease. He tries to cure himself by using a combination of experimental chemicals, electroshock therapy, and genetic samples of vampire bats. An experiment gone wrong mutates him into a “living vampire”, a life form with abilities and traits resembling actual vampires.

The Rose’s base of operations is on North Brother Island, which is a very real place. The North and South Brother islands are a pair of small islands located in New York City’s East River between the mainland Bronx and Rikers Island. North Brother Island was once the site of the Riverside Hospital for quarantinable diseases but is now uninhabited. The Island has about 20 acres of land. In 2007 it was designated as a sanctuary for water birds. Public access is prohibited but permission is occasionally given to researchers and journalists.

In 1915 Mary Mallon, known as Typhoid Mary, was confined to the island hospital for over two decades until she died there in November 1938. Researchers estimate that Mallon had contaminated “at least one hundred and twenty two people, including five who died”.

Speaking of The Rose, who is this character? Simply put, The Rose is an alias of several villains in the Marvel Comic Universe, the first rose was Richard Fisk the son of Wilson Fisk AKA The Kingpin. The second Rose was a rogue police officer named Sergeant Blume, who was looking for revenge on The Kingpin after the death of his brother, another policeman.

Jacob Conover was a reporter at The Daily Bugle who was under the control of crime lord Don Fortunado. Adopting the persona of The Rose he was able to rule the streets of New York for a time while The Kingpin was not in the picture.

The Rose from this run of Morbius is Dr. Phillip Hayes, a former gene-therapy researcher at Phelcorps labs who is fired after an accident. He utilizes a synthesized drug called Ebony to enhance his test subjects.

In 2022 Screen Rant included The Rose in their “Top 10 Spider-Man Villains who are smarter than they seem” list.

The action in this issue takes place in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Brownsville is predominately a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The area that would become Brownsville was first used by the Dutch for farming, as well as manufacturing stone slabs and other things used to construct buildings. Since the late 20th century, Brownsville has consistently held one of the highest poverty and crime rates of any neighborhood in New York City.

This issue features the “Marvel NOW!’ Branding on the cover, this was Marvel’s name for the relaunch of several comics that debuted in October the year prior. Several new #1’s were relaunched including this title. Marvel NOW was described as a shifting of the Marvel Universe following the conclusion of the “Avengers vs. X-Men” storyline, it entailed changes to both the publishing format and the universe to attract new readers. Marvel NOW went through several waves before coming to an end in May 2015. A second Marvel Now!, Marvel Now! 2.0, debuted in 2016 following the “Civil War II” storyline, it was then followed up in 2017 by Marvel Legacy.

Despite the serialized format of this new run of Morbius, I liked this issue, even if I was missing quite a bit of context at first. I am a big fan of Fabela’s work and I find his pairing with Richard Elson art works really well for the style and tone they were going for. Joe Keatinge’s writing is realistic and grounded in reality, which helps when your protagonist is a living vampire who is also a famous biochemist . We need a little bit of reality when working with this version of Michael Morbius.

The two main story beats in this issue are the action at the warehouse and the drama at the 24 hour diner, they are both tied together as a result of Michael’s bad decisions and impulsive actions. Which is going to be a recurring theme in this series.

As I mentioned this short run of Morbius is highly serialized, telling the entire story of his time in Brownsville and was most likely a worldbuilding effort to give Michael a base of operations. Unfortunately this title was cancelled after 9 issues so we never got to see the outcome of this storyline. Morbius would continue to pop up in other series for a while, usually as a sometimes friend or foe to Spider-Man. In 2019 a new series was announced simply called Morbius, this run only lasted 5 issues and was cancelled due to the COVID Pandemic.

I’ve seen issues for sale on Ebay ranging from $3.99 to $24.99, MyComicShop.com has issues for sale at $3.00 and Price Charting is listing mint or near mint issues selling for as much as $23.

2013 was a year of continuing reinvention for Marvel Comics. The year earlier they announced the Marvel ReEvolution initiative that included Marvel NOW! launches and a line of digital comics and Marvel AR, an application that provides an augmented reality experience to readers. By April of 2013 Marvel and parent company Disney began announcing massive joint projects that covered all manner of Disney-owned IPs.

2013 was a strong year for comic sales as a whole, both Marvel and DC continued to see year over year increases in sales. In fact the entire year saw some months perform so well they beat records from the 1990s. Of the 4 big publishers in 2013, Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse, Marvel dominated with over 50% of all units sold.

The top selling Marvel titles were Superior Spider-Man, Avengers, All New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men and Age of Ultron. The top 5 Marvel comics sold that year were all number ones from Marvel’s ReEvolution Initiative: Guardians of the Galaxy #1, Superior Spider-Man #1, Infinity #1, X-Men #1 and Age of Ultron #1 with a combined 1 Million units sold or 4% of all comics sold that year.

Ads were still popular in comics in 2013, although severely limited and most had comic themed tie ins. The Iron Man 3 MCU film was promoted on the cover, there was also a full page advertisement inside. Dr. Pepper also ran 2 ads, on the inside cover they featured Dr. Pepper TEN, a diet version of their drink. The back cover featured a Captain America themed ad for the drink.

Continuing the Iron Man theme, Marvel was promoting the Blu-Ray & Ultraviolet release of Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore animated movie. Meanwhile Iron Man is featured front and center in an ad for Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers #6.

Esurance and Star Trek into Darkness were running an ad to win tickets to see the film. Meanwhile the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo or C2E2 was selling tickets for the April 2013 event. C2E2 is still going strong and is planning their next event for March 2026.

Marvel was promoting Scarlet Spider #17, the start of the ‘Wrath’ storyline, featuring Wolverine. Finally a new series of Trading Cards called ‘Marvel’s Greatest Battles’ illustrated by Pablo Marcos, Anthony Tan, Andy Price, Cezar Razek, Charles Hall, Matias Streb, and others.

This week I wanted to feature a comic shop in Brownsville, I found one nearby in Brooklyn called Anyone Comics, if you are in the area I recommend checking them out on 831 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn or visit anyonecomics.com.

So there you have it—Morbius: The Living Vampire #4. A gritty, blood-soaked slice of Marvel NOW! storytelling with gang wars, vampire ethics, and a crime boss mystery straight off a forgotten island. This issue may have flown under the radar, but now you know why it deserves a second look.

If you enjoyed this deep dive, do me a favor—hit that Like button, smash Subscribe, and ring the bell so you never miss when we dig into comics that the algorithm forgot but true fans remember.

And hey, got a favorite issue, character, or obscure Marvel run you want me to cover next? Drop it in the comments. Until next time—read the freaking comics!

In this video, we dive into:

• The high-stakes battles of The Pittsburgh Heroine LeagueVillains like Mesmera and Serpenta causing chaosIconic Pittsburgh landmarks like The Cathedral of Learning, CMU’s The Cut, and Hamerschlag HallBehind-the-scenes with creators like Manny Theiner , Benjamin Zeus Barnett, Jason Wright, Marcel Walker, Wayne Brown, and more!The indie comic scene in Pittsburgh and the connection to the live-action Heroineburgh video series

• Discover how decades of comic love shaped this one-of-a-kind series, blending local pride, superhero action, and passionate storytelling. Whether you’re a fan of indie comics, superheroine action, or Pittsburgh culture, this video is a must-watch!

🛒 Get the comics: Issues 1–4 available at heroineburgh.com or local comic shops in PA, OH, NY, TX, and beyond.

📍 Recommended shop: New Dimension Comics, Homestead, PA ndcomics.com

If you loved this deep dive, make sure to Like, Subscribe, and ring the bell for more comic analysis! Share with fellow comic fans and comment your favorite Heroineburgh moment!

⁠#Heroineburgh⁠ ⁠#IndieComics⁠ ⁠#Superheroines⁠ ⁠#PittsburghComics⁠ ⁠#ComicBookReview⁠ ⁠#FemaleSuperheroes⁠ ⁠#Comicsburgh⁠ ⁠#IndieSuperheroes⁠ ⁠#SuperheroAction⁠ ⁠#MannyTheiner⁠ ⁠#BenjaminZeusBarnett⁠ ⁠#JasonWright⁠ ⁠#MarcelWalker⁠ ⁠#WayneBrown⁠ ⁠#ComicsOfInstagram⁠ ⁠#ComicCreators⁠ ⁠#LocalComics⁠ ⁠#GeekCulture⁠ ⁠#ComicBookUniverse⁠ ⁠#HeroineLeague⁠ ⁠#SuperheroineAction⁠ ⁠#IndieComicScene⁠ ⁠#PittsburghCulture⁠ ⁠#MutantPowers⁠ ⁠#ReadTheFreakingComics⁠

Vampires. Robin. Jimmy Olsen. And Superman flying a bloodsucker into the sunrise. Welcome to one of the weirdest detours in Man of Steel history! In this episode, we’re breaking down Superman: The Man of Steel #14 from 1992 — a strange, supernatural romp featuring the first appearance of the vampire Ruthven and an unlikely team-up between the Boy Wonder and Superman’s favorite photographer. But we’re not just talking story beats here. We’ll dive deep into the creative forces behind this issue — Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, Glenn Whitmore, and more — plus we’ll look at how this oddball issue fits into the bigger picture of early ‘90s DC, including some insider commentary and rising market value. There’s even vintage ads, local comic shop shoutouts, and a surprising visit to Maryland. So the real question is: can Superman stories get too weird — or is this the kind of chaos we secretly love? Let’s dig in.

Robin descends on Metropolis chasing down a cold lead from Gotham, a series of mysterious deaths have begun to attract media attention and Robin believes it is no coincidence, in fact he’s convinced that there’s a vampire on the loose. Meanwhile a mysterious figure lurks around a morgue, staking dead bodies who turn out to be vampires, but this figure is no modern day Van Helsing, he’s a vampire himself, eliminating the competition.

Elsewhere Superman’s best pal Jimmy Olsen is shocked when a shapeshifting creature, named Ruthvern, attacks his friend Lucy Lane through her second story window; he manages to startle the creature with a flash of his camera. Convinced the creature is a vampire he gears up to try and track it down.

While the creature continues his hunt for blood in Metropolis, Jimmy and Robin eventually cross paths and decide to work together. They manage to corner Ruthvern but he’s too powerful for them to take on alone, forcing Jimmy to call Superman for backup. Superman saves both Jimmy and Robin, but is shocked at the strength of the creature. In a surprise move Ruthven attacks Superman, who uses his brain instead of brawn and flies Ruthven past the horizon and directly towards the rising sun, seemingly killing him.

As the trio regroup an ominous laugh is heard over Metropolis, indicating that this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing Ruthven.

This story continues in Superman Volume 2 #70.

This issue was written by Louise Simonson. Simonson is known for her work on titles such as Conan the Barbarian, X-Factor & New Mutants. In 1991, she along with artist Jon Bogdanove, and editor Mike Carlin launched this title. Simonson would write for this title for 8 years until issue #86 in 1999. Later in 1992 Simonson worked on “The Death of Superman” storyline, along with Carlin, Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern and others. It was during that storyline, in The Adventures of Superman #500 from June 1993 that Simonson and Bogdanove introduced their character Steel. Among the other comic characters she co-created are Cable, Power Pack, Rictor, Doomsday and the X-Men villain Apocalypse. In recognition of her contributions to comics, ComicsAlliance listed Simonson as one of twelve female comics creators deserving of lifetime achievement recognition.

Speaking of Jon Bogdanove, who worked on the art and cover for this issue, he would also leave the title after issue #86. Bogdanove then drew two intercompany crossovers for DC Comics, Superman & Savage Dragon: Metropolis in 1999, which was co-published with Image Comics and Superman/Aliens II: God War in 2002 co-published with Dark Horse Comics.

Inker Dennis Janke had been in the industry for almost 10 years by the time he worked on this issue, he would go on to work on this title for nine more years. Bogdanove and Janke also illustrated many covers for the Steel solo title during this period. Other works for DC included Action Comics, The Spectre and Batman, meanwhile at Marvel he primarily worked on Captain America.

Glenn Whitmore was the lead colourist on this title, and also worked with this team on ‘The Death of Superman’ storyline. Whitmore has worked with publishers like Dark Horse Comics, Archie Comics and many more. Alongside artists and editors, he contributed to the look and feel of an era that drew millions of new readers. His work on Man of Steel remains one of the most recognized aspects of early ’90s superhero comics.

Speaking exclusively with ‘Read the Freaking Comics’ Whitmore discusses his time on this issue:
“...Bogdanove and Janke were the art team I looked forward to coloring the most. Bog’s Superman came closest to capturing the Max Fleischer version; which is my favorite. Dennis’ ink line and blackspotting really pulled the page designs together; making it easy for a colorist like me to drop in my colors. Jon’s pencilling style indicated double lighting and reflected light on every panel; especially on the money shots and Dennis translated it masterfully - which made all the easier for me…Bog, in particular, said that he tried to work in a “money shot” on each page. If you look at his body of work throughout his Superman run, you can definitely see that. Man Of Steel #14 is no exception.”

Letterer Bill Oakley was no stranger to DC titles, having worked on a number of the Superman titles, Batman, Lobo, Justice Society, and Hawkman. His most prominent work includes the first two volumes of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and 2 runs on Batman: Gotham Knights.

Michael Carlin is listed as editor for this issue while Dan Thorsland as ‘assistant’. Carlin worked for both Marvel and DC from the late 70’s onwards, by 1986 he moved to DC permanently and became the group editor of the Superman titles. He oversaw “The Death of Superman” storyline and the subsequent introduction of such characters as the Kon-El version of Superboy and John Henry Irons. He served as an executive editor at DC Comics from 1996 to 2002, in 2011 he became DC Entertainment’s Creative Director of Animation until his retirement in 2023.

Speaking exclusively to ‘Read the Freaking Comics’, Carlin discusses this issue:
“We wanted to do a Superman vs magic/supernatural story since we’d just done the more down to Earth “Crisis at Hand” and we were about to begin the year-long Doomsday driven “Death and Return of Superman” story. And teaming Superman with the awestruck teenager, Robin, was a fun new dynamic... he worked with Batman day-to-day-but Superman was a real “super-hero”!”

As mentioned, Dan Thorsland was an editor at DC Comics during the early 1990s, playing a key role in shaping several titles. Working closely with writer Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove, he helped guide the creative direction of ‘Man of Steel’, which was one of the four main Superman titles that year. Thorsland’s editorial oversight ensured story consistency across the interconnected Superman books, which operated as a weekly narrative.

Dick Giordano was credited as Executive Editor of this issue, having worked and left DC in the 1970s Editor in Chief Jenette Kahn brought Giordano back to DC in the 80s initially as editor of the Batman titles, Giordano was named the company’s new managing editor in 1981 and promoted to vice president/executive editor in 1983, a position he held until 1993.

This issue features the first appearance of Ruthven, whose full name is ‘Baron Ruthvern’, though he goes unnamed throughout this story. The character’s name is no doubt a reference to Lord Ruthven, a character from John William Polidori’s 1819 novel “The Vampyre”. He was one of the first vampires in English literature. The initial popularity of “The Vampyre” led to the character appearing in many translations and adaptations, including plays and operas, and Ruthven has continued to appear in modern works. An homage to the Ruthven vampire has appeared in several comic books by Marvel and DC. Originally, he appeared in the first issue of Marvel’s Vampire Tales from 1973, as the possessor of the mystical book called The Darkhold. An incidental character called Ruthven appears in later issues of The Sandman comic; this Ruthven is a man with a rabbit’s head, as well as prominent “vampire” fangs.

The Robin in this issue is Tim Drake, who is the third person to take up the mantle of Robin, Batman’s sidekick. Drake was created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick and first appeared in Batman #436 from 1989. Tim became Robin after the death of the second Robin Jason Todd, he would briefly become Batman but eventually moved on from Robin and adopted the name Red Robin, a prominent member of the Bat Family and a founding member of Young Justice.

Outside of crossover or obvious JLA related activities, both Batman and Robin have mostly stayed outside of Metropolis unless invited by Superman. During some silver age goofiness in World’s Finest Comics #77 & #78 from 1955 Batman temporarily gains Superman-like powers. Part of the action occurs in Metropolis, with Batman operating solo during Superman’s powerless state. A few issues later in October of 1956 we see Batman and Robin are called to Metropolis (without Superman) to investigate events hinting he’s gone missing. They work solo and ultimately help Superman return. Jump ahead to the ‘Dark Knight Over Metropolis’ miniseries from 1990 which has Batman investigating Intergang in Metropolis on his own before eventually teaming up with Superman in later issues. Finally there is a small run of 4 issues of Superman/Batman from 2005 where Bruce Wayne visits Metropolis under civilian cover to loan items to a museum. He discovers Silver Banshee’s plot and takes action.

I’m a bit torn about this issue, on the one hand I am a fan of Bogdanove and Janke, I like the work on the interiors, lines are clean, panels flow well and there are some single page action shots that really pop. On the other hand I hate this cover, it is so oddly framed, with unusual character positioning and a Dutch angle that just doesn’t work for me. I can see what they were going for, a large looming shadow that looks like Batman, Superman apparently frightened out of his mind, still, I just don’t care for this cover.

Vampires and superheroes are an odd mix, for every Blade, Morbius and Mina Harker we get stories like these, where Superman has to fight a vampire…really? I mean he cannot bite him, maybe hypnotize him if there is magic involved, but other than that I see no major threat to him. Fortunately it isn’t Superman, but Robin and Jimmy Olsen who take on Baron Ruthven for most of this issue. I still don’t get the appeal however, this issue didn’t really capture my attention or interest. Still, a fascinating little slice of the Man of Steel run.

This issue has steadily gone up in value starting in May of 2024, mint editions are selling for $47 according to PriceCharting.com, there is an issue on eBay for sale at $3.99 and comicbookrealm.com is selling issues for $4.00.

1992 saw the launch of Image Comics as a major new publisher, the company was formed by several former Marvel staffers.

DC dominated the headlines with their ‘Death of Superman’ storyline, which most of the creative team mentioned worked on, the first issue holds the record for single biggest sales day in comics history, shops recorded sales of $30 Million in one day. Across all publishers the estimated sales for 1992 ranges between $300 and $500 Million, a significant increase from 1991.

1992 was a bit of a mixed year for DC, while it’s no surprise that DC’s Superman #75 ‘The Death of Superman’ was the biggest seller across all publishers that year. However you’d have to look much further down the list to find DC’s other top selling titles; like ‘Batman: Shadow of the Bat” in 65th place, then even further into the the 100’s for Superman: Man of Steel #18 at 109, Lobo’s Back #1 at 110 and Robin III #1 at 133. Many of the top 100 titles of the year were Marvel or Malibu/Image Comics releases. This issue of Superman: Man of Steel did not make the top 300 list for 1992.

DC was making headway into television however, the visually striking Batman: The Animated Series featured superb writing by Paul Dini and won an Emmy for outstanding animated program. Live action Superboy and The Flash were on TV screens in 1992 as well as the animated Swamp Thing.

This issue features a mix of advertising styles from two different eras, we have video game ads mixed in with Atlas Bodybuilder offers, which many longtime viewers will know is my absolute favorite.

Acclaim was promoting their Grand Prix racing game for Nintendo and Sega, while Kemco was doing the same with their Supercars racing game and Nintendo promoting Smartball for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Spree Candy featured a crossword puzzle style ad, which is a unique approach. The Ad Council of the United States was offering a free information kit regarding the constitution, this included a free copy of the document itself.

DC were promoting their own titles in 3 separate pages, including Green Lantern, Doom Patrol, Catwoman and more. Meanwhile Mile High Comics had a full spread of back issues available, you could even call a 1-800 number and phone-in your order. There was a list of upcoming comic book conventions plus an ad to buy DC comics in bulk, $300 would get you 1000 comics.

Finally what I call the ‘Atlas Body Page’, a full page spread featuring unique and oddball items you can order by mail. There are items such as an FM radio watch, fake black belt certificate, G.I. Dog Tags and a supposed treasure map of sunken and buried treasure. Plus of course the famed ‘Atlas Body in 7 Days’ ad.

Portions of Superman’s side quests in this issue take him to Maryland, specifically east of the Chesapeake Bay. So this is where I decided to find a local comic shop to feature. If you are in the area I recommend you check out Kraven’s Comic Books and Collectibles located at 2833 Ocean Gateway, Cambridge, MD or check them out at Kravensshop.com

So there you have it — Superman vs. vampires, Robin hunting the undead in Metropolis, and Jimmy Olsen flashing more than just a camera. We took a deep dive into the strange magic-meets-muscle story from Man of Steel #14, explored its place in the broader Superman mythos, broke down the creative talents of Simonson, Bogdanove, and crew, and even uncovered some forgotten treasures from 1992 — both in the story and in the ads. Whether you’re here for the comic book history, the oddball villains, or the pure ‘90s nostalgia, thanks for hanging out. If you had fun, smash that like button, subscribe to the channel for more deep dives just like this, and ring that bell so you never miss an issue we crack open. Got thoughts on Superman fighting vampires? Drop them in the comments — I’d love to hear your take. Until next time… make sure to read the freaking comics!

What if I told you that in 1990, Canada was the most powerful nation on Earth? That our own maple leaf–wearing super-spy once took down a golden-eyed war profiteer in a rocket-fueled jungle brawl? Today, we’re diving deep into Captain Canuck #4—the historic return of Canada’s premier superhero. But this video isn’t just about the comic’s plot—this is the story behind the story: the wild production journey, the unsung Canadian talent like George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin, rare cameos, and how Comely Comics changed comic history with full-color indie publishing. From nostalgia to national pride—strap in, because we’re putting the spotlight back on Canada’s original caped crusader! Happy Canada Day, lets dig in.

Set in the not too distant future of 1990 where Canada is the world’s most powerful country, Captain Canuck and his teammates in the Canadian International Security Organization or CISO, save the world from emerging threats.

Following up immediately from events of issue #3, an injured Captain Canuck lays helpless in an ambulance as it races to parts unknown. His would-be ‘doctor’ is in actuality a hired gun for the mysterious Mr. Gold. Canuck, accompanied by an innocent but brave nurse, manages to subdue his kidnappers and cause the ambulance to crash. But in his weakened state Canuck is easily captured again and delivered to Mr. Gold, an evil war profiteer with a false eye and plate in his head made of pure gold. With his compatriots Readcoat and Kebec hard on the trail, Canuck and Nurse Lorie are put aboard a rocket ship for parts unknown.

Days pass and Captain Canuck awakens in a makeshift prison cell, easily making his escape. Canuck finds himself in a small South American village, complete with an ancient temple. Finding and rescuing nurse Lorie from an attacker provides Canuck with an opportunity; he steals a guard’s flying patrol car and straps Lorie’s would-be attacker to it, sending it off course and taking many other guards along with it. Meanwhile he breaks into Mr. Gold’s secret hideout in an attempt to destroy his weapons making factory once and for all. After a harrowing battle that sees Canuck and Lorie facing automatic gunfire and flying ships filled with attackers, Canuck destroys the factory, and Mr. Gold’s nefarious empire along with it.

With Canada and the world safe once again, Canuck decides to take the long way home via motorcycle to ease his mind and discover new adventures.

This issue was written & edited by Comely comics founder & Captain Canuck creator Richard Comely. This title was the first independently published comic book to be printed in full color. Comely intended his character to be based on Captain Canada and the term ‘Canuck’ was used as a positive slang for a Canadian.

This issue was the start of the first revival of the title after a four year hiatus. By that time Comely had created CKR productions in Calgary and resumed publishing the series with himself as writer. Comely delegated business management, artwork, and coloring to other employees, positions he originally held himself, in order to focus on improving the storyline. By issue five, Comely served as editor-in-chief. After 13 issues, in 1981, Comely left the production in order to return to freelance design. CKR productions only released one additional issue of Captain Canuck before closing down for financial issues and abandoning the series.

Speaking exclusively to ‘Read the Freaking Comics’, Comely discusses this time in his life: “The artwork for Captain Canuck Issue #4 was completed before we all moved to Cardston Alberta in August 1976. … We moved up to Calgary in February ‘77. I rented a house for my family….. George [Freeman] and Claude [St. Aubin] lived in the basement for about three months. Claude and I found jobs as commercial artists in Calgary and George moved back to Winnipeg. I produced and sold 315 black and white full size copies of issue four and found investors in 1978. We started publishing again in April of ‘79. Issue #4 was the first issue where George did the pencilling and most of the inking and it was also the first edition to be printed at World Color Press in Sparta, Illinois. I did the writing and lettering. All three of us did the colouring which we did by hand painting acetate overlays.”

Speaking of George Freeman, he was the penciler, co-inker and co-colourist on this issue. This was his first comic-book assignment; he would later work on titles such as DC’s Green Lantern & Aquaman plus Marvel’s Jack of Hearts and The Avengers. He also drew a story in Batman Annual #11 written by Alan Moore. In 1991, Freeman co-founded Digital Chameleon, a Winnipeg-based comics coloring and inking studio. Freeman was a 1996 Eisner Awards nominee for Best Colorist on Topps’ The X-Files comic. In 2010, Freeman was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame.

The other co-inker and colourist to work on this issue was Jean‑Claude St. Aubin, born and raised in Ontario and Quebec, St. Aubin has had a lifelong passion for comics. Finding his way out west to Winnipeg he eventually started working for Richard Comely and moved out to Calgary with him. After Comely Comix, he moved on to DC where his first published work was in 1993 on an issue of Green Lantern, he has also worked on titles like Katana and Aquaman and for Marvel he worked on Spectacular Spider-Man and Captain America.

This issue was the first true appearance of Mr. Gold, seen only in silhouette in the previous issue, which was 4 years earlier. He would continue to be a foil for Captain Canuck for 3 more issues and 2 separate storylines.

There were three men to take up the mantle of Captain Canuck, since the first series was set in ‘the future’ of 1990 and the others were under different publishers, the canonicity of the timeline is in question. However, in the publication’s history of the character Tom Evens was the first true Captain Canuck. Evans was a Canadian secret agent who gained superhuman strength from contact with extraterrestrials. This version ran for 14 issues, plus a summer special, concluding in early 1981. In 2004, the completed issue #15 which was written and penciled by George Freeman and inked, lettered and coloured by Claude St. Aubin was published in 2004 as a limited edition by Comely.

The second Captain Canuck was Darren Oak, this incarnation came out in 1993 and was set in the ‘present’, which ironically places it around the same time as the 1975 series. Darren Oak fought a global conspiracy to save the world, unfortunately this title lasted only four issues.

A third incarnation, edited by Comely but written and drawn by brothers Riel and Drue Langlois, appeared in 2004 under the banner of Comely Comics, entitled Captain Canuck: Unholy War. This time RCMP Constable David Semple, adopts the guise of Captain Canuck, to take on a biker gang called the Unholy Avengers. “Unholy War” was slated as a three-issue mini-series however, the series came out with a fourth issue in August 2007, which fully concluded the character.

In 2013 Captain Canuck was reimagined for a five-episode animated web series by Captain Canuck Inc and Smiley Guy Studios. Kris Holden-Reid voices the Captain and Paul Amos his antagonist, Mr. Gold.

This issue includes a mini-story introducing the world to Catman, a Comely Comics creation. Catman is Jason Corey, who is rescued from certain death in the snowy Canadian north while on a hunt for Bigfoot. His rescuer turns out to be a benevolent alien with fabulous technology, however this alien refuses to let Corey return home. Corey uses the alien technology to escape which inadvertently gives him purple skin and increased speed and strength. Calling himself Catman, Corey vows to fight crime by first vindicating his father who has been wrongfully accused and jailed.

This issue also features a one-page comic called ‘The Canuck Kid’, these original cartoons were created during the 1940’s in Canada, after World War 2 the publisher discontinued the series. Richard Comely was able to secure the rights to print these previously unpublished one-pagers by original author Edward Letkeman. The premise of The Canuck Kid follows a young boy and his dog being displaced in time by Father Time himself. This particular one pager features our young hero witnessing the arrival of Jaques Cartier in Canada in July 1534.

On pure nostalgia and patriotism alone this comic is worth its weight in gold. I picked up this issue at a garage sale and was really happy I held on to it all these years. The art in issue 4 is vastly superior compared to the first 2 issues and the writing also shows a marked improvement. Freeman and St. Aubin take this character to another level with their professional interiors and the awesome cover. I am a firm believer that representation matters and to have a bonafide Canadian hero battling it out on Canadian soil really gives me a sense of pride.

This character could have gone on to be a true comic book icon had Comely and company been able to manage both the business and creative side of comic book publishing. While it is nice to see attempts at reboots and relaunches I have my doubts about seeing this comic hit the mainstream anytime soon.

Yes as Canadians we have Wolverine, Deadpool and Alpha Flight, but they’re part of America’s zeitgeist now, Captain Canuck was ours, and for a while there, he was wildly popular.

Being a bit more rare due to the limited distribution, I have found some issues of various quality at a wide range of prices. I found an issue available on Ebay for $8.89, Abebooks.com has one on sale for $49.95 and comicbookrealm.com is selling one for $315 dollars.

Comely Comics and Captain Canuck are forever intertwined, the idea for a Canadian superhero came to Comely while working at a sign shop alongside co-creator Ron Leishman in the early 1970s. However it was only a few years later that the idea took flight, Comely started seriously looking into what it would take to make Captain Canuck a reality. In 1974, he set up his own comic imprint, Comely Comics, and started work on the first issue, which hit newsstands in April of 1975.

Captain Canuck outsold all other comic books in Canada in 1975, with 170,000 copies initially sent to stores and newsstands in the United States and Canada. To give you a sense of scale, Canada at that time had a population of 23 Million, just about the total population of California that same year.

The comic book industry was not very prominent in Canada in 1979, many businesses felt that advertising on that platform was not profitable. As such there are only a couple of genuine advertisements in this issue, and of the 2 only 1 is for another Canadian company.

The Auto Upholstery Institute was running an advertisement for their services, and looking for future salesmen and women to join their ever growing team out of Orange, California. Just in case you wanted to add some shag carpet to your sweet van. Meanwhile Maxwell J. Seeley was offering a comic book back issues delivery service out of his shop on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal.

Aside from those two ads, Comely Comix was busy promoting Captain Canuck Posters, Buttons, Visitors, Pens and Notepads, no doubt some of these are worth quite a bit of money today.

This issue mentions ‘Smog Ridden Sudbury’, so I decided to find a comic shop in the Sudbury, Ontario region. I recommend you check out Comics North Hidden Level Games located at 106 Elm Street in Greater Sudbury, Ontario or check them out on Facebook at comicsnorthhiddenlevelgames.

And that’s Captain Canuck #4—a hidden gem of Canadian comic history and a major turning point for indie publishing in the ‘70s. If you enjoyed this deep dive, hit that like button to show your support for Canadian heroes. Subscribe to Read the Freaking Comics! for more forgotten classics, creator backstories, and full-on comic book nerdery. Got a favorite issue, series, or character you think deserves the spotlight? Drop it in the comments—I read every one. And hey, share this with a friend who still thinks superheroes only come from New York City. Until next time, let’s read the freaking comics together!

What happens when a rogue scientist hijacks a nuclear superhero, rewrites Mount Rushmore to feature himself, and triggers a quantum explosion so powerful it sends shards of a man across time? Welcome to Firestorm #15, where Firestorm and Captain Atom collide in a high-stakes battle above the Atlantic, Dan Jurgens pulls triple duty behind the scenes, and the fallout of DC’s New 52 experiment is on full display. With exclusive quotes from creators and untold history—this issue is way more than just another superhero slugfest. Let’s dig in.

Picking up immediately where issue 14 left off, Doctor Megala of The Continuum, the organization that created and monitors Captain Atom, has taken over the Firestorm entity from Jason and Ronnie. They awaken inside the Firestorm Matrix, a mental waiting room where the passive Firestorm personality can view and communicate with the dominant personality. However this room is dark and they are both in the Matrix together, confused as to who is currently in charge.

Meanwhile a newly returned Captain Atom discovers Megala’s treachery and seeks out this new Firestorm to confront him. Megala, far from being subtle about his newfound powers, engages with a foreign adversary by turning their bombs in Rubix Cubes and changes the heads of Mount Rushmore to include genius scientists, including himself.

Captain Atom confronts Firestorm and the two begin to fight, discharging massive amounts of power and energy. This allows Jason and Ronnie to regain control of the entity. However the damage has been done and Captain Atom cannot contain the buildup of energy within his body, he explodes with a massive blast wave of quantum energy that splinters his body and sends a shard of himself into the 31st century. Meanwhile Ronnie has lost consciousness in the blast and is falling into the Atlantic ocean.

The story continues in issue 16

Dan Jurgens spent 2012 working on Green Arrow, Justice League International & Superman, he joined Firestorm only a few issues prior. For this issue he pulled triple duty as Writer, Penciler and Co-Cover Artist. Jurgens is primarily known for his work on “The Death of Superman” and the creation of Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. After Firestorm was cancelled Jurgens worked on titles like The New 52: Futures End, Batman Beyond, Superman: Lois and Clark. As part of the DC Rebirth relaunch of 2016, Jurgens wrote Action Comics and contributed to Action Comics #1000.

Speaking exclusively to ‘Read the Freaking Comics’ Jurgens discusses his time on Firestorm:

“I had just taken over Firestorm with #13 and was still getting used to the book, which I really enjoyed doing. I like the character and his history... he’s a great deal of fun and also has a tremendous power level. It would have been fun to continue. Unfortunately, the sales had plummeted before I even got there as they kind of missed the mark with the New 52 launch.”

The other Co-cover artist, who was also the inker for this issue was Ray McCarthy. McCarthy has worked on titles like Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman. His art style, often characterized by detailed line work and expressive character designs, has helped define the visual narrative of these characters for many readers. On the Marvel side, McCarthy worked on titles like Iron Man & Spider-Man.

Letterer Taylor Esposito worked on this issue, Esposito is owner of Ghost Glyph Studios and teacher at the legendary Kubert School. He has lettered for a vast array of publishers like DC, Vault, Images, Aftershock & Dark Horse. Speaking exclusively to ‘Read the Freaking Comics’ Esposito discusses Firestorm:

“One of my earliest memories as a kid were my Super Powers figures, and one I have fond memories of…Firestorm, so getting to work on an issue of his book, even as a fill in letterer, was great so early in my career.”

This issue was edited by Rachel Gluckstern & Rickey Purdin. Gluckstern is an award-winning, bestselling editor in the publishing and entertainment media industry. During her time at DC she worked with high-profile licenses including Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Batman. She played a key role in The New 52 relaunch and introduced the surprise hit character Joker’s Daughter.

Rickey Purdin is a veteran comic book editor and talent scout known for his sharp eye for rising creators. Around 2013, he worked at DC Comics as an editor, contributing to titles including Justice League Dark, Constantine, and The Movement. During his time there, he played a key role in helping spotlight new voices during DC’s New 52 era. After leaving DC, Purdin joined Marvel, where he became the Director of Talent Relations, shaping the publisher’s recruitment of artists and writers across major titles.

So who are ‘The Continuum?’ within DC’s New 52 storyline the Continuum is a government funded scientific research facility tasked with producing new scientific discoveries. One of their projects was the creation of Captain Atom.

Unlike the Charlton Comics version of Captain Atom, who was named Allen Adam, and gained his powers when an experimental rocket exploded, or even the post-crisis version named Nathaniel Adam, a US Air Force officer who is framed for a crime and experimented on to avoid execution. This new Captain Atom was a volunteer in an experiment by the Continuum to tap into quantum energy, which caused his body to disintegrate and reform as a being of pure quantum energy held in a human form.

In this issue, when Captain Atom explodes, shards of his body are scattered across space and time, a piece is shot into the 31st Century, where a seemingly human looking young man calling himself ‘Adym’ appears. How and where he fits into the Legionnaires storyline from ‘Legion Lost’ is never followed up on. Given the retconning of the whole New 52 line, it is unlikely to ever be fully explained.

So, just who is Firestorm? The original Firestorm came into creation when high school student Ronnie Raymond and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein were caught in an accident that allowed their bodies to fuse into a third entity. As Firestorm they have the ability to reconstruct matter at the molecular level, absorb and project energy, and fly. Created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom in 1978 the character has had multiple personalities mixed into the Firestorm Matrix and in fact by the time we reach the New 52 version of Firestorm, there are multiple entities across the globe. Firestorm is ranked 31st out of the top 178 DC Superheroes on Ranker.com

Lots of discussion about The New 52 in this episode, so what exactly was The New 52? In 2011 DC announced a complete revamp of their entire catalog and the DC Universe as a whole, this was to occur immediately after the wildly successful ‘Flashpoint’ crossover storyline. Dubbed ‘The New 52’, this revamp began in earnest in September 2011 when they cancelled all their existing titles and renumbered a ton of their series like Action Comics and Detective Comics, which had retained their original numbering since the 1930s.

The relaunch included changes to the publishing format; for example, print and digital comics began to be released on the same day. New titles were released to bring the number of ongoing monthly series to 52. Various changes were also made to DC’s fictional universe to entice new readers, including changes to DC’s internal continuity to make characters more modern and accessible. In addition, characters from the Wildstorm and Vertigo imprints were absorbed into the DC Universe.

In a series of rollout phases over the rest of 2011 and 2012, DC introduced new series with revamped characters and backstories. New titles were launched with varying degrees of success, and many included what were perceived as gimmicky themes like Mad Magazine, Swimsuit or Selfie themed covers. While some themes like Villain Month, actually boosted sales for a short period of time.

By early 2016, DC announced its Rebirth initiative, a line-wide relaunch of its titles, to begin in June. Beginning with an 80-page one-shot which was released in May. Rebirth also saw Action Comics and Detective Comics return to their previous numbering. The Rebirth initiative reintroduced concepts from pre-Flashpoint continuity.

New 52 was a victim of its own ambition, not that there weren’t some excellent runs during that period of time like Batgirl, Aquaman & Wonder Woman. But the ambition at DC to set a clear line in the sand saying ‘this is the start of new continuity and forget almost everything else’, in that light, issues people had with specific plots or characters were compounded because DC was insistent on the fact that the new narrative was the be-all-end-all of the DC universe. A tactic they obviously changed only a few years later.

This issue features two characters I really like from DC, but have not had much experience with. Both Firestorm and Captain Atom are extremely powerful Metahumans with similar nuclear-based abilities, however on the grand scale of things Captain Atom is far more powerful in terms of overall energy output and skills. I thoroughly enjoyed this issue with its high octane battle high above the Atlantic ocean. I find Jurgens’ writing to flow well between all the action and the pacing to be fast. Overall as a first time reader of either a Firestorm or Captain Atom comic this issue intrigued me and kept me interested.

Being a relatively new issue I am not seeing much increase in value, mycomicshop.com has this book listed for $2.65 while comicbookrealm.com is selling it for $3. Amazon is selling an issue for $57 dollars.

In 2013 DC was in the middle of their New 52 phase, they released a Villains’ Month series with special decimal issues featuring various villains in the DC Universe, this lead up to Forever Evil, an event featuring the Crime Syndicate and the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

2013 also saw the return of Superman to the big screen with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. This film was the start of the DC Extended Universe, intended as a competitor of the widely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe which had been steadily growing since 2008.

In June of that year DC unveiled two new digital comic innovations to enhance interactivity: DC2 and DC2 Multiverse. DC2 layers dynamic artwork onto digital comic panels, adding a new level of dimension to digital storytelling, while DC2 Multiverse allows readers to determine a specific story outcome by selecting individual characters, storylines and plot developments while reading the comic, meaning one digital comic has multiple outcomes.

DC sold the second highest number of titles in 2013 at almost 22 Million units, representing 40% of the entire market. The top 5 selling DC titles were: Batman, Justice League, Justice League of America, Detective Comics & Superman Unchained with Justice League of America #1 from April the top seller with 326,000 copies.

There are no Firestorm titles among the top selling DC comics from 2013 according to comichron.com. The best estimate for sales Issue #15 is around 12,000 copies. Considering typical returns of 10–20% from retailers, the actual sale‑through likely falls to 9 to 11 thousand units.

There aren’t many adverts in this comic that don’t come from DC themselves. There is an ad for The Gameological Society & Geek Exchange, both online properties are now defunct. CW was promoting Arrow, the popular Green Arrow themed series and precursor to the ‘Arrowverse’ collection of television shows based on various DC titles.

There was a Mad Magazine/DC crossover promotion to introduce a new generation of fans to Alfred E. Newman. TNT was promoting the NBA on Thursday nights with a Lebron James back cover. And as mentioned DC was promoting their titles like ‘Batman Night of the Owls’, ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’, ‘Justice League’ and a ‘Justice League - Throne of Atlantis’ crossover event.

Since Firestorm decided to rearrange Mount Rushmore I decided to find a comic shop as close to the national monument as possible. If you’re ever in the area I recommend you check out ‘Heroes & Villains’ located on 601 Kansas City St. in Rapid City, South Dakota or check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/heroesandvillainsrc

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this deep dive into Firestorm #15 and the chaos of the New 52, hit that Like button to show some nuclear love, Subscribe so you never miss an explosive comic moment, and ring that Bell to get notified when new videos drop. Got thoughts on Firestorm, Captain Atom, or Dan Jurgens’ triple-threat talents? Drop a comment—we read them all!

And hey, if you want more exclusive creator insights and forgotten comic gems, you’re in the right place. Let’s read the freaking comics together!

🔥 The bold risks Comely Comics took to print full-color indie books before anyone else.🎨 The rise of legendary creators George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin—two talents who helped put Canadian comics on the map.👁️ A gold-eyed villain named Mr. Gold, flying rocketships, jungle battles, and a nurse sidekick who kicks just as much ass.🇨🇦 And yes, the patriotic power of publishing a Canadian superhero during a time when Marvel and DC reigned supreme.Featuring exclusive quotes from creator Richard Comely, never-before-heard production stories, and appearances from other characters like Catman and The Canuck Kid, this episode is a love letter to indie comics, Canadian pride, and old-school comic book grit.

What happens when one of Marvel’s most relentless anti-heroes trades the neon-soaked chaos of Miami for the sunbaked streets of Sicily? This isn’t just another Punisher tale—it’s a deep dive into forgotten family history, rare comic debuts, and the behind-the-scenes talent that shaped an entire era. Today, we’re cracking open a one-of-a-kind issue of Punisher War Journal that’s packed with history, hidden gems, and a slice of 1990s Marvel you might’ve completely missed. From Mike Baron’s legacy to rare cameos and throwback ads that scream vintage—this is a journey you don’t want to skip. Let’s dive in.

Hard-nosed Frank Castle goes back to his Italian roots as he leaves the gritty Miami drug scene behind to lay low for a while. After dispatching a crooked cop who just so happens to be a senator’s nephew, Frank makes a b-line to Sicily. Once there he learns more about his family roots and the long standing feud between his family and the Bessucho’s, a local crime gang. Determined to avenge his family Frank sets out to end the Bessucho’s while coming face to face with a relative long thought lost.

This was the first issue of Punisher War Journal written by Mike Baron, Baron was no stranger to the character, in 1987 he launched and wrote the first ongoing Punisher series, remaining on the title for over 5 years. During that acclaimed run, he and Klaus Janson introduced the character Microchip as an ally of The Punisher. Baron is also well known as the first writer on DC’s Wally West run of The Flash in 1987.

This was also the first issue of War Journal for artist Mark Texeira. Texeira broke into the comics field in the early 1980s. Some of his work includes Masters of the Universe, various Jonah Hex titles, Psi-Force & Ghost Rider through the early and latter 90’s.

Cover artist Michael Golden worked on this title, his other works include The ‘Nam, as well as the co-creation of the characters Rogue and Bucky O’Hare. Golden also drew covers for the licensed series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero & Rom. In the early 1990s, Golden was an editor for DC and later in the decade served as Senior Art Director for Marvel.

Colorist Greg Wright has spent long stints on titles like Ghost Rider, Marvel Comics Presents, and Spider-Man for Marvel as well as Batman, Nightwing and The Titans for DC Comics. With artist Jackson Guice, Wright created the character Crippler, in Daredevil Annual #7 from 1991. Along with artist Steven Butler, Wright created the character Man-Eater in Silver Sable and the Wild Pack in 1993.

George Roberts Jr. is a seasoned comic book letterer, renowned for his extensive work with Valiant Comics during the early 1990s. His precise lettering has enhanced numerous series, including “Archer & Armstrong,” “Bloodshot,” and “Solar, Man of the Atom.” His work is featured in notable crossover events like “Deathmate: Orange” and “Deathmate: Pink,” showcasing his versatility across various titles.

Don Daley was the editor for this issue, Daley served as the Consulting Editor on the G.I. Joe and the Transformers limited series from Marvel. At the time he was the editor of Marvel’s regular Transformers comic. His other comics credits include editing Captain America, The Nam and Sleepwalker amongst others. He also did photographic artwork for the cover of The Punisher War Journal #36.

Despite some heavy research (AKA Google Maps) I was unable to find any mention of the Village of Brasery in Sicily, greater Italy or in fact anywhere on the planet. From the map in the comic, I’d say the village is meant to be somewhere near Palermo on the North West side of the island.

Frank’s true last name, before it was Americanized to ‘Castle’, was Castiglione. The Castiglione surname is of Italian origin, specifically a habitational name from various places named “Castiglione”. These places derive their name from the medieval Latin word “castellio,” meaning “fortification” or “small castle”. The Castiglione surname is not particularly common in Sicily.

This issue features Saracen, created by Mike Baron and Erik Larsen the character made its first appearance in The Punisher #22 from 1989 and reappeared here for ‘The Sicilian Saga’. Saracen was killed off in the one-shot comic ‘The Punisher: Empty Quarter’, though a version of him from an alternate universe was later featured in Exiles #99.

Ah Sicily, the countryside, the coastlines and beaches, the culture and traditions...and Frank Castle blowing people away at every turn. This issue of Punisher War Journal is unique in several ways, it’s the first appearance of the Bessucho Family and is the only known instance of Castle visiting Italy. This issue is the first of a 3-parter called ‘The Sicilian Saga’.

European vacation destinations aside this issue is your basic shoot-em-up Frank Castle style, Mike Baron does serviceable work here getting Castle out of Miami and into Italy in 6 pages or less. If you’re looking for the Big White Skull blowing away nasty drug dealers in sweaty Miami this one isn’t for you. Mind you, there is still a high body count, including flashbacks, but on the whole this issue sets up our character and stage for the remainder of the trilogy.

Speaking of that, how does the rest of ‘The Sicilian Saga’ end? More shooty-shooty, Frank’s uncle Rocco and his lover are killed, and Frank frames Saracen for the murder of the Senator.

I found issues going for $2.50 at MyComicShop.com and $4.50 on Ebay. PriceCharting has mint issues of this comic going for $102.

Late 1990 was a transition period for Marvel comics, this was a time just before the era of newsstands ended and sales to comic shops began, where the speculation bubble expanded and later burst, and before a new wave of hot comic artists would take the industry by storm. The early 90’s saw the rise in popularity of trading cards and the publisher began selling Marvel Universe Cards with trading card maker SkyBox International. These were collectible trading cards that featured the characters and events of the Marvel Universe.

In 1990, Marvel’s sales surged significantly. A notable highlight was the release of Spider-Man #1 by Todd McFarlane in June, which sold approximately 2.5 million copies. This success contributed to a substantial increase in revenue for the company.

Marvel’s financial performance peaked just 1 year later in 1991. The company went public, raising over $63 million through its IPO. Additionally, the release of X-Men Vol. 2 #1 became a monumental success, selling an estimated 8.2 million copies, making it one of the best-selling comic books of all time. This period marked Marvel’s dominance in the comic book industry, with the company accounting for approximately 66% of dollar sales at Diamond Comic Distributors in August of 1991.

There were still quite a few ads running in comics at this time and most of the major players from the period are present. Nintendo was everywhere with an ad for wireless controllers, I never even knew those existed, comment if you had these. There was also an ad for Street Fighter 2000 by Capcom for the NES and a unique Revlon/Nintendo crossover ad for shampoo featuring Mario & Princess Peach.

As mentioned, trading card games were all the hype in 1990 and Fleer, the NFL, The NBA, Skybox and Marvel all ran ads for their respective collectible series. TSR was promoting their Dungeon board game, a sort of easier version of DnD.

Then there was this unique bit of advertising, a glossy centerfold featuring Tiger electronic games, those extremely basic handheld video game devices, if you were a kid in the 90’s you had one or knew someone who did. This centerfold is shared by a Sega Genesis featuring a T-Shirt offer and Mindscape promoting their ‘Days of Thunder’ poster series.

This week I wanted to find a comic shop in Frank’s native Sicily, so after reviewing many in the Palermo region I came across Fumettology Palermo (Comics Palermo) which is a cool little shop located in Via I. Pizzetti, 34, in Palermo. If you’re ever in the region I recommend checking them out or visiting their Facebook Page by searching for Fumettology Palermo.

That’s a wrap on this wild Sicilian chapter of Frank Castle’s story. If you dug the deep dive, make sure to hit Like, smash that Subscribe button, and ring the bell so you never miss a breakdown. Got memories of this issue or the 90s comic scene? Drop a comment—I want to hear it!

Micronauts #38 from 1982 isn’t just another issue—it’s a quiet reset and a unique artifact of Marvel’s shift into the direct market era. This week, we’re diving into a comic that blends Bill Mantlo’s deep sci-fi vision with the talents of Gil Kane, Michael Golden, and more. We’ll look at why this issue feels like a reintroduction, how it fits into Marvel’s business strategy of the early ‘80s, and what makes its creative team one of the most underrated lineups of the decade. This is Micronauts as you’ve never seen it—so let’s get microscopic.

In this issue the Micronauts tell tales from long ago, Commander Arcturus Rann recalls one of his most important lessons learned as a Wing Cadet & Bug recounts how he and Acroyear first met and became close allies.

Both stories in this issue were written by Bill Mantlo, Mantlo who was the co-creator of Rocket Raccoon and Cloak and Dagger, is best known for his work on Micronauts and Rom, both licensed toy properties with stories included in the Marvel Universe. For Micronauts specifically Mantlo recalled how one Christmas, he examined some action figures from Mego Corporation’s Micronauts line, given to his son Adam. He said he began to envision the characters “as small, microscopic even, inhabiting an other-verse apart from, but conjunctive with ours,”. He then convinced editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to obtain the comics license for these toys; Shooter then hired Mantlo to script the series.

John Garcia penciled the first story, Garcia began his career as a storyboard and magazine advertisement artist, he began collaborating with different publishers and writers and briefly worked for both Marvel and DC in the early 80’s.

Gil Kane penciled & Inked the second story, Kane is noted for co-creating the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and co-created Iron Fist and Adam Warlock with Roy Thomas for Marvel. This was only part of a brief run on this title for Kane, at the same time he shared regular art duties on the Superman feature in Action Comics with Curt Swan.

Cover artist Michael Golden initially started with the interior of the first 12 issues, then moved on to other titles, occasionally returning. His other works include The ‘Nam, as well as the co-creation of the characters Rogue and Bucky O’Hare.

Inker Danny Bulanadi started his career at Marvel inking artists like Pat Broderick, Gil Kane, and Butch Guice on the Micronauts series. He then moved on to The Fantastic Four, and Captain America. He also designed the costumes for the various Atlantic Universe characters including the famous Captain Canada.

Bob Sharen was a prolific comic book colorist best known for his work with Marvel from the 1970s through the 1990s. He colored hundreds of issues, including iconic runs on The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and Iron Man. His vibrant palette and consistent quality made him a key figure in shaping Marvel’s visual identity.

Colorist Christie “Max” Scheele is known for her work as a comic book colorist and fine art painter. She began her career in comics with Marvel and made a significant impact as a colorist, particularly on over 100 issues of “Daredevil,”, she also contributed to “Moon Knight” with Bill Sienkiewicz. Her nickname, “Max,” originated in 1982 as a playful moniker from letterer Danny Crespi and stuck throughout her career.

Letterer Jim Novak worked on the first story, Novak is known for his contribution to the development of the iconic Star Wars logo. Novak primarily worked at Marvel but occasionally worked for other publishers like Dark Horse, Boom! Studios, Image, Dynamite, and IDW. When this comic was released Novak was the regular letterer for such titles as Avengers, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four & The Incredible Hulk where he often lettered as many as five or six books per month. Fellow letterer Bill Oakley stated that Novak created the best shapes for speech balloons of any letterer he knew.

Diana Albers lettered the second story, Albers is best known for lettering hundreds of books for Marvel from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s. Comics she lettered include Iron Man, Ghost Rider & Captain America.

Al Milgrom & Jack Abel were the editors on this issue, Milgrom has worked as a writer, penciller, inker and editor, primarily for Marvel. Milgrom started his comics career in 1972 as an assistant for inker Murphy Anderson. Milgrom came to prominence as a penciller on Captain Marvel from 1975 to 1977. He served an eight-year stint as the inker of X-Factor in 1989–1997 & is the co-creator of DC superhero Firestorm.

Jack Abel was DC’s primary inker on the Superman titles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and inked penciler Herb Trimpe’s introduction of the popular superhero Wolverine in The Incredible Hulk #181. He sometimes used the pseudonym Gary Michaels. After suffering a serious stroke in 1981, Abel rehabilitated his paralyzed right hand to the extent that he was able to ink and draw again — which he did through the rest of the 1980s, primarily for Marvel.

So who are the Micronauts? They started out as a line for toys by Mego Corporation, when Bill Mantlo convinced Jim Shooter to acquire the comic book rights for Marvel, a larger backstory for the characters were created.

The Micronauts originate in the Microverse, a microscopic universe full of strange planets like the human-inhabited Homeworld which is made up of diverse spherical habitats that are linked together in the fashion of a molecular chain. Prince of Homeworld, Commander Arcturus Rann, undertakes a dangerous mission by travelling into the farthest reaches of the microverse in suspended animation for a thousand-years. Unfortunately while away his former mentor and teacher Baron Karza has the royal family killed and he ascends the throne as dictator of Homeworld. When Rann returns from his deep space voyage and discovers Karza’s treachery he vows revenge, the comic series tells the story of that epic war across the Microverse pitting Rann and his allies against Karza.

Joining him on his mission are Marionette, the daughter of the slain rulers of Homeworld and sister of Prince Argon. Beast, A highly intelligent, animalistic alien from the jungles of Tropica on Homeworld. Acroyear, the former ruler of the armor-clad Acroyears of the harsh and rocky planet Spartak. Bug - An insect-like thief from the planet Kaliklak.

And two droids, whom Marvel calls ‘Roboids’ because why not, Microtron & Nanotron.

The team lineup often changes, throughout the years there have been other members including; Biotron, Cilicia, Fireflyte, Huntarr, Pharoid, Scion and Solitaire.

The Micronauts toy line was the product of The Mego Corporation and consisted of action figures less than 4 inches in size which were known for their high number of articulation points, the bendy bits that allow you to position your figure. The toy line also included vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories. Many of the Micronauts toys used interchangeable connectors and ports that allowed parts to be transferred and connected between different toys.

Mego discontinued the Micronauts in 1980 prior to the company’s bankruptcy and dissolution in 1982. Years after Mego’s demise, other toy companies, such as Palisades Toys and SOTA Toys, have attempted to revive the toyline. Just this year Super7 added Micronauts to their ReAction toy line and have released the first wave of action figures, including Biotron and Baron Karza.

Meanwhile, the first comic title was published by Marvel in 1979, with characters based on the toys plus some original creations. Marvel published two Micronauts series, mostly written by Bill Mantlo, until 1986, well after the toy line was cancelled in 1980. In the 2000s, Image Comics and Devil’s Due Publishing each briefly published their own Micronauts series.

In 2016, IDW Publishing published a new comic book series. A live-action film version of the Micronauts was in development by Hasbro Studios and Paramount in 2015. In May 2023, Marvel re-acquired the licensing rights to publish The Micronauts. Did you know that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Microverse of The Micronauts is adapted as the Quantum Realm.

The beginning of both stories feature our heroes on Earth 616, even fighting for their lives from a bird protecting her eggs. So how did the Micronauts end up on Earth? Their first visit to Earth occurred in issue #1 from January 1979, in an effort to escape Karza’s forces they warp jumped from their ship, but because of the strange physics between dimensions, they exit the Microverse and arrive in our universe, crashing on Earth. They were Earth bound for about 12-13 issues, returning to the Microverse once again but they often returned to Earth as it allowed Marvel writers to ground the cosmic storytelling in relatable human elements, it also provided ample opportunity for crossovers with other Marvel characters like The Fantastic Four, Captain Universe, and Doctor Strange.

Comics based on toy lines don’t always translate well, for every Transformers, G.I. Joe’s and Micronauts you get Madballs, AirRaiders and Kooshkins. The Micronauts never really appealed to me as a child, despite the calibre of artists working on the title over the years. This issue specifically feels like a re-introduction of the characters, partly because both stories provide enough backstory to get the job done, but mainly because we know this issue was the first to go out to comic stores only, so the opportunity presented itself to Marvel. As a whole Micronauts tells a compelling story of deception, palace intrigue and a good deal of action. However I never really understood the need to make these characters ‘Micro’, why not just place them on another planet? To be fair I haven’t read many issues where our heroes have action-figure sized adventures on Earth, maybe that is enough of a hook to keep me interested. Mind you I have seen “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” and “Ant-Man” more than a few times.

I see issues on Amazon selling for $25, Price Charting.com has mint issues going for $84, these are off their highs from December 2024 of $90. I see various issues on Ebay going from $4 to $8

Comic distribution numbers are hard to find for 1982, I did manage to find figures for both 1981 and ‘82 combined which totaled 7.83 million issues sold between a select few publishers, mainly Marvel and DC. The top 5 selling comics in those years were:

1. Mad (EC Publications): 1,001,724

2. X-Men (Marvel): 313,225

3. Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel): 240,683

4. Fantastic Four (Marvel): 234,043

5. Avengers (Marvel): 223,335

Micronauts sold over 117 thousand units, good enough for 29th place out of the 56 listed.

1982 saw the beginning of Marvel making changes to their distribution deals by offering publications exclusively to the non-returnable “direct sales” comics-store market as opposed to newsstands.

Marvel first tested this distribution change on the X-Men themed ‘Dazzler #1’ in 1981, the result was sales of over 400,00 copies from fans & collectible speculators, a 50% increase than the average sales of X-Men. Marvel saw green in their eyes and began to roll this out in 1982, and while this would eventually lead to the comic crash of 1996, there was no stopping the train now. Three specific titles, Ka-Zar, Micronauts and Moon Knight followed Dazzler’s route and were dropped from newsstands in favor of exclusive distribution to comic stores. Though they sold well generally, newsstands had the option to return or destroy the unfold comics for credit, comic distributors did not, guaranteeing increased revenue for Marvel.

There were fewer ads in this issue than what is typical for a comic from this era, this is due to the fact that it was directly sold to comic shops. The advertisements included Cracker Jack, Lego Expert Builder Set, there was an editorial by Denny O’Neil encouraging discriminating readers to NOT pick up the latest issue of Moon Knight (also a direct seller to comic shops), an amusing ad for Ka-Zar touting the benefits of buying a ‘specialty comic’, such as more pages, creator insights, fewer ads, etc.

Then we have the MPC Star Wars Snap Model Kits featuring ‘Battle on Ice Planet Hoth’ and ‘Encounter with Yoda on Dagobah’. Snap model kits were easy-to-assemble models and dioramas depicting various scenes from a film or television show. What’s interesting here is that MPC’s previous models for the Snowspeeder and AT-ATs were of a different scale, so kids weren’t able to easily recreate scenes from the film. This second series aims to rectify that with a full diorama of the Hoth scenes.

This week I wanted to find an interesting comic shop in-line with our Micronauts theme, and while I couldn’t find anything specific I did come across Comic Quest in Lake Forest, California. I felt the theme of ‘quest’ was an important one since our heroes are on a quest to free the Microverse from tyranny. So if you’re ever in the area I recommend checking out Comic Quest located at 23811 Bridger Rd in Lake Forest, CA or visit them at comicquest.org.

If you enjoyed this deep dive into Micronauts and the behind-the-scenes shifts at Marvel, hit that like button, subscribe for more comic history content, and ring the bell so you don’t miss an issue. Until next time—stay curious, and remember, read the freaking comics!

Imagine the Justice League... but it’s the year 3001, Superman’s a cocky jerk, Batman hates being a hero, and Guy Gardner? Let’s just say pronouns are the least of his problems. This issue is chaotic, colorful, and completely unhinged—in the best way possible. You’ve got Giffen and DeMatteis bringing back that signature Justice League International insanity, Howard Porter going off with the artwork Oh—and Supergirl just crash-landed into the middle of it all after a thousand-year nap. You’re in for a wild ride, so buckle up and lets dive into Justice League 3001.

As Lois Lane (in disguise as Ariel Masters) continues to plot the death of the Justice League, our Leaguers are neck deep in Starro drones on Woden Twelve, where Starro Prime has taken over the entire planet.

Anger turns to confusion when a drone informs the team that Ariel has been playing both sides. Meanwhile a ship crashes down on the planet and none other than Supergirl emerges. Though she is no DNA Clone, this is the original Kara Zor-El who has been dormant for a thousand years. Supergirl easily finds Starro Prime and begins peace talks, much to the chagrin of Ariel Masters.

Keith Giffen was one of the writers on this story, Giffen was known for his work for DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes and Justice League titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo, Rocket Raccoon, and Jaime Reyes the second Blue-Beetle.

Working closely with Giffen was writer J.M. DeMatteis, DeMatteis succeeded Gerry Conway as writer of the Justice League of America. When that title was cancelled in the wake of the company-wide crossover Legends, DeMatteis stayed through its relaunch as Justice League International. The Giffen/DeMatteis team worked on Justice League for five years and closed out their run with the “Breakdowns” storyline in 1991 and 1992. By 2013, he took over DC Comics’ Phantom Stranger and launched the 12-issue Larfleeze series with Giffen. DeMatteis became the writer of Justice League Dark in October 2013 and, again with Giffen, launched Justice League 3000 in December.

Speaking exclusively with ‘Read the Freaking Comics!’ DeMatteis discusses this series.

“I loved working with Giffen and our amazing artists on that series. We could have gone on for years. [I was] very disappointed when DC pulled the plug.”

This issue’s cover and interior were created by Howard Porter, Porter’s first major run was as penciler on DC’s The Ray vol. 2 in 1994. He’s also worked on JLA with Grant Morrison. In 2006, DC announced Porter would pencil the limited series The Trials of Shazam!, collaborating with writer Judd Winick. Unfortunately he was unable to finish the series because he severely injured his hand and had to take time out from comics for recovery.

Upon his return 2 years later he became the regular penciller on Titans and then was the first artist for the Doc Savage series. He then became the regular penciler on DC’s Magog.

Letterer Rob Leigh has worked on DC’s flagpole series like Superman, Green Lantern & The Flash, his 30 years of experience has led him to become one of the most sought after letterers. In 2023 he co-founded Ghost Machine alongside Geoff Johns, Gary Frank and Brad Anderson.

Speaking exclusively with ‘Read the Freaking Comics!’ Leigh discusses this issue.

“Team books always present challenges--lots of characters, often large amounts of back-and-forth dialog, and so forth. From a letterer’s perspective, this becomes an exercise in problem solving. How do I fit in all the copy?”

“Can I figure a way to do so without covering vital art? How do I maintain the proper reading order of the balloons in relation to where the characters are positioned? – You really need to stay focused and engaged with the story in order to do your part in helping present the story. - DeMatteis and the late, great Keith Giffen were masters at crafting an entertaining, bouncy story. In their work, you’ll find action and interaction--and usually there’s a good deal of humor in the mix. We see it here in the main story, but also in those “Fun F.A.Q.” pages at the end. I love those “breaking the fourth wall” bits--especially when I was a kid. As a reader, that made me feel more like a participant, rather than an observer--it was fun. - Howard Porter certainly gave the readers their money’s worth, didn’t he? There is a ton of activity, but he handled it all beautifully. I bet he’s still icing his drawing hand!

“By the way, I don’t know if Keith did it in his breakdowns or if it was Howard’s idea, but did you catch the panel layout design on page ten that is in the shape of the GL lantern insignia? Masterful!

This issue was edited by Brian Cunningham & Harvey Richards. From 1993 to 2008 Cunningham was editor at Wizard Magazine before moving over to DC, during his tenure he worked on titles like Doomsday Clock, Batgirl, Aquaman & Justice League. After DC Comics he worked as editor at Dynamite Entertainment, working on the Project Superpowers series as well as with Immortal Studios. He was then Editor-In-Chief at AfterShock Comics before the publisher announced bankruptcy. Cunningham also created a comic book storytelling course for UCLA, which he teaches. In March of 2024 he was made Editor in Chief at Ghost Machine.

Harvey Richards worked at DC Comics for over two decades and contributed to a wide range of titles across the DC universe, working on projects that spanned both mainstream superhero series and licensed properties. He worked on titles such as Superman, Trinity of Sin, Titans, Scooby Doo and Suicide Squad. Richards made headlines when he quit DC in 2019 and accused management of stifling his promotion prospects due to racism.

Executive editor Barbara “Bobbie” Chase has had a long and varied career in the comic book industry. She worked for Marvel throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, she was one of Marvel Group’s Editors-in-Chief, the highest level a female editor has ever achieved at the company. In 2015 she moved over to DC to become Vice President of Talent Development until 2020. For DC she has edited titles such as Batgirl, Nightwing, Teen Titans & Red Hood.

The Justice League in the 31st century are said to be clones, however this isn’t exactly the case. Project Cadmus, a genetic engineering corporation, had held the genetic material of the greatest past original Justice League heroes for over a millennium; they used those samples to recreate Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash.

Cadmus didn’t clone the Justice League entirely from scratch using just DNA—they used living donor bodies as templates. The genetic material was spliced into these donor bodies, effectively overwriting their biology and identity to recreate the League.

The cloning process used by Cadmus was flawed and rushed, leading to imbalances in personality and memory retention among the entire Justice League 3000 lineup.

Clones in comics has been used as far back as the mid-seventies, Amazing Spider-Man #149 from October 1975 features the debut of the Spider-Clone, a clone of Peter Parker created by the villain The Jackal. This story became the foundation for one of Marvel’s most controversial and expansive arcs: the Clone Saga, which was revisited in the 1990s.

Some other famous clones include copies of Bart Allen, Doomsday, Cable, Emma Frost, Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Silver Surfer & Wolverine.

Starro made its first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #28 in March 1960. Created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, this issue was also the first appearance of the Justice League of America. We’d have to wait another 17 years until we see Starro again, this time in an 11-page Aquaman story in Adventure Comics #451 between May & June 1977. It appeared again only four years later in a two-part story in Justice League of America #189–190 in 1981. It made several other appearances in several different titles and universes within the DC Comics Multiverse. Experimentation and exploitation of Starro was one of the main plot points in James Gunn’s 2021 ‘The Suicide Squad’.

Starro is an alien conqueror with a humanoid central mind commanding spores. An asexual creature, Starro’s spores are capable of generating clones that act in accordance with the original’s will. The clones are parasites by nature and can attach themselves to a humanoid’s face, and subsequently take control of the host’s central nervous system. Originally, the first Starro could transform Earth starfish into duplicates of itself equal to it in size and power.

Interestingly enough a Japanese Sci-Fi film from 1956 called ‘Warning from Space’ features Starro like aliens called “Pairans” who come to warn humanity that a rogue planet is on a collision course with Earth. It’s worth noting that Starro co-creator Gardner Fox was known for his extensive knowledge of science fiction and maintained a vast collection of books and magazines, which he often drew upon for inspiration. This background suggests that he might have been aware of Warning from Space, but without direct statements from Fox or Sekowsky, any connection remains speculative.

This wild and wacky offshoot of the Justice League series, which is most definitely not a continuation of the Legion of Superheroes timeline, although it could very well be if it wanted to, is a fun trip to take if you don’t mind seeing your favorite heroes in a completely different light. Taking a page right out of Justice League International, these heroes aren’t exactly who you may want to call in an emergency. Writers Giffen & DeMatteis are at it again with this goofy future-version of the Justice League, but this time we’ve got a gender confused Guy Gartner, egotistic Superman who can’t fly and a Batman who doesn’t really want to play superhero.

I quite enjoyed this limited-series run, I found the writing to be fresh and was obviously not meant to take itself too seriously, think about it; you have a planet of Starro drones, a Supergirl who took the long way around to get to the year 3001 and the Flash calling Superman ‘Clarkie’, yeah this isn’t going to be for everyone. As usual Howard Porter always delivers, the pages are overflowing with colors and action, there is no wasted space in this issue, its a treat for the eyes. So if you don’t hold the Trinity in too high a regard I’d definitely check this series out.

Unfortunately, time hasn’t yet started to impact its cover price too much, I’m seeing near mint versions of this comic selling for $3.99 on eBay, MyComicShop.com has some selling for $2.50 and silveragecomics.com has it selling for $1.99

In 2015, DC was in a healthy financial state, part of a larger Warner Bros. Entertainment which had a strong market value. While a specific financial statement for DC Comics in 2015 isn’t readily available, it’s reasonable to infer that it was a part of a larger and financially successful company. The Warner Bros. Discovery’s reported market value of around $69 billion indicates a significant level of financial strength. This suggests DC, as a major division within that structure, was likely financially stable and contributing positively to the parent company’s overall performance.

In 2015, DC sold approximately 26 million comic book units through Diamond Comic Distributors, generating an estimated $96 million in revenue and had 26% unit market share and 25% dollar market share of the total comic book market.

The top 5 DC comics sold that year were predominately Batman related titles such as Batman 40, 41 & 44, Justice League of America #1 & Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1

Despite these numbers DC announced a line-wide relaunch titled DC Rebirth just 1 year later. The new line would launch with an 80-page one-shot titled DC Universe: Rebirth, written by Geoff Johns. The relaunch was meant to bring back the legacy and heart many felt had been missing from DC characters since the launch of the New 52. Rebirth brought huge success, both financially and critically.

In 2015, the North American comic book industry experienced significant growth, with total sales of comics and graphic novels reaching $1.03 billion—a 10% increase over the previous year. This marked the first time since the early 1990s that the industry surpassed the billion-dollar mark. The surge was largely driven by the expanding audience for comics, including increased interest from women and younger readers.

While print sales flourished, digital comics experienced a downturn. After six consecutive years of growth, digital comics sales in North America declined by 10% in 2015, falling to $90 million. This decrease was attributed to market saturation of digital devices and a slowdown in new digital consumers.

I was surprised to see this volume of ads in a comic from 2015, I assume the uptick in sales justified it. This issue has ads for Blu-Ray DVDs, Wrigley 5 Gum, DC Subscription Services, Cable TV, LootCrate, EagleMoss Collections, Various DC Titles, Munchkin Steampunk Deluxe, Mars’ Snickers chocolate bars & PS4’s Batman Arkham Knight

Released that year, Arkham Knight is an action-adventure game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game is presented from a third-person perspective, with a primary focus on Batman’s melee combat, stealth abilities, detective skills, and gadgets. Batman: Arkham Knight received “generally favorable” reviews from critics for the PlayStation 4.

This week I wanted to find a comic shop with an interesting name to match our deep dive, I couldn’t find a store named after Starro or a member of the JLA, but I did find this comic shop located in Dartmouth Nova Scotia Canada called ‘Strange Adventures’. This Canadian comic shop chain is named after the classic DC Comics anthology series Strange Adventures, which ran from 1950 to 1973. The store has received multiple accolades, including the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. If you are in the Dartmouth area I recommend checking this one out at 101 Portland St, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia or visit strangeadventures.com

If you had fun hanging out with the weirdest Justice League this side of the 31st century, don’t forget to smash that like button, subscribe to Read the Freaking Comics!, and ring that bell so you never miss a deep dive. Got a favorite forgotten gem, chaotic crossover, or clone catastrophe you want me to cover? Drop it in the comments!

And hey—support real comic creators: buy physical issues, tip your local comic shop, and follow the amazing writers and artists behind these stories. Thanks for watching, and remember: read the freaking comics!

Saddle up, because we’re cracking open Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger #1, a brutal and bloody new chapter from the Spawn Universe, written by the legendary Jimmy Palmiotti!

What happens when horror meets the Wild West? When a red-eyed stranger rolls into town with torture on his mind and a Hellspawn chained in his sights? We’re talkin’ demons, dusty streets, gunfights, and a new anti-hero struggling with powers straight from the pit. This isn’t just another Spawn spin-off—this is the origin story fans have been dying to see.

We’ll break down the gritty storytelling, the jaw-dropping art by Patric Reynolds, the rich colors from Luis NCT, and how this issue ties into the larger mythos built by none other than Todd McFarlane himself. Plus, we’ve got exclusive insight straight from Jimmy Palmiotti himself so stick around—because this one’s packed with lore, legacy, and lead-slinging vengeance. You’re not gonna want to miss it. Happy International Superhero Day, Let’s dive in.

Gunslinger Spawn’s mysterious past is brought to life in this gripping western meets horror by Jimmy Palmiotti based in the Spawn Universe created by Todd McFarlane. When a red eyed imposter comes to the small town of Gunnison, Colorado he appears to have one purpose; pay a local outlaw and his gang to capture & torture a seemingly unknown traveler and push him to the brink of death. This traveler turns out to be a Hellspawn, a warrior for the devil himself. Adjusting to his newfound abilities, Spawn attempts to rescue a local woman run afoul by the outlaw gang, he easily dispatches them and rescues her, only to run into the red-eyed stranger, who appears to have a plan for Spawn, if he doesn’t kill him first.

This issue was written by Jimmy Palmiotti, Palmiotti started at Marvel Comics in 1991. He inked titles such as the Punisher, Ghost Rider, The Nam and the Marvel 2099 line. In 1994, Palmiotti and Joe Quesada formed a publishing company, Event Comics, and co-created Ash, a firefighter with superpowers, and Painkiller Jane, a female cop with healing powers.

In 2013, DC Comics tapped Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, who happen to be married, to relaunch the Harley Quinn series. The 30 issue series would consistently be a top seller at DC creating a large fan base and sparking numerous cosplay variants of the character at conventions.

Speaking exclusively to ‘Read the Freaking Comics’ Palmiotti discusses this issue:

“This is the beginning of his story with a tease of critical events of the past and a tease of what is to come. This is for first timers and also for die hard fans. Todd gave me the extra pages so we could cover what he wrote and integrate it into the current events of the character. This is a book for fans of the character and the old west as told through the eyes of someone getting comfortable in their new skin.”

This issue’s cover and interiors were drawn by Patric Reynolds, Reynolds is a comic book artist and cover artist known for Abe Sapien, Aliens, The Thing, and many more. He has also done extensive concept and character design work as well as illustrated exclusive covers for several comic titles including Gideon Falls, Skulldigger & Black Hammer.

Luis Nuñez de Castro Torres or ‘Luis NCT’ for short, was the colorist on this issue. Luis has loved comics his whole life and was making comics and fanzines in high school, eventually studying fine arts before becoming a freelance artist. He has worked as a concept designer for video games and film, but his passion will always be comic books. His first long-form comic book project was Sleepers, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi tale about a world ruined by giant robots.

Letterer Tom Orzechowski is primarily known for his work on Uncanny X-Men. Over the course of his career, he has lettered over 6,000 pages of long-time X-Men writer Chris Claremont’s scripts. He left the X-Men books shortly after Claremont, in 1993. He joined the team putting out Image Comics’ Spawn 1992, where his title was copy editor for most of the first six years.

Thomas Healy is the Editor-in-Chief of the Spawn Universe at Image and Todd McFarlane Productions. Healy has overseen key titles including Spawn, King Spawn & The Scorched. His leadership has been pivotal in expanding the Spawn Universe, introducing new storylines and characters that resonate with both longtime fans and new readers. Healy is also the writer of Black Ritual: The Book of Nyx, a seven-issue occult horror series published by Image Comics.

The name Todd McFarlane has become synonymous with Spawn, naturally as this character was McFarlane’s own creation when he was a teenager. Born in Canada, McFarlane’s first professional comics work came in a backup story for Marvel’s Coyote #11 in 1985, he soon began working for both DC and Marvel, with his first major body of work being a two-year run on DC’s Infinity, Inc. in 1987. For Marvel he worked on Incredible Hulk for a year before joining writer David Michelinie on The Amazing Spider-Man, beginning with issue 298. It was here where McFarlane began to turn heads; he drew Spider-Man with such fluid movement and in dynamic poses and gave much more elaborate details to his webbing. It was during his run on Amazing that he became dissatisfied with his inability to control his work. Marvel responded by giving McFarlane a Spider-Man title of his own to write and draw, Spider-Man #1 from August 1990 was an instant hit and sold 2.5 million copies, largely due to the variant covers with which Marvel, seeking to capitalize on McFarlane’s popularity, published the issue to encourage collectors into buying more than one edition. This practice was a result of the comics speculator bubble of the 1990s, which would burst later that decade. However even this newfound freedom wasn’t enough for him and he eventually left Marvel after Spider-Man issue #16.

In 1992 McFarlane formed Image Comics with six other popular artists, now if you wanted a Mount Rushmore of 80’s and 90’s comic artists this would be it; Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri & Jim Valentino.

Together they published Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood and then the occult-themed Spawn. Upon its release Spawn #1 sold 1.7 million copies; this remains a record for an independent comic book.

Getting back to Gunslinger Spawn specifically, he made his debut in the franchise all the way back in Spawn #174 in 2008, in the issue, Al Simmons, the current Spawn, discovers in a journal that his great-great-grandfather had actually encountered a Spawn in his era.

Gunslinger Spawn was originally a man named Jeremy Winston, he was a priest that was framed for the murder of his own family. Winston was sentenced to hang alongside a man named Francis Parker, an ancestor of Al Simmons. Before the execution Mammon, a demon who worked for the devilish Malebolgia, offered both of them unimaginable power for the price of their souls. Parker refused but Winston accepted. After his hanging and death he was reborn as an undead and powerful Hellspawn. This character went unused for 12 entire years until he appeared again, this time possessing a man in the modern age.

This issue takes place in the gunslinger era, which occurred between 1850 to 1890 predominately in the western part of the United States. Most of the action in this issue takes place in Gunnison, CO which is indeed a real town and did exist in those times.

Gunnison is the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado. The city population was about 6,500 in 2020. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for a transcontinental railroad in 1853. In the early 1800s, the groups moving into the Gunnison area were mainly fur trappers and mountain men, trying to make a living for themselves in the rocky mountain terrain. But a drop in fur prices in the 1840s essentially cut out the need for their jobs. The late 1850s saw the start of people joining the hunt for gold in Gunnison county. While this town could very well have seen its share of gunfights, it was actually a lot more rare than television and movies make it out to be. Of all the known gunfights in this era, only 1 was recorded in Colorado, and that was 163 miles away in Trinidad.

On April 15, 1882, an argument over a game of cards subsequently led to Frank Loving and John Allen drawing their pistols on one another in the center of Main Street. Mutual friends intervened and there was no further violence at that time. Allen had been an acquaintance of Loving from Dodge City. Not exactly the stuff of legend…

The most common guns used during this period were the Colt revolvers, particularly the Colt Single Action .44 and .45 (”Peacemaker”), and Winchester rifles. Other notable firearms included Colt’s 1849 Pocket revolver, Remington revolvers, and various shotguns.

Gunslinger Spawn’s guns look like Colt 1851’s or a Colt Paterson, which is slightly older. Both are black powder percussion revolvers designed by Samuel Colt. They share a similar single-action mechanism and revolving cylinder but differ in design refinements, with the 1851 being more robust and widely used.

After teasing us for years Image Comics finally rolls out a definitive Gunslinger Spawn series with ‘Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger’, set in the late 1800’s the series dived deep into the origins of Gunslinger Spawn only hinted at in previous series. This first issue sets the stage for the series, showcasing our anti-hero’s shocking origins and introducing us to the mysterious stranger with piercing red eyes and unique abilities, who is this stranger? Is it Mammon? The Violator or something worse?

Jimmy Palmiotti had to check off many boxes with this first issue; tell an interesting story, make sure the origins of Gunslinger Spawn mesh with established canon, and introduce these characters to a potential new audience. Palmiotti delivers 3 for 3 here in this first issue, gripping, brutal and at its core a true western story fraught with peril.

Patric Reynolds’ cover and interiors are just as compelling, he mixes the bleak atmosphere of the Wild West with bold splashes of fiery reds and frosty blues, showcasing the diversity a Colorado climate can bring. His images are haunting and unforgiving at times, but never over the top.

Being relatively new these issues are pretty much worth their cover prices There are variant covers out there coming in at different prices.

Lets talk Spawn publisher Image Comics, Image is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its founders envisioned it as a venue for creator-owned properties, in which comics creators could publish material of their own creation without giving up the copyrights to those properties. Its output was originally dominated by superhero and fantasy titles but now includes comics in many genres by numerous independent creators. Some of the other best known publications include The Walking Dead, Kick-Ass, Invincible, Witchblade & Saga among many others.

In 2024, the comic book industry saw mixed signals across different areas. The overall North American market grew to $2.39 billion, led by Marvel and DC, who continued to dominate sales and mainstream appeal. Image, Dark Horse, and IDW rounded out the top five publishers, with Image standing out for its creator-owned titles.

Some of the standout comics that captured readers’ attention in 2024 included a series of relaunches and fresh takes to established characters, these are: Ultimate Spider-Man #1, Absolute Batman #1, Transformers #1, X-Men Relaunch, Blood Hunt #1, Dazzler #1, Spider-Woman #1, Wolverine #1, X-Men #1 & Namor #1​

This week I wanted to find a comic shop located in Gunnison Colorado, and while I did find a nice book store, shout out to you Abracadabra on Main Street the closest comic shop I could find was in Aurora Colorado, if you are in the area I recommend you check out All C’s Collectibles located at 1250 South Abilene St in Aurora, CO or visit them online at allcscollectibles.com.

And that’s gonna do it for our deep dive into Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger #1! Jimmy Palmiotti and the creative team came out blazing, delivering a brutal, atmospheric western that blends horror, hellfire, and a fresh look at one of Spawn’s most mysterious incarnations. Gunslinger Spawn isn’t just a cool visual anymore—he’s a character with roots, rage, and one hell of a vendetta.

If you haven’t picked it up yet, snag it while you can—and keep your eyes peeled for those variant covers!

Thanks for reading, if you want to see more please hit like and subscribe. If you have suggestions for comics you want me to deep dive into please leave a comment below.

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