Author: larsmagne23

The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine (1988) #1-2 by Dave Stevens, Elaine Lee, Michael Kaluta et al

When the eventual bankruptcy of Comico is brought up, this is a book that’s frequently mentioned. Not because of bad sales, of course, but because it had been announced years in advance, but was always just over the horizon. And Comico had apparently paid Dave Stevens for the book early, so it was a drain on cash flow.

As with many Comico titles, Rocketeer had been published by other companies first. It started in Pacific Presents (from Pacific Comics), and was then picked up (and collected) by Eclipse Comics. It was a major fan favourite from the get-go — Stevens’ oldee tymey Frazetta/Williamson/Wood artwork sure is good-looking, so even if Stevens seemed to be the slowest artist in comics, it had a following.

This book doesn’t really start off with an explanation of what the whole deal is with the Rocketeer, but we do have the (ex-?)girlfriend ruminating a bit about things to get us into the swing of things. I thought that was an economical way of doing things (especially since there’s just 14 pages of Rocketeer per issue, so you can’t be wasting pages)…

… but then we get even more infodumping, and this all just seems a bit redundant. And we’re running out of pages! Make something happen!

So there’s a fight, and a misunderstanding, and the (ex-?)girlfriend flies back to Los Angeles while Rocketeer stays in New York.

It’s not much of a story, and there’s no Rocketeering being done, but it’s fine. And the artwork’s great.

And you can buy a big poster!

So the main feature is just 14 pages — what are you filling up the rest of the pages with? Why, of course — several pages of text (and pics) of oldee tymey pilots. Why not?

But the main backup feature consists of short (about ten pages) stories about Bruscilla the Muscle’s childhood. It’s a classic setup: She’s telling some Galactic Girl Guides about her own escapades in the Guides, so it’s all edumacational and stuff.

And it’s very funny, and it’s just a perfect little story: Lee and Kaluta cram an entire little epic into the pages they have at their disposal. It’s like a Carl Barks ten pager, but with the “chaos” knob turned up to 11.

I’m a huge Elaine Lee fan, and I think that Starstruck is a masterpiece, and this is just so well told — despite the chaos, Lee and Kaluta’s storytelling is on point, and Kaluta’s artwork is so attractive.

So that’s a really nice comic book — it’s a very appealing package. Sure, you don’t get that many pages of Dave Stevens, but the other features are interesting and/or great, so if they’re able to publish this on a regular schedule, Comico should have a hit on their hands!

The second issue arrives, predictably enough, one year later.

And not only has Kaluta flown over to do the layouts for Rocketeer, but Stevens has gotten two screenwriters in to (co-)write the story. So I guess he’s basically just inking it now, but it still took him a year to get it done.

You can just imagine the frustration of everybody involved — the delays aren’t just for the Rocketeer material, but also the Starstruck stuff.

So what are the results of having all the helpers involved? Well, the story looks fine, but with layouts by Kaluta and pencilsish/inks by Stevens, you wouldn’t expect less.

However, the storyline (of which we get the first part here) is… kinda not there? It feels like what they set up over these 14 pages could have been done in 2.

In stark contrast, the second Galactic Girl Guide story is another epic — but they manage the amazing feat of not having the story seem cramped, and allows lots of funny slapstick while still getting the story told. Fantastic.

Yeah, there were only two issues published — Comico went bankrupt a few months after the second issue was published.

So it’s all predictable, really — Rocketeer has a spotty publishing history because Dave Stevens is slow, and Starstruck has a spotty publishing history because it’s too good and gets cancelled. Combine the two, and the only surprise is that they actually managed to publish two entire issues.

And they’re two very enjoyable issues, which isn’t surprising, either.

Amazing Heroes Preview Special #1, page #91:

1985 SUMMER PREVIEW SPECIAL

THE
ROCKETEER
ADVENTURE
MAGAZINE
Written and illustrated by DAVE
STEVENS and OTHERS
6-issue limited series; 32 full-color pages
on white paper; direct-sales distribution;
bi-monthly; price and publisher
undetermined

Although the Rocketeer graphic
album is due out late this summer
from Eclipse Comics, the big news
for Rocketeer fans is Dave
Stevens’s plans for a six-part limited
series that will debut toward the end
of the year. The book, which will be
called The Rocketeer Adventure
Magazine, will have three stories per
issue, Stevens said.
Ten pages will be devoted to the
main “Rocketeer” feature, six
pages will turn the spotlight on
members of the Rocketeer’s suppor-
ting cast, such as Peevy, the
mechanic. The other 10 pages,
according to Stevens, will be by
another artist, but will be some sort
of adventure story. “They’ll be
period pieces, but not necessarily
about the past,” he said. “They
could be about either the past or the
future-just not the present.”
Stevens also said that he has a
specific style in mind, and he is
looking for an artist with a suitably
illustrative approach-“like one of
the EC artists. Something real illus-
trative and real nice.” No one defi-
nite has been tapped to do the back-
up, yet, however.
……
In the first issue of Rocketeer
Adventure, Stevens said the Rocke-
teer won’t be in action: instead, he’ll
be racing around the Big Apple, try-
ing to find Betty. In the second
issue, though, Stevens promises to
put the Rocketeer through his high-
stepping paces. Although there will
be subplots cropping up throughout
the six issues, each issue will be a
complete adventure in itself. Ste-
vens promises that there will never-
theless be continuity and unity run-
ning through the series right up until
the climactic issue #6. For example,
Betty leaves briefly after the first
issue, but reappears later in the
series.
The frequency of the series is in-
tended to be bi-monthly, and
Stevens hopes to have the first
issue out in 1985. At this time, the
publisher has not been decided on,
although Stevens revealed that he
was negotiating with Eclipse, who
published his Rocketeer Special
earlier this year. Stevens ended by
saying that the Rocketeer Adven-
ture comic would be his “baby”
from start to end, and that he would
essentially be packaging it for
whomever ends up being the lucky
publisher. Stevens said he has a
long head-start on this particular
project, so the schedule he had in
mind should be attainable. “This is
something I’ve been wanting to do
for a long time, and I’m determined
to pull it off,” Stevens concluded.

Heh heh — Stevens announced the book in 1985, three years before the first issue was published. And it sounds like he had the first story already done by then, so it took him four years to make the second 14 page story, I guess.

Back Issue #47, page #65:

BOYD: You men did a nice script. You included a smile-inducing
take on Rondo Hatton, one of Dave’s villains from The Rocketeer
Adventure Magazine: “Cliff’s New York Adventure” (fully compiled
in 1995), an Errol Flynn-like double agent (Timothy Dalton),
and memories and cameos of stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age,
among other things. You told us Disney/Touchstone might have
been interested in sequels. Were there things you held back on in
case a sequel had been given the go-ahead?
BILSON: No, we held nothing back, and weren’t thinking about
a sequel except for the fact that the plans appear in Peevy’s
hands at the end, making a sequel possible. We also co-wrote
the New York Adventure, so Rondo being in that was based on
what we planned for the film.

So the third issue was published by Dark Horse in 1995.

Amazing Heroes #145, page #194:

This is no hoax. This is no dream. This
is not even an imaginary story. After all
these years, The Rocketeer is actually
on the schedule. The Rocketeer Adven-
ture Magazine will debut in July, and
appear quarterly after that. I am not
kidding. Each issue will feature 15 pages
of Rocketeer action and 10 of The Gal-
actic Girl Guides by Elaine Lee, Mike
Kaluta and Charles Vess. Following the
third issue, creator Dave Stevens will
take a break to do some commercial
work and get money for food and
lawsuits, and then we’ll see the next three
issues hopefully only a few months later.
And after that? Read on.
“Cliff’s New York Adventure” picks
up right where the story left off, with
Cliff flying off to New York to stop Betty
from going to Europe with that slimy
Marco, all accompanied by plenty of
shots of the Rocketeer flying against the
New York skyline, guys in tuxes, and
Betty in this dress that you must see to
believe. The story also introduces a
childhood chum of Cliff’s by the name
of Goose Gander.
This first issue will wrap up the plot
threads from the graphic album, and
answer the questions we’re all asking:
will Betty be disillusioned by Marco and
go back with Cliff? That would be
telling, but can Betty be as materialistic
as she seems?
“No.” answers Dave Stevens. “Her
good side is that she’s really in love with
Cliff, but she has certain goals that she’s
laid out in her life, goals that she won’t
sidetrack for less. Cliff represents some-
thing that she considers less than she
wants. She’s just one of these people that
has to be with people that are upwardly
mobile and powerful. She’s excited by
that world. A lot of people are. This town
is full of them. A lot of people are just
completely mesmerized by celebrities.
And she’s at a phase in her life where
it’s, unfortunately, more important.”
Stevens puts an equally down-to-earth
characterization to our dauntless hero,
Cliff Secord. “I don’t know what makes
him tick in general, he’s just one of these
guys who likes to push the envelope.
He’s very self-interested. He’s not a hero,
he’s just a guy out to make a buck. That
was his intention from the beginning, just
trying to turn a dollar and in the process,
he gets swept up.”
Issues #2 and 3 start a whole new
phase of the story. “[They’re] a complete
departure, a real dark drama in New
York with Cliff without any of the other
characters that have been in the story,
except Goose.”
But don’t expect to see the “melan-
choly” side of Cliff. “He doesn’t have
time. Things are happening so fast. It’s
kind of a film noir murder adventure.”
Although this isn’t exactly what Stevens
set out to do, it’s what the milieu of Late-
Depression New York inspired in him-
the world of flop-houses and hoods and
dark alleys. “I just decided that this is
the sort of story I should tell. Once he
goes back to sunny California the story
is completely different. [This story] is
taking him out of his element and putting
him in completely different, more des-
perate waters and just seeing if he can
stay afloat. Which he barely does. He’s
running in abject terror. From the first
to the third issue, he gets more and more
banged up, to where by issue #3 he looks
like raw meat.”

The Superhero Book, page #432:

However, Stevens’ burgeoning career as a
comic-book artist was matched by his successful
life in Hollywood’s movie world as a storyboard
artist and designer, which meant that it was four
more years before a second Rocketeer adventure
was serialized. This new tale appeared in 1988,
from new publisher Comico. Then Comico went bust
after only two issues of the comic, and it was an
astonishing six years before the final installment
crept out, published by Dark Horse Comics. The
new yarn was, if anything, even more majestically
drawn than the earlier episodes, and featured hard-
boiled gangsters and old-time carnivals and freak
shows, not to mention the Shadow (in all but
name), complete with autogyro.

So the plan was to hold off on publishing until Comico had the first three issues on hand, but I guess they had to abandon that plan.

Ah, Stevens had to wait for the guy who bought Comico after the bankruptcy to go away before he published the third issue. Which sounds fishy — it was published in 1995, and Comico didn’t totally die until 1997…

Amazing Heroes #150, page #67:

Sound the trumpets and let the
banners fly! After a waiting period
that some folks thought would just
never end, the character that brought
Dave Stevens fame, fortune, DNAgents
covers and lawsuits is finally back on
the racks, and new publisher Comico
is proud to have him.
If the first issue is any indication,
Comico’s pride is well deserved. For
my money, neither Stevens nor the
Rocketeer have ever looked better. I
should, however, warn all the action
fans in the audience that if they were
hoping to see protagonist Cliff Secord
jump into his Rocketeer suit and fly
through the dark Manhattan skies,
they’re in for a disappointment.
Secord’s only appearances in costume
this issue come on the cover and in
flashbacks. Fans of Secord’s on-again,
off-again romance with the busty.
Betty, on the other hand, are in for a
treat, for that stormy lil’ relationship
fairly dominates RAM #1. To say more
than this would give away some of the
plot, which I don’t want to do; suffice
to say the storm watch isn’t over yet.
Riding back-up shotgun is The
Galactic Girl Guides, by Elaine Lee
and Mike Kaluta. Lee and Kaluta
previously collaborated on Marvel-
Epic’s Starstruck, and the Guides
series spins off from that short-lived
book. Those who found Starstruck not
to their liking, however, need not fear,
for Kaluta’s artwork is as stunning as
ever, and the story is easier to follow
than it was at Marvel. Either Lee’s
writing has improved, or I’ve gotten
smarter in the years since then. Either
way, this first Guides installment was
a rollicking little opus highly
reminiscent of the old Little Rascals
movies, and almost outshone Stevens’
lead Rocketeer story.
In the final analysis, either story by
itself would have been worth the $1.75
price of admission; together, they
make a double-feature that no comics
fan worth his salt can afford to miss
out on.
GRADE: PRISTINE MINT – David Peattle

Amazing Heroes #157, page #188:

Remember when Rocketeer Adventure
Magazine was supposed to be quarter-
ly? The long-awaited second issue will
be out about six months after the first,
but creator Dave Stevens came closer
than you might think to making the
schedule. In fact it was a nasty freeway
run-in with a slow-moving dirt truck that
nearly totalled Stevens’ car, which real-
ly put Rocketeer off the schedule.
But the second issue will be out,
featuring the first part of “Nightmare at
Large,” in which Cliff Secord runs afoul
of death and danger in New York City.
“It’s a thrill-packed, all-action story,”
Stevens promises. The tale concludes in
the third issue, which will be a jumbo
edition. That’s right, a 25-page Rocke-
teer story and an extra-long Girl Guides
back-up. And Stevens swears on his
honor that #3 will be out three months
after #2 because “the way the story is,
we couldn’t leave people hanging that
long.”

Three months… what wishful thinking.

Scarce #17, page #32, inexpertly translated by Google Translate:

Here, then, is the long-awaited return, in widescreen and color, of the grand adventure, the story of the madcap chase that takes Cliff Secord (aka the Rocketeer) from Los Angeles to New York in his small plane to find Betty, his beautiful love, captivated by Marco, the photographer to all of Hollywood, who promises her the moon and the stars and who must fly out the very next day for a trip to Europe.A race against time, then; against time and against fate.

Secord, barely off his plane, runs into his old pal Goose (garlic?!), like him an aerobaticplane pilot.But disappointment awaits Secord at thecorner of a chic bar where the beautiful woman is holding courtamidst a glittering party.Secord appears, whom she thought wasquite rightly dead (hey, my hero!You here?!).Marco is out, but the illusion is hard to shatter…Finally, while Secord leaves disgusted, Betty boards the plane “incognito” for Los Angeles.

So, has the Rocketeer becomea loser? A candy-eater?Will he accept defeat so easily? Dave Stevens, now that his lawsuit with Marvel has ended (in his favor), has a quarterly magazine to answer these questions.Still as rare (read: lazy) and classy as ever, Stevens (he explains it in Amazing Heroes Preview Special 144)! To think it took three whole years to discover this continuation of Rodeo and Juliet’s adventures, after a lawsuit with Marvel over the Rocketeer’s name. Inked by himself, with an intro-by the master (yes, it’sthe same one again!), this episode allows usto finally see the vivacious Betty again,the one who makes the ‘band-meter’ explodein the Thunderdome and who putsthe other comic book heroines back in theirrightful place: that of the bargain-basement shop girls. It should be noted that the scriptsfor the next two issues will beco-written by Danny Bilson and PaulDemeo, who are also responsible for thescript of Rocketeer, the Movie.

On the other hand, one can be skepticalabout the quality of Mike Kaluta’s backup art, sublimely inked(we are told) by Charles Veiss. Just a nasty sequel to Starstruck? Kaluta had, however, accustomed us to much better than this pale avatar… But please, Mr. Stevens, no more than two years for the second episode!

Tsk tsk. Those French.

Speakeasy #91, page #60:

Although it’s the size of a regular 32-page
comic, this book sets about convincing you
that it’s something else. It wants you to think
that it’s the screen at your local fleapit, circa
1936, on a wet Saturday morning. You’ve paid
your nickel and settled in your seat. The
projector has started to roll and the lads at the
front are beginning to lose interest in throwing
their popcorn at the screen. Sitting in the dark,
you gaze into another world …
The 1930s of Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer
never existed, in the same way that the charm
that we attach to the old Republic movie seri-
als springs from an affection for the innocent
world-view that they seem to embody. Maybe
it was easier to believe in heroes and villains
then. Stevens plays upon the conventions of
those serials in a knowing fashion, without
disturbing the logic of the fantasy. Of course
Cliff Secord remembers the “ol’ neighbour-
hood chant” that every street gang had, in
every ‘boys gang’ movie ever made. Of course
the childhood friend that Cliff meets in New
York is called Goose – every adventure hero
has a sidekick with a silly name, and since Cliff
left Peevy in Los Angeles when he took off in
pursuit of his errant heart-throb Betty, he had
to have another one waiting for him in NY.
And then there’s this tall stranger, with a large
hooked nose, commanding manner and con-
spicuous ring, for whom Cliff is sure to start
working, whether he likes it or not ….
The ‘boys gang’ undergoes a sex
change in the second strip, which takes up the
back ten pages (Rocketeer occupies the first
14). Brucilla the Muscle: Galactic Girl Guide
takes a retrospective look at the early career of
one of the major characters from Elaine May
and Mike Kaluta’s Starstruck. This first story
is a new version of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,
and introduces Cookie and Puddy, her two
closest pals. The entire scenario is firmly rooted
in the tradition of zany, uncontrollable, but
still cute and golden-hearted kids of the Mickey
Rooney/Judy Garland/Boys Town variety. it
works well as a second feature, having the
good sense not to try to capture the attention
intended for The Rocketeer, but still keeping
in the same vein.
Sandwiched between the entertain-
ment comes the information. Here the kids at
the front might start throwing things again.
Who wants their fantasy spoilt by boring old
history? I almost skipped the three pages of
text given over to a potted biography of George
Townson, a flier of autogiros – the precursors
of modern helicopters. But this story is every
bit as interesting as the fictions that it sits
between. It gives a glimpse of the almost
insanely reckless attitude that the early pilots
shared, willing, it seems, to try anything to
find out more about their machines and the
science of aviation. Heady stuff, adding a
depth to the imagined world of the Rocketeer
and more than a hint of the mindset that the
strip’s hero would be sure to share.
Stevens’ portrayal of women has come
in for some stick, and probably quite rightly.
Betty is a prime example of good girl art, and
the way that she is written fulfils the role of
every female in the old serials: a good-looking
catalyst, something to be kidnapped, rescued,
pursued, claimed. It would be nice to see
more use made of her character, but for now
she is quite sensibly packed off back to LA, so
that the boys can get on with the exciting stuff.
More bad guys, gunfights and ghosts from the
past are promised on the inside back cover, as
the house lights brighten, and I’ll be in my seat
the next time they start to go down.

The Comics Buyer’s Guide #918, page #4:

Subsequent installments
appeared in Pacific Comics Pre-
sents and Rocketeer Special.
Those installments were col-
lected in a graphic album, and dog
Cafe, an actual restaurant in
later chapters appeared in The
Rocketeer Adventure Magazine.
In creating the characters and
milieu of The Rocketeer, Stevens
looked back on his favorite time
in American design: the late
1930s. He doggedly researched
the period to accurately capture
the dialogue, local flavor, and
actual locales which he inte-
grated into the strip.
“If you’re going to have to
draw a series and live with it.”
said Stevens, “you need to create
a world with characters that you
can face every day. I think it’s
important to like the characters
you draw. In doing so, you hope
that your readers will want to get
to know them, too.”

Here’s a review from the webses:

Overall, like I said, this is not a bad issue but not one to come in on. Maybe with the previous issues it’s one to continue on though.

For such a long publishing history, there really aren’t that many Rocketeer pages, but IDW published a collected edition in 2009 (the year after Stevens died).

The Jam: Super Cool Color Injected Turbo Adventure from Hell! (1988) by Bernie Mireault

This is a book I bought at the time — I had read Mireault’s Mackenzie Queen comics, somehow, and I liked his stuff a lot. I think this special was published before any of the other Jam stuff?

I haven’t re-read this book since it was published, I think? I’ve re-read none of the 90s Jam comics either, but I did read the conclusion to the series some years back.

I’m just trying to say that I don’t actually remember all that much about the series. In my mind, it’s somehow akin to Dishman? I.e., not actually a super-hero book, but it’s got a guy in a suit running around.

But it’s mostly about relationship stuff and “real life” and stuff.

But with some ambiguously fantastic elements, like this bank teller who may or may not actually be from hell.

Oh, I’d forgotten that The Jam actually fights crime — this book is mostly about him stopping a bank robbery.

His good deed isn’t received well by the cops.

But it’s all quite amusing, and is inventively told. I really like Mireault’s line — it’s solid and chunky, but also somehow elegant.

It’s a fun little book, and serves quite well as an introduction to the series, even though we learn nothing about this guy’s “origin” story, or whether he’s “super” or not.

The Jam has a spotty publishing history. In addition to Comico and Matrix Graphics, it was also published by Dark Horse, Caliber Press, Slave Labor and Tundra. (I’ve probably forgotten some.) And then Mireault self-published a conclusion to the series later… but it’s never been collected.

Which is a shame. There’s a lot of shady things going on in the comics business, but not collecting The Jam must surely be one of the worst crimes it has committed.

The book got a nomination for best single issue at the Harvey awards.

Amazing Heroes #133, page #93:

Actually, the title of this special book
featuring Bernie Mireault’s enigmatic
urban hero says it all (or most of it). The
story is about a day in the life of The
Jam, which just happens to involve a
bank teller from hell. Confused? Creator
Bernie Mireault explains:
“First there’s a dream sequence; then
the Jammer wakes up with his girlfriend,
and things get romantic; but it’s the day
the rent is due, so he goes to the bank
and the teller from Hell gives him trou-
ble when he tries to cash a cheque; and
then bank robbers appear; and the police
chase him (Jam) even though he tackles
one of the robbers on the way out of the
bank; and he rides to the police station
in the back of the truck; and then he tries
to appeal to the crowd of witnesses for
help but gets no response. He becomes
very disappointed in humanity,” says
Mireault, “but then things get better.”
Mireault describes the Jam as “a
strong person with a twisted sense of
humor.” Like the regular Jam series
from Matrix Graphics, Super Cool Col-
or Injected Turbo Adventure From Hell
#1 is made up of light-hearted vignettes,
with each piece of the puzzle telling a
little humorous “home truth.”
The colorful Jammer will be even
more colorful in this book. “The panels”
will be painted like animation cels, re-
sulting in intense, flat color,” says
Mireault. He adds that while he’s enjoy-
ing doing the special issue for Comico
immensely, the regular Jam series will
continue to be published by Matrix
Graphics.
The tentative release date for
SCCITAFH #1 is May 1988.
-SW-

Comic Shop News Special #1, page #40:

The next is called
The Jam: Super Cool Turbo Inject-
ed Turbo Adventure#1 From Hell by
Denny Mireault. Mireault recently
completed three issues illustrating
Grendel #13-16. The Jam was origi-
nally published in black & white by
Matrix Graphics, and Comico’s will
be a full-color edition. Schreck
describes the book as “a morality
play comedy.”

Amazing Heroes #144, page #82:

Having never read any of the Jam-
mer’s adventures from Matrix
Graphics, I was completely un-
prepared for the Jam Special. I knew
Bernie’s work from Grendel, and at
times I liked it, at other times I grew
tired of it. So, I launched into the Jam
Special wondering what all the fuss
was about.
I’m still wondering, Kind of.
The story in the Special relates less
than 24 hours out of Gordie’s (the
Jam) life. He eats breakfast with his
girlfriend, goes to the bank to cash
a check to pay rent, gets involved in
a bank robbery, and eventually
becomes the Jam (on the last six)
pages). To tell you much else would
be to spoil the simple story presented.
The Jam is hip, self-aware, and
unpretentious. It’s kind of like reading
the grown-up slum version of ‘Mazing
Man, which, coming from a dedicated
‘Maze fan, is a high compliment
indeed.
The sequence with “The Bank”
Teller From Hell” alone is priceless
-well, it’s worth the price of
admission.

Fantasy Advertiser #104, page #14:

At a time when Watchmen is still a
watchword, and the ‘new realism’ seems
to be on every fan’s tongue, a book like
The Jam is a real delight because it
manages to encapsulate a cast of ‘real’
characters in a ‘real’ setting, along with
an interesting moral question and still
manages to capture a sense of sheer
entertainment that separates the truly
wonderful comics from the rest.
On the face of it, it doesn’t look like
much. Bernie Mireault’s art is at first
glance amateurish and flat, but it has
a polish and a flair that have developed
through careful nurturing. He’s an
excellent storyteller; everything flows
beautifully from scene to scene and
although the influences appear thick and
fast – hints of Watchmen, Kirby, Maus,
Kurtzman, Dark Knight, Hernandez – no-one
can be nailed down long enough to define
it, partly because it’s all mixed with
a highly original flair. It’s got
innovation and it’s got style.
The story, likewise, seems at first
sight to be one-dimensional. Guy goes to
pay the rent, stops a bank robbery and
sorts out a domestic problem or two. As
with so many things, it’s not what’s done
but how it’s done that captures the
imagination. Partly, the hero isn’t a
‘hero’, he’s just an ordinary guy like
you or me – ‘you’ being the optimum word,
since it’s all told in the second person
singular. His problems are our problems,
and his ways of tackling them are what
makes this book so much fun. He does put
on a costume towards the end, but it
doesn’t mean anything, because we already
know that this is the real world and he’s
not going to run into Vilefuckingevilman,
he’s just a bit of a jerk.
If I was forced to come up with some
way of describing The Jam, I’d compare
it to DC’s late lamented ‘ Mazing Man’,
except without the stereotypes, sitcomness
and cute artwork. The central character,
Gordie, is instantly likeable; we like
him for the ways he’s like us an the ways
that he differs from us. And he is a bit
of a jerk, but then aren’t we all?
Really, this book is wonderful. I read
it and had to read it again immediately.
There’s no dazzling cliffhanger, no
wonderful ending, just a wry smile and
a feeling of regret that this is a
bimonthly series. Oh, and the two pin-up
pages (one by Matt Wagner) are nice, too.
Lennon said that “A working class hero
is something to be” (a tag-line adopted
by The Jam) and if you can’t be one then
the next best thing is to read about one.
Bernie Mireault’s storytelling is
excellent, this first issue is excellent
and I get the feeling it’s going to get
better.
– James Wallis

I seem to be unable to find any online reviews of this book.

Mireault died in 2024.

Space Ghost (1987) by Mark Evanier, Steve Rude, Willie Blyberg and Ken Steacy

So this is Comico publishing yet another licensed property, and like Jonny Quest, it’s based on a mid-60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Unlike the other properties, this is somebody I’ve seen mentioned before — but like the other properties, I haven’t actually seen it.

I have seen half of an episode of the bizarre 90s series Space Ghost Coast To Coast, which was a parody of a chat show (and wasn’t Evan Dorkin involved with that one?), so I wasn’t sure whether Space Ghost was something weird to begin with, or whether that show was just 90s hipsters appropriating some kids’ trash.

But let’s read the comic.

Unlike Jonny Quest, this sounds like it’s an actual labour of love for the people involved. Both Evanier and Rude were fans of the original run (which was a Saturday morning cartoon they watched as children). The writer of Jonny Quest, William Messner-Loebs, wasn’t a fan of Jonny Quest and spent a lot of the book trying to avoid writing stories that a Jonny Quest fan would enjoy (I quite liked it), but I’m guessing this is going to be more in line with the original show?

Yes, this does indeed seem more like an actual cartoon. I was wondering whether they were going to aim for a mature audience or not, but this seems like straightforward adventure. But I guess Mark Evanier isn’t really into “deconstructing” Hollywood stuff.

Comico published this book in the then-popular “prestige format”. I.e., regular comics-sized, but squarebound, and it’s 48 pages long. So it’s a more expensive book that you’d expect for a book aimed at kids.

Oh, this is quite like Jonny Quest? It’s one strong guy, two kids, and an animal side-kick going on adventures? But in space.

There’s something that doesn’t quite gel on these pages. The dialogue and the plot is fine, but the storytelling is just a bit choppy?

Oh, so the villain is Space Ghost from the future or something? I’m so clever at figuring out plot twists in stories for five-year-olds!

Heh heh. OK, that’s a solid joke. I love the look that little monkey has on his face in that panel. But that’s basically the only out and out jokey sequence in this book — the rest is played very straight.

*gasp* I was right! But I was also wrong; it wasn’t Space Ghost from the future: It was an evil android Space Ghost.

Same same.

Anyway — it was an enjoyable comic to read, but not… very exciting? You have to wonder whether they were thinking of who the target audience were: Kids or forty-year-old nostalgic guys?

Evanier includes an overview of the original show — the character designs were by Alex Toth, which explains a lot.

I guess I should have a peek at an original episode. Right, each episode is just six to seven minutes long. Kinda parody-adjacent-sounding voiceover?

No, it seems like it’s “serious”. The animation sucks, but it’s Hanna-Barbera, so… It’s not awful as these things go? Sure, I’d have enjoyed that when I was seven, I guess?

I guess I shoudl have a look Space Ghost Coast to Coast, too?

Well, OK, that’s weird. Guess it’s meant to be watched while high?

OK, back to this comic book:

Back Issue #30, page #71:

BOYD: What events led up to the Comico Space Ghost
one-shot in 1987? Were the company’s editors always
interested in you doing the art, or did Alex Toth’s name
ever come up?
RUDE: The Comico people and I were always close,
and when they got the licensing permission, they called.
I really doubt if Alex’s name ever came up. Even back
then he was known as the curmudgeon that might
start something but never finish it.
BOYD: Did you ever talk to Alex Toth about Space
Ghost? If so, did he ever give you any advice about the
designs or animation in general?
RUDE: The first time I ever called Alex was around ’83
or so. I hadn’t heard anything about his reputation-
I was just glad to finally have a name for the guy who
designed Space Ghost. So I called him up, told him he
was a genius, and went into how Space Ghost had
affected me. He was very gracious and flattered.
As we talked, he replied that he didn’t really like
Space Ghost-too many compromises-but remembered
a show I’d never heard of-Space Angel-much
more fondly. In hindsight, it was easy to understand,
since Space Angel didn’t have as many meddling
hands to dilute his vision.
BOYD: Mark Evanier’s Space Ghost story, “The
Sinister Spectre,” got a lot in! Anything you would’ve
added or taken out?
RUDE: By the time the story was finally worked out,
it was complete. But I remember it took Mark several
turns at the script to satisfy me. Typical me.
BOYD: Every panel looked like an animation cel. It was
truly a beautiful comic. Ken Steacy did the coloring. Were
you pleased with his work or did you wish you’d done the
coloring yourself?
RUDE: It is breathtaking to see how Ken had rendered
the coloring, which he painted directly on the original
art. No overlays or blue lines or any of that. He’s got
a technical ability to render and understand color
that was simply exceptional. When the originals
came back, they were a sight to behold. We all owe
a lot to Ken.
BOYD: You couldn’t help reading this terrific comic and
hoping for additional one-shots with Birdman, the
Herculoids, Mighty Mightor, etc. Did Comico ever
approach you and Mark about projects in that vein?
RUDE: No, I believe that Space Ghost was the only
book that was ever really discussed.

Back Issue #59, page #13:

The Comico one-shot was like the
original show in one more way:
While it gave readers plenty of non-
stop adventure, it didn’t tell them
anything new about the sentinel
of the solar system. For the most
part, Space Ghost would stay a cipher-and a nearly
blank slate ripe for parody.

Comics Interview #51, page #33:

PETER: And now you’re going to be doing
SPACE GHOST as a 48-page one-shot. Is
this motivated by a “see if you can do it
again” feeling?
DIANA: Actually, the reason to do SPACE
GHOST is Steve Rude, bottom line.
Because of our relationship with Taft Mer-
chandising, the licensor for JONNY
QUEST, we had the option to do SPACE
GHOST, and –
BOB: Wait, we negotiated a separate op-
tion for SPACE GHOST. We originally
negotiated it as a four-issue mini-series and
when we realized that Steve didn’t have the
time to do that, we went back and
renegotiated the whole thing to tailor-fit
Steve. We didn’t want to do it without him,
and we will not do it without him. We will
not put out issue #32 done by Joe Hack.
We don’t need that on our record.
DIANA: Yeah. You know, this really is go-
ing to sound like a lot of b.s., but we both
like to sleep at night. We try to maintain
honesty and integrity in order to be able to
look at ourselves in the mirror. There is no
project that is not worth doing right, and
there is no project that is worth doing
wrong. SPACE GHOST could not have
purity of vision without Steve Rude. I think
Steve has it in his heart and — this goes
back to what I said before – if you deliver
your heart into a project then that en-
thusiasm, that love, carries over to the
reader. I’m still a reader today. If I don’t
feel that enthusiasm when I’m reading a
book, why should I care?
BOB: And why should it be published if
that enthusiasm is not there? That is what
makes comics reading enjoyable. It’s not a
joke; it’s not a game; it’s what makes you
get up in the morning; and just because it’s
a licensed project, that does not mean it has
to be complete mush.

Speakeasy #81, page #19:

In Dec-
ember Comico returns to Hanna-
Barbera with the publication of
SPACE GHOST (SG), another one-
shot adaptation, by Mark Evanier
(writer) and Steve Rude (art-
ist). This time in the prestige
format.
The much acclaimed artist on
First’s NEXUS series, Steve Rude
is the driving force behind the
project, although it was Comico
who made the first move more
than three years back. “They app-
roached me about doing Space
Ghost,” recalls Rude, “back when
they were about to put out JONNY
QUEST. They wanted to use Space
Ghost as a back-up in the book.
I said I’ll think about it, but
it didn’t take off at all. A
year later I was approached ag-
ain and they told me they wanted
to do SG as a twelve issue limit-
ed series, as they were original-
ly going to do with JONNY QUEST.
I didn’t think that I’d be able
to draw the entire series so I
said no. I also didn’t feel that
anyone else who got their hands
on this after I left would do as
good a job, because nobody cares
about the character like I do.
“Then about two years ago Com-
ico approached me one last time,
and they said we want to do SG,
but we want to do it right. We
will release it as a one-off and
you can have complete control,
and we will not continue it af-
ter that one issue by you. What
could I say with such an offer
but yes.”
Rude worked out the plot, but
felt a professional writer would
be more able to bring the story
alive. To this end he chose Mark
Evanier, a seasoned scriptwriter
for both the comic and animation
industries, having adapted com-
ics into cartoons and vice versa
“I thought up the basic plot
of the story with a friend of
mine, and I more or less gave
Mark a breakdown of how I wanted
the story to work, which he
would embellish. I chose Evanier
because of his association with
Hanna-Barbera. I was told by
Mark that he was approached by
Joe Barbera at one point to run
the studio, so I figured what
better guy to script it than
him. Apart from which he knows
Gary Owens, who was the voice of
SG.”

Comics Interview #78, page #27:

PAUL: So, would you say that was a
high point for yourself personally, draw-
ing SPACE GHOST?
STEVE: As high a point as I can ever get
in my career, I think. I knew that when I
finished SPACE GHOST . . . I felt if I
were to die the next day, I had ac-
complished a major career goal.
PAUL: Now, some people might think,
“Oh, drawing SPACE GHOST, that’s a
major career goal?” But I get the feeling
that anybody who works in comics got
that first spark, that first love of it, when
they were little kids – comics or ani-
mation. And that’s what you want to do,
be true to that little kid. It’s very
important.
STEVE: It must sound silly to someone
outside the business. It’s kind of hard to
explain what it’s all about. And I’ll tell
you, working with Comico was in-
credibly fun. I’ve never felt so supported
by such a select group of peers before. It
could not have gone better!
PAUL: I knew how important that
character was to you, I saw it in the work.
How did it come about? How did
Evanier come into it?
STEVE: Well, Mark came in basically to
help clean me up on the story, basically,
with input from a few other people. He
was there to say, “Does this work?” I
didn’t know the first thing about writing,
all I knew was that this thing kind of
unfolded itself in my mind. Darrell
McNeil and I worked out the plot.
PAUL: And did you remain true to that?
Explain it for those who haven’t seen it,
what was the plot?
STEVE: Do you want me to explain the
original idea?
PAUL: That’d be nice, yeah.
STEVE: Okay. The original idea was –
Darrell and I, when we were first talking
about this a long time ago, we were just
discussing logically what had to happen
to make this thing the most colossal thing
imaginable! That, for people who know
anything about SPACE GHOST, was to
do our version of The Council of Doom
episode. For those who remember it –
you would have to have seen it when it
was on back in ’67 – it’s about all of
these villains ganging up on Space Ghost
and trying to kill him. So we were doing a
riff on that.

The Comics Journal #248, page #94:

SPURGEON: Let me ask you the Space
Ghost comic that you did for Comico in
the mid-1980s.
RUDE: Oh yeah. Wow, what great
memories I have of that.
SPURGEON: The memories you have are
great because it was just a fun book to work
on?
RUDE: Oh yeah. I learned what a hero
was because of Space Ghost.
SPURGEON: What’s interesting about
the look of the Space Ghost project is that,
while I can see Steve Rude in almost every
other project that you’ve done, you totally
submerged into that style for Space Ghost.
Did you discover anything interesting
about doing comics while working in that
style that you wouldn’t have learned work-
ing in your own style?
RUDE: I just know that Space Ghost was
designed by Alex Toth and it had to have
an Alex Toth look to it. It had to be of
that world or it wasn’t going to be Space
Ghost; it would’ve looked like the version
that other artists have drawn.
SPURGEON: The proportions in Space
Ghost are odd.
RUDE: Yeah, that’s Alex. And I love it,
you know, he was this bulky guy in this
great looking hood that kind of resem-
bled a hawk. And interestingly, the more
Alex caricatured Space Ghost – he
would draw a hawk-like structure to his
head — the cooler he looked. He became
a design rather than a regular human
head underneath a black mask. That’s the
beauty of caricature. That’s what Disney
does better than anyone.

Amazing Heroes #105, page #32:

AH: Let’s go on to the other pro-
ject you’re working on, then: Space
Ghost.
Evanier: Steve Rude is Space Ghost
freak numero uno. This is something
that has been no secret. In fact, there
are great parallels between Nexus
and Space Ghost in terms of design.
He loves that cartoon character. And
when Steve has visited Los Angeles,
I have taken him on what I call “The
Space Ghost Tour,” out to talk with
the various animators and artists
who worked on the series. Two trips
ago when he was out here, I ar-
ranged a lunch with Gary Owens,
the voice of Space Ghost and a good
friend of mine. It was an amazing
meeting because Steve was in awe
of meeting the man who was the ton-
sils behind his favorite cartoon
character of all time, who still has
that wonderful, resonant, basso pro-
fundo voice that screams “Space
Ghost!” out across the restaurant.
Gary Owens, who is a former car-
toonist, a lover of good comic
books, and a Nexus reader prior to
meeting Steve Rude, was very exci-
ted that something he did in 1964 or
1966 had inspired this young, de-
voted, talented artist. Gary asked
Steve for an original drawing and he
did this wonderful shot of Nexus and
Space Ghost together which Gary
has framed and hung in his office.
That’s one of the nice things about
the new generation of comics, when
you can thank the people who gave
you your influences as opposed to
exploiting them. Steve and I did the
Mr. Miracle book as a way to thank
Jack Kirby for all he has meant to
us, not to make money off his char-
acter, which is unfortunately the
motive of at least a few people who
have done Jack Kirby comics under
the guise of “continuing the Kirby”
tradition.”
Space Ghost is coming out from
Comico sometime next summer in
what is going to be called the “Dark
Knight format.” It is going to be
colored by Ken Steacy, a friend of
mine who is one of the most inno-
vative, brilliant colorists I’ve ever
seen. Steve is co-plotting the book
with me with technical advice from
a friend of his named Darrell Mc-
Neil who is similarly a Space Ghost
worshipper and animation freak.
This is one of those situations where
if I went to anyone in the comic book
business and said, “I’m going to do
a Space Ghost book,” they’d go,
“Oh. Rude must be drawing it.”
There is no one else.

I can’t find any contemporary reviews of the book, but here’s one from the internet:

What’s more, unlike many nostalgia trips, this one has stood the test of time. It’s an excellent issue and well worth hunting down.

Another one:

The way Rude handled the action sequences—those bold silhouettes, the dynamic page layouts—it all paid homage to Toth’s design philosophy while establishing its own identity. Ken Steacy’s painted colors elevated everything further, creating this rich visual experience that made you want to gape at every panel.

As opposed to, say, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost still seems to have a large fan community on the intertubes.

OK… I guess this is as good a time as any to get some chatter about how things were going at Comico in, because:

While they were pumping out books, things were not going good business wise.

For me, the greatest mystery about Comico during these years has been how they’d been financed. They started off essentially self-publishing their own (very bad) books, but then suddenly they pivoted to classy, labour intensive colour books, and pushed into newsstand distribution. Whenever you read interviews with creators working with Comico around this time, they’re nonplused by how good Comico were treating the creators — people wouldn’t only be paid on time, but paid early: While some publishers had so bad cash flow that they couldn’t pay creators until the books were published (and the publishers had gotten money from the distributors), Comico apparently would pay upon delivery of pages, and then often sit on them for half a year before publishing. The publishers talk a lot (in interviews) about how important it is to not let schedules slip, so it makes sense to have a backlog, but… where did they get the financing?

And with newsstand publishing, you don’t get money for half a year or so, which means that (in total) Comico had to have, like, a year’s worth of cash flow on hand, which is quite a lot of money, considering how much they were publishing.

Perhaps an answer to some of the mystery was that there were three publishers, and at least one of them had an actual, well-paying job on the side (if I’m reading things correctly). So it may be the case that they’re just dumping their own money into the business.

The other thing going on was that they weren’t paying their printers.

The Comics Journal #118, page #13:

Sleepeck Printing Company, which
prints Comico’s line of comics which
include Jonny Quest, Grendel, Ele-
mentals, the Robotech line, and others,
claims that Comico, widely perceived
throughout the comics industry as one
of the most financially stable indepen-
dent publishers, is over $700,000.00 in
arrears, and that the two companies
have negotiated a legal agreement
whereby Sleepeck has a security in-
terest in Comico. According to
Sleepeck’s financial comptroller, Bob
Gardner, the signed security interest in
Comico is a legal mechanism that
guarantees Sleepeck priority over other
creditors in attaching Comico’s assets
should the publisher become insolvent
or go out of business. Theoretically,
if Sleepeck were to sue Comico to col-
lect the money Gardner claims they
owe Sleepeck, the security interest
would expedite their legal claims. Ac-
cording to Gardner, Comico accrued
the debt over approximately the last
year, over the course of which time
negotiations over the security interest
took place.
Comico recently left Sleepeck, who
had been printing their books for five
years, after the printer delayed an Oc-
tober 16 shipment, which included Ele-
mentals #18, Jonny Quest #17,
Robotech: The New Generation #19,
and the promotional handout Comico
Attractions #9. In a news story in Com-
ics Buyer’s Guide #730, Comico
spokesman Bob Schreck is quoted as
saying: “In recent months, Comico has
had some disputes over several of the
bills from its printer. As a result of
these negotiations, both Comico’s
payments and its printer’s shipments
were delayed. At this time, all issues
have been resolved to the satisfaction
of both parties, and there will be no
further interruption of Comico’s ship-
ping schedule.” In fact, Comico is now
printing at Web World, who also prints
for Eclipse Comics and Fantagraphics
Books, and according to Gardner,
Schreck’s statements to CBG do not
represent an accurate or forthright
explanation of the events. (Apparently,
COMICO OWES PRINTER $700,000
CBG did not attempt to verify
Schreck’s statement with any other
party.)

The Comics Journal #118, page #13:

The Journal’s source pointed out
that the failure of newsstand distribu-
tion alone was not a sufficient finan-
cial setback to have caused the size of
Comico’s indebtedness. This source
told the Journal that Comico claimed
to have lost over $100,000 when Glen-
wood Distributors went bankrupt, and
that the collapse of Sunrise Distributors
and Alternate Realities also hampered
their ability to pay Sleepeck. Accor-
ding to this source, Comico kept fall-
ing farther and farther behind while
Sleepeck kept extending more and
more credit.
Another factor that contributed to
Comico’s inability to pay Sleepeck,
Gardner asserted, was Comico’s habit
of paying for artwork far in advance
of publication, thus tying up capital
they did not, in reality, have. In one
instance, said Gardner, Comico paid
for artwork that would not be printed
for nearly a year. Indeed, Comico’s
creators generally report what Ken
Steacy called a “spotless record” when
it came to paying creators. “Quite often
I get them to pay me early if I really
need it,” Jonny Quest writer Bill Loebs
told the Journal. “Nobody’s talking
about having any problems,” he said.
In fact, Comico is generally per-
ceived by industry watchers as finan-
cially healthy. One sign of their eco-
nomic stability has been their will-
ingness to nurture titles like Gumby’s
Summer Adventure, The Rocketeer
Adventure Magazine, and Space Ghost.
All of these required catering to in-
dividual schedules of creators involved.
Dave Stevens, the creator of the
Rocketeer, is probably the best known
example of a slow perfectionist who re-
quires extensive amounts of time to
turn in a project. Over a year after
Comico announced the Rocketeer
comic, no issues have even been
scheduled. One source reported that
Stevens was paid an advance of
$6,000.00 for the Rocketeer from Com-
ico. Gardner was critical of such busi-
ness practices, and told the Journal that
Comico’s publishers “had no idea how
to run a business.” Gardner said that
he even flew to Comico’s Pennsylvania
offices to study their profitability and
give them business advice.
Gerry Giovinco, one of Comico’s
publishers with brothers Dennis and
Phil LaSorda, did not want to talk to
the Journal. Bob Schreck, after being
asked if Comico owed Sleepeck over
$700,000, refused to comment further.
Sleepeck’s Bob Gardner told the Jour-
nal that he believes Comico has “on-
ly a miracle chance of recovery.” he
said, “The minute they miss a pay-
ment, we’ll shut them down.” -TP-

The Comics Journal #122, page #9:

If you live anywhere near a pool of stagnant
water, you know that about this time of year you
will begin playing host to any number of
venomous insects. There are few pools quite so
stagnant as some sectors of the comics industry,
and here at the Journal we’ve certainly been see-
ing our share of irritating pests. Venomous Insect
#1 in this case is Cat Yronwode, in the 199th in-
stallment of her vanity column “Fit to Print,”
which oddly enough was found unfit to print by
both magazines it was submitted to. In her
habitual tone of semi-hysterical self-
righteousness, Yronwode attempts to spread a
number of unfounded rumors and scurrilous
distortions of fact, with the intention, she claims,
of demonstrating how awful unfounded rumors
and scurrilous distortions of fact are. In regards
to a Journal news story on Comico’s troubles
with its creditors, Yronwode haughtily proclaims,
“I don’t take much part in the gossip group which
delights in totalling the amount of money a
certain publisher owes to a certain printer, ’cause
you can read all about that said certain publisher
in a certain fanzine if you want to, not forget-
ting for a moment that said certain publisher in
the uncertain direct sales market might certainly
want to see another destabilization take place.’
First, let’s examine the story itself. To begin
with, it was neither rumor nor gossip. It began
when Journal reporters read a very suspiciously
worded press release from Comico, and decided
to investigate. They discovered that Comico owed
its printer a sum so large that the company was
in danger of being taken over by the printer,
Sleepeck. The story was confirmed on the record
by Sleepeck and was not denied by Comico. The
Journal reporter did not “total” the amount ow-
ed; the printer told him how much it was. A story
could hardly be any better documented. A
Sleepeck representative threatened the Journal
with legal action if the story were printed. After
submitting the story to its counsel, the Journal
ignored the threats and went ahead with it.
The story was significant and newsworthy on
any number of counts. Comico is one of the
largest independent comics companies. A
substantial sum of money was involved
($700,000). The development was entirely unex-
pected; Comico was thought to be one of the
most stable independent companies. If Comico
were to fold, it would have repercussions
throughout the industry. Now, why on God’s
green earth would any self-respecting news
magazine refrain from publishing such an
important, objective, eminently well-documented
news story? It would seem a lot more fishy if
the Journal didn’t run it. Indeed, one could think
of quite a few more disreputable reasons why the
editor-in-chief of Eclipse Comics would not want
a newsmagazine to run stories on the financial
instability of comics companies than why a
newsmagazine would. Could this perhaps be
what the Great Father in Washington might call
a preemptive strike? In the very same column
Yronwode refers to rumors of Eclipse’s instability.
(Of these, let us just say that we’ve heard them,
from some very interesting sources, but they are
uncorroborated and dependent on future events.)
Could she be intending to scotch any such stories
about Eclipse?

Heh heh.

Over the next year or so, Comico would shift between using different printers before they finally went bankrupt two years later. But before that, we have an exciting DC distribution agreement and other desperate measures being taken to survive.

So wherever Comico had been getting financing from, that financing had run out by now.

Night and the Enemy (1987) by Harlan Ellison and Ken Steacy

So, what’s this then? As usual with Comico reprints, this doesn’t actually mention that it’s a reprint… or what it is at all, really. The “special thanks” is a hint to those in the know — these pieces were originally printed in Epic Magazine (edited by Goodwin), and they’re adaptations of old, old Harlan Ellison short stories.

But this edition does have something new — a framing story told from the point of view of the aliens in the final story in the collection. Which is nice.

The stories have been reorganised a bit — and possibly given some new text to tie them together? Like this one was originally the third (I think), but comes first here.

The adaptations are pretty text heavy, but they work well anyway. I’ve always liked Steacy’s artwork — this book was one of the few Comico books I bought at the time.

Suddenly we get a couple of pages in black and white, and I thought that was because they originally ran that way in Epic.

But the entire story was in B&W, but they’ve only left a couple of pages that way. Odd.

This style of adaptation was the kind Byron Preiss used to do… was he involved with this in any way?

There’s one brand new story (well, OK, new adaptation), and it’s done in a more cartoony style than the rest.

The final story was also B&W originally (Epic version above).

Steacy has really gone to town on doing the colour version, eh?

I think this album works well as a unit — the stories are only marginally tied together, but it reads pretty well. And has a sort of final ending.

Ellison explains that he hates doing sequels, so these slightly interconnected stories are an anomaly for him.

He says that NBC is possibly doing a related movie — Cutter’s World. It didn’t happen:

When he found out I had dared to try improving his writing, Harlan went livid. His temper, of course, was legendary, and I bore the full brunt of it that day. When I told him I had no choice but to obey the man who signed my paychecks, he sneered that I reminded him of the people of Hitler’s Germany, “just obeying orders.” That’s how, for the one and only time in my life, I was accused of being a Nazi. (No surprise: the series was derailed by NBC soon thereafter.)

Speakeasy #80, page #15:

I was
asked to contribute, and I
thought this was a great oppor-
tunity to to adapt Harlan’s
stuff.’
Steacy contacted
Ellison just as
Byron Preiss was
putting together
THE ILLUSTRATED HAR-
LAN ELLISON, a com-
pendium of comic strip versions
of the writer’s more popular
work. Consequently the rights to
certain tales had been taken up
by Preiss, ironically simplify-
ing Steacy’s choice and making
available one of his favourite
tales – “Life Hutch”. Steacy ex-
plains why: ‘I love this story
because, in essence, nothing hap-
pens. A character is trapped in
what seems like an inextricably
perilous situation, and has to
think his way out of it. There’s
absolutely nothing physical he
can do and in fact any sudden
movements brings his demise clo-
ser. I had 26 or so pages in
which to do the story, and decid-
ed to paint the illustrations in
acrylic using a technique that
Paul Rivoche had been develop-
ing. The artwork was first rend-
ered in ink, and tonal values
were sprayed on with an air-
brush, again in ink, and the
highlighted areas were picked
out with thin washes of acrylic.
So the final impression you get
is that of an acrylic painting,
except that it’s an awful lot
faster. So I finished the story
and turned it in just in time
for ANDROMEDA to be cancelled.’
Fortunately for Steacy, Marvel
comics had just commenced pub-
lishing EPIC ILUSTRATED in dir-
ect competition with HEAVY METAL
magazine, with a more access-
ible, if partisan, approach. Und-
er editor Archie Goodwin the mag-
azine quickly established itself
as a venue for more ‘adult’ work
from comic creators, who were re-
warded with royalties on the mag-
azine’s sales and rights to
their characters. When Steacy ap-
proached Epic with “Life Hutch”,
Goodwin, unsurprisingly, snapped
it up, but not quite in the
manner Steacy expected. ‘I sent
Archie some copies of “Life
Hutch”‘, he recalls, ‘and he res-
ponded very favourably. Archie
knew that this was part of a lar-
ger series, and because of “Life
Hutch”‘s length they couldn’t
schedule it for a while, so he
commissioned another story by El-
lison to be illustrated by me
which had to be done right away.
That was “Sleeping Dogs”, and
due to the constraints of time,
I did the story using a differ-
ent technique, in line with mech-
anical tone, and in two page
spreads. At the time Harlan was
not crazy about it, and looking
back I don’t particularly like
it either. Despite our reser-
vations we had to go with it,
and a few issues later “Life
Hutch” finally ran, and then
Archie asked for a third story
in colour, which was “Run for
the Stars”.
Steacy continued to polish his
photo-realistic rendering on
“Run for the Stars”, which prov-
ed a painstaking effort as he re-
lates. ‘Run for the stars took
me forever to do. It was complet-
ely painted in ink and acrylic,
similar to “Life Hutch”, but in
full colour. So every single pan-
el is a rotten little painting.
It’s a ridiculous way of doing
comics and I’ll never do any-
thing like it again. I was exper-
imenting with a new technique
and a comic book affords you the
opportunity to do that, because
the format allows you to work
out a lot of problems. However,
once I started using this tech-
nique I was stuck with having to
follow it through for the whole
story.
‘Also for all three stories I
did extensive background photo-
graphic research. I chose models
for each of the main characters
and shot extensive reference.
which I hope is not too obvious.
I wanted the kind of refernece
that only on hand reference
could provide. So I had to thumb-
nail the story in and figure out
all the shots and hire the mod-
els. I shot them all in differ-
ent lighting situations, and for
the aliens, my wife, who is a
caricaturist and sculptor, pro-
duced little plasticine models
of the two main characters,
which I then photographed.
‘One of the biggest problems
with comics these days is that
they are underdrawn and over-ren-
dered, and this is precisely
what “Run for the Stars” was. I
was so anxious to get to the ren-
dering stage that I didn’t spend
nearly enough time on the draw-
ing and storytelling. I still
think it works well enough, but
it could have been much better.’

Speakeasy #80, page #15:

Both creators are more than
pleased with the Comico deal,
particularly in view of the free-
dom they have been given on the
project. ‘Ken and I could have
gone anywhere with NIGHT AND THE
ENEMY’, offers Ellison. ‘There
were feelers and offers and prom-
ises and all kinds of the usual
bull cookies. Blue sky and big
bucks, arias of hot air from ind-
ustry giants and industry pyg-
mies. We went with Comico be-
cause no one, absolutely no one,
puts together a prettier pack-
age, without censorship, and
with the sense of true
partnership.’
The result is a package ass-
embled and designed by its creat-
ors, as Steacy explains: ‘They
basically threw it back at us
and said okay, it’s your pro-
ject, so you know best how to
handle this. Most of it was
thrown into my lap because I was
very insistent that I would des-
ign the book as well. So we had
the three stories and we wanted
to do the entire book in colour,
so the black and white ones had
to be re-coloured. On “Run for
the Stars” the colour separa-
tions that Marvel did were less
than satisfactory and unfortunat-
ely EPIC ran strips on coated
stock and uncoated stock, so the
stories that appeared there were
a little inconsistent. I’ve made
a few alterations to the artwork
and redone the separations.
With the black and white mat-
erial I had to respray the art-
work in colour and go back and
pick out the highlights again to
remain as consistent to the orig-
inal style as possible. I’ve re-
drawn “Sleeping Dogs” from
scratch, because nobody really
took to the work, including my-
self. That particular piece is
my favourite coloured strip I’ve
done to date.’

Amazing Heroes #131, page #26:

Night and the Enemy-a graphic
novel due in November, written by
Harlan Ellison with art by Ken Steacy.
It will be an 8½” x 11″ book in full
color. Included will be all five of the
celebrated Earth-Kyba stories-a two-
century long interstellar conflict,
which will be tied together by an all-
new framing sequence written by
Ellison especially for this edition. Two
of these stories, according to editor
Diana Schutz, have not been seen
since the mid-1950’s, two of the three
appeared only in black-and-white in
Epic Magazine.
All of the stories will appear in
color for the first time, a good major-
ity of the material has been completely
re-done by Steacy, including creating
the first time.
some completely new interior art-
work, as well as what has been
described as a “sensational new color
cover.” It has been said before, but
Comico basks in the revelation that
Night and the Enemy will be “the
graphic novel hit of the year.”

Speakeasy #81, page #28:

NIGHT AND THE ENEMY by Harlan
Ellison and Ken Steacy (Comico)
Few writers have had as much att-
ention within the comic industry
paid to their words as Harlan
Ellison, and his fans are in for
double trouble this fall with
the release of two comic adapta-
tions of some of his vintage
tales.

[…]

An altogether more lush and
well packaged book (80+ pages in
a graphic novel format, complete
with a new framing sequence pro-
vided by Ellison) NIGHT AND THE
Steacy’s best artwork, progress-
ing from the overly fussy impas-
toed acrylics in ‘Run for the
Stars’ to the clean and crisp
linework in ‘The Untouchable Ado-
lescents’. And if the work seems
a little stiff occasionally, the
composition, design and colour
more than compensate. Through-
out, the colouring is stunning,
Steacy being able to teach a num-
ber of more prominent artists a
thing or two about how to weild
an airbrush, without the reader
needing to wear shades to look
at the story.
Unfortunately that’s where
the book is disappointing, as
the loosely connected ‘Earth-Ky-
ben War’ stories are not Elli-
son’s best by a long way, with
the possible exception of the
claustrophobic and compelling
‘Life Hutch’. Written early in
his career, they tend to get
bogged down with some heavy hand-
ed moralising and cardboard char-
acterisation, and Steacy’s app-
roach is not so much to adapt
them but visualise certain mo-
ments from them. The result is
neither a collection of illustra-
ted stories nor comic strip adap-
tations, but ungainly falls bet-
ween the two stools.
As such the words and pic-
tures fail to connect as a joint
narrative a lot of the time, des-
pite the best intentions for
them to do so, as in ‘Run for
the Stars’ and ‘Sleeping Dogs’,
with ‘The Untouchable Adoles-
cents’ emerging as the closest
thing in the book to a fully
dramatised comic strip adapta-
tion. This is not helped by hav-
ing typset chunks of Ellison’s
dialogue
prose and
around the panels, giving the
strips an almost clinical feel
and taking the emotional edge
off the stories.
Still, if you’re an Ellison
fan you’d be daft to miss out on
these books, which eclipse much
of what has been perpretated in
previous comics adaptations of
his work.

– Cefn Ridout

Speakeasy #80, page #15:

Steacy explains that the new
framework provided by Ellison
‘leaves the door open for a sec-
ond volume as there are about
eight or ten stories in all. The
events in NIGHT AND THE ENEMY
are actually seen from the vant-
age point of a civilisation
which discovers these stories in
the ruins of Earth, millions of
years after the fact. And they
are viewed almost like fragments
of an inflight video. They are
found in devices called “telling
boxes”, so that each provides a
subjective look at an event
which occured against the back-
drop of this centuries-spanning
war. This intelligence from the
future is trying to piece togeth-
er what happened, and there are
still a number of questions left
unresolved for the audience to
fill in. We didn’t want to pro-
vide all the answers, as we want-
ed the audience to do some think-
ing on its own. We were very
careful with how the stories
were placed so that there is a
comfortable flow between them
and their relationship to each
other makes sense.
‘I don’t think Harlan ever in-
tended this to be a series. He
had some interesting ideas for
characters in situ, and he just
plugged them into this war. Each
story concerns an individual or
a couple of individuals and
their struggles, which were nev-
er overshadowed by this huge
war. The war is not the most imp-
ortant thing in these stories,
it is a given and places the
stories within a specific time
frame.’
Considering Steacy’s Canadian
base and Ellison’s Californian
one, they worked as closely to-
gether as could be reasonably ex-
pected. And, as with the best of
team efforts, they were respon-
sive but not reverential to each
other’s input. ‘Harlan and I
have quite a good rapport and an
excellent working relationship,’
claims Steacy. ‘We respect each
other’s abilities and when push
comes to shove we will defer to
each other’s expertise in their
area. We had a synergistic rela-
tionship on the strips, spending
a lot of time on the ‘phone yell-
ing at each other. And I would
send him pencil roughs before
taking it any further. For the
most part it was fine tuning, af-
ter all it was Harlan’s words
that excited me in the first
place, and I wasn’t about to dim-
inish that in any way. Having
said that, nothing is so sacred
that it cannot be improved. I ap-
proach an adaptation so that I
can take the original and make
it something more than what it
already is in the written form.
If the whole is not greater than
the sum of its parts, there’s no
point in doing it. I don’t know
if Harlan will shoot me for this
but I think I’ve made more of
those stories by adapting and
illustrating them, with his coll-
aboration, of course. NIGHT AND
THE ENEMY, as a body of work,
stands as the finest I’ve done
to date.’
Harlan Ellison is known to be
critical of adaptations of his
work in the past, most notably
Gerry Conway’s muddled handling
of ‘Delusions of a Dragon Slay-
er’, Alex Nino inventively des-
igned though confusing ‘Repent
Harlequin said the Tick-Tock
Man’ and Alfredo Alcala’s overly
literal ‘Croatan’. However, he
is full of praise for Steacy’s
work on NIGHT AND THE ENEMY.
‘Ken has managed miraculously to
even his breathtaking level of
best efforts, and I am as happy
as an Odor-Eater in a bedroom
slipper with the result. This
book’s gonna be one snappy item,
without the faintest scintilla
of self-serving greed or venal-
ity on anyone’s part.’

Comics Interview #51, page #39:

PETER: Well, that was a hint to talk about
Ellison. Would you like to go on the record
about how Mr. Ellison is so gracious and
Mr. Steacy is a nice person?
DIANA: Ken Steacy is a nice guy and a
real crazy-man! Harlan Ellison has been
my hero for quite a long time. I think that
he is the consummate essayist, and I love
his rabble-rousing, “up against the wall,
dirtbag” attitude. When he called up and
wanted to do this graphic novel NIGHT
AND THE ENEMY, I was thrilled right
down to my tippie toes! I subsequently met
the man, found him to be honest –
sometimes brutally so – extremely funny,
extremely gracious, and essentially
somebody who would give you just as much
as you gave him, and no less. So, yeah,
damn right; Comico is – how did you put
it – the little something that could…?
BOB: The little engine that could.
DIANA: In the last two years, Comico has
gone from a company that retailers were
laughing at, to a company that is selling its
books very well, and on time. We now have
a reputation that’s strong enough that so-
meone of Harlan Ellison’s stature has come
to us to publish his material. That’s a nice
pat on the back for all of the work that
we’ve done.

It was nominated for Best Graphic Album at the Ruebens Awards.

The book was reprinted by Dover in 2015:

The story was hard to follow, and the book felt more like an illustrated novel rather than a graphic novel. I know that sounds confusing, but this wasn’t what I would classify as a “comic book” in the strictest sense.

Reception didn’t seem very positive:

This is perhaps one of my least favorite Harlan Ellison collections, but I’d still read some weaker Ellison over many other writers.

Right:

I’m not much of a fan of Ellison….His hijinks as a person have colored my ability to enjoy his work as a writer, and this is really the first work of his that I’ve ever made it all of the way through. It’s not a perfect book, at least not in my opinion….I’m generally not a fan of prose in the middle of my comic-books, and the long text sections were kind of a chore to get through, but they were all rewarding in the end.