Diesel
Diesel, also called Diesel: Master of Dragons, is an American comic created by Jochen "Joe" Weltjens and published by Antarctic Press in April 1997. The logo was designed by Pat Kelley, and the cover was colored by Pat Duke. The comic lasted only one issue before its discontinuation.
Diesel is highly influenced by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, particularly the Stardust Crusaders story arc ""The Fool" Iggy and "Geb" N'Doul" and its OVA adaptation.
Summary
The story begins in a mansion, where the protagonist, Thomas "Tom" Diesel, uses his Stand, Meta Hammer, to break into a room where Mr. Botha awaits him. The scenario flashes back three months to a meeting between Mr. Evans and Botha to discuss business, where Botha murders him using his Stand abilities. The action then shifts to Great Britain, where Thomas is reunited with May Evans after months apart. He is attacked by Joseph ("Joey"), an electric Stand user, but May and her dog Chewbacca ("Chewie") break up the fight.
May brings the two to the house to introduce Tom to the other Stand users who have gathered: Alex Oliver, Jet Lee, and Thomas's old friend Azizi. May then informs Thomas that her father has been killed. That night, May tries to get Thomas to open up to her about Ryuo, the Dragon King. However, Thomas is only interested in knowing who killed her father, which she refuses to tell him. She feels that they will be more powerful if they battle the man together, as Botha murdered both of their fathers and they both seek vengeance.
The next morning, the group remains unaware that a Stand user lurks outside the house. Chewie starts barking, warning the group that Joseph, who is outside investigating, is in trouble. They eventually find him, bloodied but still alive. When May inquires about the enormous blood puddle around Joseph, he barely has time to inform them that it is actually a Stand before it suddenly decapitates him. The gang is forced to hide. Thomas is unable to find the Stand user, and assumes they're too far away to be detected. The Stand attacks May after she steps on a twig, revealing that the enemy locates its victims by sound.
The party attempts to flee, but Alex's legs are severed by the Stand, forcing Jet Lee to save him with his own Stand. Azizi draws the blood Stand's attention and forces it to flee with his own fire-based Stand, Black Templar. Thomas and Jet Lee manage to get May and Alex into a car. Tom asks Azizi to take them to the nearby hospital, as he and Chewie will deal with the Stand user on their own. Chewie finds the enemy, but Tom realizes he's making too much noise, so he uses Meta Hammer to fly through the air as he follows the dog.
The blood Stand user realizes Tom is in the air and uses his Stand to attack him. Tom plummets to the ground, but now knows his enemy's location. Tom takes off running toward the enemy, but uses Meta Hammer to demolish numerous trees and disguise his sounds. Chewie finally reaches the enemy, who hastily slashes the dog's neck. The enemy has no idea where Tom disappeared to, but soon realizes that the man is right behind him. Tom uses Meta Hammer to knock the enemy out just as he prepares to attack. Tom demands to know who the man is and who sent him, but the man claims he can't tell Tom anything. Before Tom can press further, the enemy is suddenly slain by a long-haired samurai-styled Stand. Tom identifies its user as a man named Chibot, who greets Thomas and tells him that he has passed the first test before suddenly disappearing.
Characters & Stands
Gallery
-
Thomas Diesel and his Stand, Meta Hammer
-
Botha using his Stand to kill Mr. Evans
-
Thomas Diesel facing off against Joseph and his electric Stand
-
May using her Stand to break up Thomas and Joseph's fight
-
The blind blood Stand user
-
Jet Lee and his unnamed Stand
-
Thomas Diesel realizing his group has been attacked by an enemy Stand
-
Azizi and his fire Stand Black Templar
-
Thomas Diesel confronting the blind Stand user before he is killed by Chibot
-
Diesel's credit page at the back of Issue #1
Trivia
- In 2016, Antarctic Press's office manager, Doug Dlin, confirmed that the author of Diesel, Joe Weltjens, had taken inspiration from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OVA, having received a fan-subtitled release. Weltjens was impressed by the plot and wanted to introduce JoJo's Bizarre Adventure to American readers, but had little faith in Antarctic Press's ability to obtain the official localization rights. Instead, Weltiens decided to create an Americanized version of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure story to be released in the United States.[1]
References
- ↑ So I spoke to the publishers of Diesel yesterday..., June 5, 2016