The DC Spirit - Diverse Hands!

When Darwyn Cooke chose to leave the title, it was up to Groo's creators Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier to step in and continue The Spirit. They debuted under a cover created by Jordi Bernet. The stories created by this team were one-shots filled with the light-hearted humor the duo had famously brought to all of their projects. Abandoned was the continuity and while we stayed in the modern world, Central City looked more like it had traditionally. The artist on the first issue was former Eisner assistant Mike Ploog. 

Paul Smith stepped in to draw the next two issues with covers by Bruce Timm. In addition to Smith, Aragones and Evanier were joined by a cadre of younger artists such as Aluir Amancio, Jason Armstrong, Chad Hardin, and Wayne Faucher.

We were treated to some great covers, sometimes by classic talents such as Joe Kubert. 

With the twenty-sixth issue writer Michael Uslan stepped in with artist Justiano to give the reader a trio of stories which returned classic femme fatales the series such as Silken Floss, Lorelie Rox and Plaster of Paris. Brian Bolland knocked out some outstanding covers for this triad. 

Dean Motter took over the writing and was joined by artist Paul Rivoche for one issue. 

He was followed by Michael Avon Deming for a single wild story with a cover by Kevin Nowlan. 

Mike Ploog returns as both writer and artist for the final two issues of the series in a weird story which brought magic to Central City. He was joined by inker Dan Green. Covers were supplied by Nick Cardy and Gene Ha. 

And that was it. The series came to a sputtering halt after a sizzling beginning. But DC was far from done with The Spirit. He would as ever, rise from his grave to fight crime yet again. 

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The DNAgents Day!

Mark Evanier was born on this date in 1952. Evanier was a key assistant to Jack Kirby in the 70's and had a robust career writing for Gold Key in the 70's and DC in the 80's and 90's. He became a force in the Indy market and co-created Groo the Barbarian.  He also created one of my favorite Indy comics- the focus of today's Dojo celebration -- The DNAgents. 

Let me say categorically that "The DNAgents" might be my favorite title for any comic anytime. It's ferociously clever and instantly communicates not only the name of the heroes but also identifies their plight as "artificial" human beings. Grown in a vat from strands of select DNA and a multitude of chemicals these superhumans are wonderful analogs for any marginalized group who might want to identify with them, a fantastic ploy for comics seeking readership. Created at the height of the popularity of the X-Men and the New Teen Titans, Mark Evanier (a first-rate writer and comics-lore expert and raconteur) and Will Meugniot (the second best Good-Girl artist of his generation after the late Dave Stevens) found a fantastic formula (almost literally) which tapped into that same vein without seeming imitative. Some of that goes to the strength of the characterization which is evident in both the writing and the illustration. These are stories about "people" seeking relationships among themselves, others outside their group and with the broader society which slowly learns of their existence.

For those who might not know The DNAgents are Surge, Rainbow, Tank, Amber, and Sham, five teenagers who are all of five years old. Grown in a lab they have been developed and programmed by rather cold-blooded scientists and even colder-blooded businessmen to serve the interests of the Matrix Corporation, specifically one man named Lucius Krell. The team are sent to perform various tasks for Matrix, rarely if ever told the truth behind their missions and at the same time they are seeking to find some semblance of what passes for a normal existence as college students in Southern California.

I've always gotten a smidgeon of a Jack Kirby vibe off this book, not in the way that often comes across as an attempt to clone Kirby's style in the art, but rather in regard to the themes. The Matrix Corporation always struck as me as The DNA Project/Evil Factory set in a more realistic and recognizable environment. The Agents themselves have a "Forever People" vibe, though the personalities are slightly different. Their "bus", the awesome ship they used to travel in from time to time reminds me of the Super-Cycle and the Fantasticar at the same time. I say this not to suggest the DNAgents are mere copies of other work, but that like most superhero work they evolved from that which had come before, using the themes and tropes in new ways to somewhat different effects.

Also I've always thought (and maybe Evanier or someone else has said as much) that the DNAgents were a commentary on the then new concept of creator-owned properties. That the Agents are the "property" of Matrix goes to the thematic core of the comic, and it's difficult to imagine that Evanier and Meugniot weren't speaking to the comic book powers-that-were-at-the-time about the changing nature of the enterprise. 

I read the saga as it first appeared, but then ultimately traded away those comics. Then I re-gathered them again many years ago. Most recently I picked up the black and white reprint of the adventures from Image which featured many pages developed directly from Meugniot's originals. The DNAgents, published by Eclipse was always a professional looking publication, properly bright and colorful. But reading these same stories in a restrained black and white format has caused me to focus more intently on the writing and less on the shiny well-crafted images, and good writing it is indeed.

The DNAgents - Industrial Strength Edition a was published a few years before that in 2008, and before that About Comics reprinted the first six issues. It's a total hoot to read stories filled with nostalgic tech such as video game parlors, walkmen, and pagers. The 80's seems like yesterday to me, but then I'm getting rather old and reading stories which document that time can really drive home how quaint it all was compared to the way technology has seared its way into nearly all aspects of modern life (this blog for instance).

Here are the lovely covers for the issues contained in this Industrial Strength Edition. (One is already above.)

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Groo The Wanderer!

(Groo can only dream of being Frazetta's Conan.)

And then there's Groo the Wanderer! He debuted in (of all places) Destroyer Duck #1, the original comic dedicated to raising funds for the legal case of one Steve Gerber as he battled Marvel for the rights to Howard the Duck. A few pages in the back and we had on our hands one of the most successful and durable comic book characters of all time.

Created by MAD man Sergio Aragones, the wildly talented humor artist, Groo tapped into the then-popular sword and sorcery lore which permeated comics like the seminal Conan the Barbarian among a multitude of others such as Warlord, Red Sonja, Arak, and many others would-be barbaric contenders.

(First Groo Story!)

Mark Evanier is the Groo-whisperer, a longtime writer for TV and comics who adds words to the stories that Aragones develops and draws. This team along with letterer Stan Sakai and colorist the late Tom Luth have been at the wanderings of the boobish Groo for a great many moons now. Generations have come and while Destroyer Duck and other shiny objects of the Indie wave have diminished into the West, still the moronic Groo abides. He was the "Dude" before the Dude. 

Before awarding Groo his own comic the mavens at Pacific Comics previewed him in Starslayer (another of those straight barbarian types). After getting his own title, Groo plugged along for a cool eight issues before Pacific fell victim to financial woes. Groo though, stronger than the company that nourished him found a momentary footing at Eclipse (where he'd debuted) before finding a rather permanent home at Epic Comics, the Indie brand of sorts for mighty Marvel. There Groo out-lasted nearly everyone and went to bounce around at Image and Dark Horse and all over even down into our modern day. 

I keep an eye out for Groo projects which pique my interest such as his team-ups with Conan the Barbarian and Tarzan of the Apes. Both projects brought in the talent of Tom Yeates to handle the illustration of Groo's partners. 

Here are the covers from Groo's very excellent original 1980's run from Pacific Comics. 

It seems there's no killing this doughty barbarian, as much as we might want that. He's the Energizer Bunny of comics, he just keeps running. I don't have many regrets when it comes to my comic book reading, but not including more Groo might be one of the few. Good stuff!

This post is dedicated to the late Tom Luth. 

This Post is a Revised Dojo Classic. 

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