The Night Man Podcast, Ep. 6: “Ghosts”
This episode: “Ghosts” Issue 6 of The Night Man sees a team from The Strangers’ past getting put on The Night Man’s trail. Also, Night Man appears, sort of, in another UV Continue Reading →
Atom Bob: The Trading Card!
Sadly, Atom Bob’s ability to transform matter wasn’t able to turn the Ultraverse trading card set into the fortune it should have been worth… Still, doesn’t he look snazzy?
More Than Just Eye Candy
One of the most interesting characters in the Ultraverse was the heroine known as Electrocute, one of the founding members of The Strangers. A gynoid (female android) named Candy by her creators, she was designed to be a sex toy for men. She was gorgeous and programmed to be completely submissive to the men who used her.
That all changed after the Jumpstart event.
Suddenly granted sentience, Candy now struggles to understand who and what she is. Basically, you have the classic Tin Man or Data storyline tropes, only with the added weight of sex roles, gender equality and notions of power thrown into the mix. What you initially think you’re getting from the character is continually turned on its head — her codename is deliberately “cutesy” and in the very first issue, she runs around in lingerie the entire time. But when you see past the visuals, you realize that she’s just as scared and confused as the rest of the team, if not more so.
As the series progresses, we see Candy enter into her first real romantic relationship (with her teammate, Grenade) and continually struggle to find out who she really is.
I’m not going to claim that the creative team always hit the mark with the character. Englehart occasionally took an awkward turn with Candy and often the storyline was a bit too heavy-handed but I think you have to give him props for what he was trying to do. In an era of ” bad girls,” he took what could have been a throwaway hyper-sexualized character and spent a lot of time giving her depth and emotion.
Our powerful image today is courtesy of artist Rick Hoberg and adorned the cover of The Strangers # 21.
Don’t Talk To Strangers
That’s what my mom used to say but she didn’t know that Steve Englehart was going to bless us with the heroes known as The Strangers, did she? Those guys are more than okay to talk to — in fact, they might save your life!
In the weeks to come, we’re going to be taking a long look at these heroes and discussing what made them the Ultraverse’s # 1 superhero team (well, there was Ultraforce but they didn’t feature Electrocute so they can’t possibly be as awesome, right?).
For now, let’s enjoy this image showing the founding members of the team by Adam Hughes from Ultraverse Origins #1!
Prime #1 Splash Page by Norm Breyfogle
Prime #1 made a huge splash in the comic market back in June 1993. Check out this amazing two-page spread by Norm Breyfogle! That’s an impressive way to launch a new imprint!
Rafferty Saga Promo Art by Jerome K Moore
A gorgeous piece by Jerome K. Moore promoting the Firearm-themed Rafferty Saga! Found on his deviantART page!
Here is how it was listed on Jerome’s deviantART page:
Comic Book Promotional Art, Malibu Comics, Rafferty Crossover. Pencil, ink, china marker, opaque gouache. Digital color provided by Albert Calleros!
Original black-and-white illustration found here
Okay! Because color seems to have the greatest appeal to viewers online, I’m pleased to present this version of a piece I did ages ago, as digitally colored by the great Albert Calleros.
Many years back, when Malibu Comics was in existence out here in Southern California, my buddy Hank Kanalz was an editor there, on the rise at only twelve years of age (NOW, Hank’s a Grand High Mucketty-Muck for DC Comics, hangin’ out with stars and power-brokers like Jim Lee and such, and he’s only seventeen years of age.). Anyway, MISTER Kanalz gave me the assignment of designing art for a company ad featuring a character called Rafferty. Rafferty was a formidable villain, a killer who uses a nasty-looking foot-long blade, with a spiked hand-guard. This guy was going to appear in several Malibu titles, wreaking some serious mayhem. The idea was to tease fans about which of their favorite heroes might be getting killed off. The titles involved were SLUDGE (Hi, Aaron Lopresti!), WARSTRIKE, FREEX (Hey, Ben Herrera!), NIGHTMAN, and PRIME (Howdy, Norm Breyfogle!).
I decided to go with individual panels depicting each book’s characters in close-up, all unaware of the deadly danger awaiting them. Rafferty is featured prominently, having cut a huge slash through all of the hero panels, the slash directing the viewer’s eye through all the panels, and back to Rafferty himself. Some of the panels drip at the bottom, and there’s blood spattered here and there. I submitted this concept, Hank approved the sketch, and this was the final result. I personally requested Albert for the task of coloring the piece, and I think he did a fantastic job! I hope you like it! Cheers!
Malibu Sun #26 – The Ultraverse Has Arrived!
I was recently on vacation in Portland, Oregon and happened to visit Bridge City Comics. Surprisingly, I found this in their dollar bin! Malibu Sun #26 from June 1993 promoting the Ultraverse launch with info and interviews! Been wanting this forever and found it on the same day we announced this Ultraverse Network! Must have been fate!!
