So here we go, the last of the single-vote getters from this informal survey way back when. That means the two-voters are next! Are you excited? Sure you are!
Tales from the Heart (Entropy Enterprises/Slave Labor Graphics (1987-1994)
Hoo boy, okay, here’s the one when I first saw it mentioned I realized “I’ve got a lot of vamping up ahead given the number of comics in this list I haven’t read or even have stories about.” And I apologize…I do recall this comic, about a volunteer in the Peace Corps and her work in Africa, coming out and having a small but loyal following at the shop. Written by Cindy Goff and Rafael Nieves, and illustrated by Seitu Hayden, the series spanned three publishers: the eleven black and white issues from the companies noted above, and two one-shot color specials published under Marvel’s Epic imprint in the early 1990s.
That the series details the difficulties of trying to provide help is in contrast to the 1980s “raising money for Africa” trend that spread through pop culture, primarily though benefit concerts/songs and comic books . Which is of course a good thing, raising money for, and awareness of, those in need. But staying at home and donating cash is a more…removed experience from actually going there and doing the work. And there are criticisms all around, against what good the Peace Corp actually is doing, but look, I am but a humble comics blog simply Googling about, I don’t know the whole story. All I’m trying to say is that here’s somebody trying to relate what it’s like to be doing this sort of work and I think that’s an interesting standout for the period, especially in comics.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios 1984-1993)
Where do I even start. Well, first, only one vote? Very surprising, even given the rather limited reach of my “poll.” Anyway, pictured there is issue #2 of the original series, the first to make it out to my local shop at the time (to be followed by a reprint of #1 a few weeks later). The first four issues were magazine-sized (apparently due to a misunderstanding between creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and their printer), before finally going to a more standard comic size.
I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what this comic’s about, and there is a boatload of lore, both in-universe and behind the scenes, that I’m not even going to scratch the surface of here. But this is the series that launched a thousand comic book spin-offs, cartoons, movies, video games, toys, live music concerts , whathaveyou, making lots of people very rich (including the creators, for once), and inspiring piles of rip-off comics that flooded the market in the hopes of Getting Rich Quick. Oh, the schemes I could share.
Anyway, the Turtles are immortal, and even though their first series ended in ’94, many relaunches followed, and I believe the current ongoing series from IDW is at around 150 issues. Reprints abound in multiple formats, a new “kid-friendly” (i.e. closer in style to the ’80s cartoon) launched recently, and Turtles stories will continue coming out long after all of us are dead. Pretty good for a comic parodying very specific comic characters, artists, and trends of the time.
Timespirits (Marvel/Epic 1984-1986)
I didn’t read Timespirits , but I should have, given I’m a fan of artist Tom Yeates, who, with Steve Perry, produced all eight issues of this series.
I’m going to cheat a little and let this website do the talking for me, as this is a good overview not just of the series itself, but of the the problems that arose when Perry and Yeates began to disagree with the direction of the book. Lots of citations from Amazing Heroes and The Comics Journal , which saves me from digging through my own copies.
However, I do still want to search my Journal s when I have a little more time, as I do seem to recall a article about Yeates secretly investigating some political gathering or ‘nother as research for a story. Assuming this event didn’t form solely in my brain from a strong bump on the head, this seemed like a pretty wild thing to do for, well, a comic book. But hey, you got a story to tell, a message to get out, you do what you have to do. Allegedly. Look, it may not even have been Timespirits he was doing that for, but that’s how it stuck with me. I’ll check into it, if only to ensure that I’m not crazy.
Also, in searching around I’ve seen a handful of accusations that James Cameron’s Avatar movie “borrowed” from this series. Trying to find an article that goes into detail, though it seems to focus mostly around a blue “native” character? Anyway, looks like the “hot” comic sites have picked up on it, so maybe good luck trying to complete a run of this.
Wordsmith (Renegade Press (1985-1988)
I could’ve sworn this series ran longer than it did, but on the other hand, the three or four year duration of the series was a lot longer than its twelve-issue run would suggest.
Written by Dave Darrigo, and illustrated by R.G. Taylor, the story concerned itself with Clay Washburn, a pulp writer active in the first half of the 20th century, contrasting his real world struggles with the heroes he’s scripting (whose adventures also occasionally pop up in the comic). It’s a neat concept for a series, and a shame it didn’t get more issues as I thought it did in my head. (See also Timespirits above for more of my possible delusions.)
There was also a one-shot spin-off in 1990, self-published by Darrigo, called Heroes from Wordsmith , focusing on the adventures of a couple of pulp characters from the main series. It’s hard to find info on this (even the Comics Database entry has nuthin’) but from what I gathered, this reprints material from the main series under a new Taylor cover, maybe? If anyone knows for certain, please inform me.
Also in 1990 Caliber Press would release two trade paperbacks , reprinting the whole series. Caliber would reprint the series again, a half-dozen years later, in a series of comics . Some of the issues of that series would be “flipbooks,” featuring other Caliber titles.
It feels like nearly anyone else would have taken this concept and given Washburn the ability to bring his pulp heroes “to life” and have them escape the printed page into his real world. Picturing this as a full-color superhero book from, I don’t know, Image, and running a long time and getting TV/movie deals and such. But good on this series for taking the more subtle and human route.
• • •
And that’s that for the one-voters! Thanks to everyone for reading and please come back when I start tackling those comics at least two people agreed on!
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