I was a little surprised to find out in my last posting about some of the Rom fans out there who also like Cloak & Dagger but didn't know that Cloak & Dagger were co-created by Mantlo. So it looks like I'm going to continue my Bill Mantlo themed postings to make sure you're all up to speed. Ok so I guess you already figured out that The Jack of Hearts is also from Mantlo along with Keith Giffen (loved his work on the late 80s JLA series!) assuming you didn't know that already of course. They also created Rocket Raccoon together but the less said about that the better. On to Marvel characters that were a bit more obscure . . .
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As far as I know White Tiger was Marvel's first Peurto Rican super hero (Hectar Ayala) and had powers that were derived from the mystical amulets he wore around his neck. The Human Fly is no longer around unfortunately but the White Tiger brand has gone through several people over the decades and today is being carried by Angela Del Toro. Remember Captain Universe? . . .
Captain Universe, the Enigma Force powered cosmic superhero who could be anyone first appeared in Micronauts #8. The character is still very much around today and I hope you figured out by now that he was created by Bill Mantlo and one of my all time favorite artists Michael Golden. And did you also know? . . .
Unfortunately despite also having been written by Bill Mantlo Sectaurs wasn't a commercial success as a comic book series or as a toy line. The series was cancelled after only 8 issues.
This is a really great idea for a post Dave! I loved the Captain Universe concept and wish Marvel made a bit more use out of it. It's like DC's Dial 'H' only cosmicified (hey I'm over thirty I can create new words!)
ReplyDeleteComicified, I'll store that to the mental rolodex. Captain Universe was a great concept but missed the mark badly.
ReplyDeleteJack of Hearts on the other hand is bang up. I like everything about him except that he's dead. It's a trip how all the guys in the industry can bring their creations to life. Gotta love it.
thanks for the comments guys. i'll be heading out to a comic shop later today (different from the one i was at last week) that has a pretty good back issue collection in hopes of finding some more Bill Mantlo stuff.
ReplyDeletei've never read any Jack of Hearts outside of Rom #12 so i'll be on the look out for some of his stuff. As for Captain Universe outside of Micronauts #8 i only read a little bit of him since then.
You know I'm a reserve Avenger so I know Jack of Hearts from his stint as one of us. It would have been cool if I had his powers though. Well...thank God for what he blessed me with. "the power to see thru bullshit" (Andre 3000).
ReplyDeleteLong live the Squad
For "Sons of the Tiger" (first comic ever to be scripted by Mantlo), White Tiger and Jack of Hearts, you could download the old magazines of Hands of Kung-Fu. I found them on the internet.
ReplyDeleteBruce, can you provide me with a link to where that can be downloaded. also, did you know about Mantlo's work for the Transformers and Sectaurs? i ask because i don't remember seeing any of that on your Bill Mantlo site.
DeleteYeah, I downloaded the whole Sectaurs series, but it is a bit boring so I haven't read it yet.
DeleteAs for the Transformers, I never liked them. I guess I was already too old when the series came out and it seemed nonsense to me.
ReplyDeleteSome issues of Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu:
http://www.filestube.com/d/deadly+hands+of+kung+fu
This link is better. The whole series:
ReplyDeletehttp://magazinesforall.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/deadly-hands-of-kung-fu/
i read some Sectaurs clip art on line already and i'd agree with you there but i always have been a fan of the Transformers and i remember that series well. thanks for those links i'm at work right now but i will check them out this weekend. what about Captain Universe? did you like that character much? and i know Sword of the Swashbucklers is from EPIC. that was something from Mantlo you liked right?
DeleteCaptain Universe is OK inside The Micronauts series. Outside of it I only read Spectacular Spiderman when Spidey got Captain Universe's powers and kicked everybody's arse. That was cool.
ReplyDeleteI have the graphic novel of Sword of the Swashbucklers, which is outstanding IMHO. And the whole series, which is a decent read and good fun. Most of the pencillers were amateur, unfortunately.
i didn't have any luck at a comic shop yesterday like i did last week in terms of finding some of Bill Mantlo's older work. but i'm going to be visiting another shop as soon as i get off today. i'll include some of that White Tiger and Jack of Hearts from the Deadly Fists of Kung Fu in tomorrow's posting along with the new fan art i already had scheduled. thanks Bruce
DeleteI always thought the Jack of Hearts was a good concept except I certainly would NOT want to be the artist that had to do his series on a monthly basis. Has there EVER been a character that had so much detail in the costume? I imagine that you'd have to spend at least twice the time on him that you would spend on most characters. Of course Golden knocked it out of the park. I still think of him as the best cover artist of the 80's and it was his work on the Serpentyne cover that drew me to pick up Rom at my local 7-11. Then I had to keep coming back and of course track down the back issues.
ReplyDeleteI kind of have an idea in my head to do a "J.J Abrams" and start a "Reimagined Gen 2" series in my own personal pitiful attempt to redeem the work done in those final issues on Galador. I'm working up the idea, I just need to put it on paper. (Or start using CorelDraw to do it which is a whole OTHER ISSUE)
Keep up the good work. There are obviously still a number of fans that appreciate your efforts to keep the Living Fire of Galador burning.
Sweet Jack of Hearts render Wow My eyes almost popped out of my head when I opened you page and saw that on the phone!! I couldn't wait to get to my PC to comment!! Then what Else do I read besides the Bill was behind Cloak & Dagger but also in part to Rocket Raccoon too AAaaaaa I loved that guy!!! I can't believe it! I loved the art work on some of that book and the stories!!
ReplyDeleteAlso I created a character or I should say recreated a character of mine based off of the mutated look of Bug from issue 20 of the Micronauts, and the Sectaurs insectoid look too and Bill Mantlo is behind that one too wow I was slow on picking up that one! During that time I knew what I liked but didn't always pay attention to the who's who behind the curtains!
ReplyDeleteThe Graphics Wiz,
ReplyDeletei hear ya on the Jack of Hearts art work, i was just thinking of that too recently.
zhaanman, i used to be behind the curtains to. doing some research on the creators of the comics i read has actually been a fairly recent thing.
Well Dave that's what keeps your blog fresh your ability to surprise and the added support of the other guys here with blogs of their own willing to share the love!! That is so refreshing to see it helps us who are fans but just hadn't gotten as deep into the history!
ReplyDeleteI got out of collecting because the prices where getting crazy and for the amount of comics I was getting across the board, but we've all been there right!? My question is what happened to Jack of Hearts! If I remember right he was having problems either when he was with Rom or Silver Surfer with his powers.
Excellent job bringing some love to Bill's creations! You're information is pretty spot-on and it's great to see these guys again. Those Sectaurs books are pretty rare finds, but I'll get them at a convention someday! This, I swear...
ReplyDelete"They also created Rocket Raccoon together but the less said about that the better."
ReplyDeleteSo.. you gonna go see the Guardians of the Galaxy movie that has Rocket Raccoon? Just curious.