Mister 8

Throughout the past month, my fellow COBRAS have been presenting their takes on costumed adventurers who crossover with the espionage genre. This week, I’m taking a look at some of my favorite super-hero spies, unveiling a character one at a time from the banner above. In case you missed an entry, so far we’ve seen:

The introduction, in which I link to all of the other COBRAS entries
THUNDER Agents (that’s No-Man above)!
Dell Comics’ Werewolf
Harvey Comics’ / Jim Steranko’s Spyman

Apologies for the delay on this. And apologies also for the fact that I put off emailing writer Jeff Parker about today’s spotlighted supergroup, Agents of Atlas, until Thursday night. Too late unfortunately to request an interview, but Parker was kind enough to let us plunder his blog for past commentary about the Agents that we’ll put to use here. He also rattled off a list of things he thought you all might want to know about the team:

• …They were the secret force of the FBI’s Department Zero in the late 50’s…
• …They’ve reformed to take on the modern Marvel Universe…
• …They operate from a hidden underground city…
• …and they have a flying saucer at their disposal.

Agents of Atlas is one of my favorite books of the past few years, both the mini-series and the recently started ongoing (run, don’t walk, to your nearest comic store!). And here’s perhaps the best recommendation I can make for the book: all those cool things above? They wouldn’t even be in my top five list of reasons that I love the Agents. Or, perhaps you didn’t notice the uniformed gorilla in the banner today….

Parker is no stranger to the thriller. The place I first saw his work was in the self-published Interman in 2003, which was Eurospy meets Johnny Quest (or at least artist Doug Wildey) meets contemporary theories on the nature of evolution. For awhile, I considered spotlighting Interman this week. At the very least, you should take a peek at this promo poster, and see if you’re not compelled to place an Amazon order.

Agents of Atlas is a different animal– a sort of revisionist history, conspiracy theory, Wold Newton meets science fiction B-movie, and if you’re scratching your head to say, “That sounds sort of like Planetary,” I’d call that an apt comparison, both in terms of content and in terms of quality (those of you who are scratching your heads and saying, “What’s a Planetary?” just know that I consider this a praise of the highest order). The original mini-series was supported by alternate-reality marketing, the first comic series that I know of that utilized the new media phenomenon, which featured intertextual story from the viewpoint of the mysterious Mr. Lao. Interior art was illustrated by the amazingly talented Leonard Kirk, and covers were brought to life by the equally spectacular Tomm Coker.

The origin of the team lies in Marvel Comics’ What If? #9, published in 1973, which speculated on the nature of an Avengers team formed from 1950s Marvel characters to protect President Dwight Eisenhower from the Communist Yellow Claw. They were revived (at the insistence of editor Mark Paniccia) by Parker and Kirk in a 2006 mini-series where they found themselves reunited to investigate the mysterious Atlas Foundation.

I’m going to force myself to limit my explanation of the Agents to the first few issues of the mini-series. Just know that things happen in the last issue, awesome fantastic things that I really want to blab about, that alter the nature of the Agents as a team, and lead directly into their ongoing series. Find the trade paperback collection of the mini first, then start reading the current run. To start, why don’t we meet the Agents themselves? We got these dandy pictures from the Agents of Atlas website, and the Parker quotations from a set of articles on the series at Comic Book Resources.

Jimmy Woo

JIMMY WOO

Jimmy Woo is a former FBI agent turned Agent of SHIELD turned Agent of Atlas whose arch enemy is the villainous Communist mastermind / Fu Manchu analogue Yellow Claw.

Jeff says: “…Jimmy came from the ‘Yellow Claw’ comic book of the ’50s, tirelessly on the case of the criminal mastermind. I don’t know if there was simply a mandate to put out a Fu Manchu-clone book, but what I find interesting is that they at least let the hero be of Chinese roots, in a time that being balanced towards minorities just wasn’t a priority….Jim Steranko brought Jimmy into SHIELD a few years later because, hey, the Yellow Claw turned up. That turned out to be a robot, but it gave Jimmy another chance to shine, so it’s worth it.”

Gorilla Man

GORILLA MAN

Ken Hale was a soldier of fortune who feared death. He’d heard of the legend of the Gorilla Man, which said that if you killed the Gorilla Man, you would become immortal.  Turns out there’s a bit of a catch. You get immortality yes, but then you become the Gorilla Man.

Jeff says: “He’s very strong, agile and proficient with all manner of weaponry. Actually, he’s a bit bigger than a mountain gorilla. He also doesn’t age, as you’ll read more about in the story. His most valuable function in the group now is actually as the touchstone to the present day. Everyone else has been largely cut off from the modern world except for him.”

Venus

VENUS

First thought to be an incarnation of the ancient goddess, but actually was a naiad, or siren, given a soul by a mystic hired to kill her. Has the power to control the emotions and perceptions of others through her siren song.

Jeff says: “On a small, human scale, you’ve probably experienced women like her…An attractive woman with such presence that when she says the briefest of things to men-and looks them in the eye- they just lose it. They can’t focus, they feel like they’re underwater and even the most James Bond of the bunch can’t keep his composure. It’s generally pretty hard to say what’s affecting the guys the most. Sure she’s gorgeous, but so are other girls and they don’t all make you walk into walls because you’re trying to keep track of where she is in the room. Is it something in her eyes, or the unearthly quality of her voice?”

M-11, The Human Robot

M-11, The HUMAN ROBOT

Retroactively named after the issue he first appeared in, Menace #11, M-11 was a robot who murdered his creator. Tracked down by the Agents, M-11 is reprogrammed to be a force for good.

Jeff says: “Visually, the robot is cool because he embodies the robot menace of the pulp adventures…With that cyclopean eye, no mouth, the antennae — he’s got a classic look that conjures up everything from Gort in ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ to the giant robots in ‘Sky Captain.’ His body is a bit more detailed than in the ‘Menace’ story — we kind of approach that as ‘what would the artist have likely done had he more time than a weekend to design this guy’ and so he gets a little more definition and a nice solid eyepiece instead of one that looks like a lightboard. I was originally suggesting that we leave off his chest door or move it to the back, but Leonard Kirk was adamant that he needed it up front to really convey ‘classic robot.’ He’s right of course.”

Marvel Boy / Bob

MARVEL BOY / BOB

Bob Grayson’s father was a Jewish scientist who chose to flee the Earth with his infant son during the rise of Nazi Germany. Their atomic rocket overshot the moon, and they wound up on Uranus, where interactions with Uranian eternals left Bob with an altered physiology and a set of Marvel bands that grant him a number of powers.

Jeff says: “Our Marvel Boy is Bob Grayson, who was born in Germany as the Nazi party was coming into power. His father Matthew was a scientist who built a rocketship so he and his son could flee the Earth for another more peaceful planet without dictators. And that planet turned out to be the 7th one in our solar system, Uranus. Not habitable you say? In fact there was a paradise full of other humans that existed in the life-supporting Omnidome, and they took the Graysons in.”

Namora

NAMORA

A cousin of Namor, the Sub-Mariner, her father was killed by land-walkers, and she swore vengeance agains the evils of the world.

Jeff says: “ If you have Namora on board, besides the fact that she was an actual character from the time, then you have a team of archetypes, pulp icons. I quickly went digging for her last appearance to see what became of her and lo and behold I found the issue of ‘Sub-Mariner.’ There she is, frozen in a block of ice. I don’t know about you, but when I see a Golden Age Marvel hero in a block of ice . . .”

…And with that, I’ve run out of time for tonight. Tune in again tomorrow, when we’ll be covering the adventures of the mysterious Agents of Atlas, and offering a link to a complete tale of the 50s-era Agents by Parker and artist Benton Jew!

Agents of Atlas by Evan "Doc" Shaner

I hate to start every post with an apology, but this truly has been the week from Hell. Here, at long last, is the overdue second look at Agents of Atlas:

Collected Agents of Atlas

When last we parted company, I was going to tell you guys a little about the mini-series that led into the current ongoing. I’m going to do my best not to spoil things too much, but if you want to approach the material tabula rasa, stop reading now and buy the book for yourself.

Right. So, in the present, SHIELD agent Ken Hale, aka Gorilla Man, is interrogated by his fellow agents on the history of his association with Jimmy Woo. The impetus behind the questioning involves a rogue mission led by Woo against the mysterious Atlas Foundation,  that has left him brain dead and covered in burns. Hale leads a bust-out (which features, perhaps, the greatest thing ever drawn in a comic book, ever — a sentient gorilla firing four machine guns with all hands and feet) with the help of M-11 and Marvel Boy, and they’re able to restore Woo according to Bob’s memory to a much younger version of himself.

SHIELD agent Derek Khanata takes over the position vacated by Woo, and takes on the investigation of Woo, the Atlas Foundation, and the bust-out. Through his investigation, he joins Woo’s team as they collect old friends, preparing for a final face-off with the villainous Yellow Claw. The only thing is…Yellow Claw seems to want Woo to succeed.

Writer Jeff Parker, interior artist Leonard Kirk, inker Kris Justice, and cover artist Tomm Coker pull out all the stops. The book is well-written, the art is gorgeous, and the story hits all of the right vast international conspiracy / espionage / Sax Rohmer homage notes along the way. Here’s a page of original art from the mini-series that I’m lucky enough to claim as my own. Additional art by Jeff Parker!

Agents of Atlas art

The latest series builds off of the amazing conclusion of the series as the Agents of Atlas assert their position in the Marvel Universe. The series has ostensibly kicked off as part of the Dark Reign storyline. But if you think that knowledge of Marvel continuity is necessary to enjoy the book, never fear. While it might help, I honestly stopped reading most Marvel books just after the Age of Apocalypse, which happened when I was in junior high school. Here’s what you need to know: Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, is alive, and is running part of the government. Also, after Captain America’s death, his long-dead sidekick Bucky took over. I think.

Like I said, it doesn’t matter, especially as the best parts of the new series take place in the 1950s, with fantastic art by Gabriel Hardman.

If you still haven’t signed up for the series and want another taste, then you’re in luck: Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited (DCU, but not the DCU — hilarious and nefarious) has an exclusive 1950s-era Agents story by Parker and artist Benton Jew, starring Wolverine! Also, chat with Agents of Atlas member Ken Hale @ Twitter!

Tomorrow: we’ll wrap up the long Costumed Adventurers Month (which has maybe now stretched into two) by unveiling the final silhouette, and announcing a contest in honor of our 75th post!

I hope you won’t mind my taking a short moment in the midst of our Harry Palmer Files series to publicize some comic books by some folks I greatly respect.

First up is fellow COBRAS member Christopher Mills. I was excited to have Mills onboard with the COBRAS because I’ve been a fan of his ever since I read Gravedigger, a take on Lee Marvin as Parker/Walker in Point Blank with art by Rick Burchett. Last week, I reported the news that Mills and Burchett were wrapping up the sequel to Gravedigger, and sang their praises.

This week, Burchett and Mills are striving to outdo themselves with a few peeks at a potential series called Skorpion, a loving take on the Eurospy genre popularized by Diabolik. Burchett is one of my favorite all-time comic artists, vastly underappreciated, who worked on two of my favorite stories featuring my all-time favorite character and I dream of one day seeing Burchett at a convention and having the spare cash to solicit a sketch like this from him. Check out this bevy of preview artwork — is that Eddie Constantine I see?

Another of my favorite writer / artists, Jeff Parker, just announced a contest to solicit help in publicizing his work. In a perfect alternate universe, he wouldn’t need help — he’d be a best-seller writing the Legion of Super-Heroes with art by Matt Wieringo and Dean Trippe, which would somehow bring about peace in the Middle East.  Here’s how much I like Parker’s work — I’m going to officially remove myself from contest eligibility to spread word of it to you all.

You may remember Parker from our recent write-up of his Agents of Atlas series, by far one of the best things that Marvel has put out since…well, since Kirby left to work for DC. Comics, especially of the mainstream superhero variety, are in rough shape now. There are numerous reasons, including 1990s speculation, gimmickry, and a tendency of writers to follow poorly in the footsteps of certain creators who introduced continuity-driven melodrama that now makes General Hospital look like The Sun Also Rises. Comics have lost their fun, and a handful of creators, Parker among them, are fighting to bring enjoyment back to the medium.

A long overdue write-up on the work that introduced me to Parker, Interman, is due shortly after the HPF series wraps up, but in the meantime, you should be aware of his other works, mostly for Marvel Comics, although a recently debuted thriller with art by Steve Lieber and published by Image, Underground (previews of first two issues available there), looks to be among the best works he’s ever done. The covers below are linked to reviews or news stories on Parker’s books, if you need impetus to purchase.

Parker’s work even got me to do the unthinkable: buy a monthly X-book, which I promised myself in the late 90s I would never do again. Not even the potential of Grant Morrison got me to break that vow, but knowing that Parker would be looking at the early careers of the original five had me excitedly adding to my pull list. So, if you’re in your local comic store sometime soon, know that Jeff Parker’s name on a comic is as good as a seal of approval. And if comic stores aren’t your thing, check out some of the trade paperbacks that collect his work. I’d start with The Interman, myself, and work my way through Agents Of Atlas.

* Plus $3.85 printing and distribution.