 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2007) |
| Elementals | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Texas Comics, Comico |
| First appearance | Justice Machine Annual #1 (1983) |
| Created by | Bill Willingham |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Morningstar Vortex Fathom Monolith |
Elementals is an American superhero comic book first published in 1984 and created by Bill Willingham, for which he was both writer and artist.
The Elementals first appeared in the Justice Machine Annual, published by Texas Comics in 1983. [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] The Elementals were supposed to become a bimonthly series, alternating with the Justice Machine, but Texas Comics folded after publishing the one comic. [3] [4] After Texas Comics folded, The Elementals were taken over by Comico Comics.
In a variety of specials and limited series, Comico published Elementals until 1996. Comico's publisher, Andrew Rev, purchased the Elementals property from Willingham in the 1990s.[ citation needed ]
When a centuries-old sorcerer named Lord Saker built a machine called the Shadowspear to harness the supernatural powers of the world, he upset the natural order of the universe. In response, the four elements, unimaginably powerful spirits who together formed the foundation of existence, each chose an ordinary human who had been killed by their element, and resurrected him or her. They granted each member control of that particular element, eternal youth, and the ability to heal from any wound (given sufficient time). The team consisted of:
The four eventually defeated Saker and his minions, the Destroyers, a team of six: Shapeshifter, Annihilator, Chrysalis, Behemoth, Ratman (who later changed sides), and Electrocutioner. [lower-alpha 3]
Shadowspear, once released from Saker's control, formed a giant malevolent thunderstorm that circled the globe, occasionally transforming animals and corpses into monsters, thus keeping the Elementals busy for many years.
Martin A. Stever reviewed Elementals in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 83. [5] Stever commented that "Willingham's imagination must be on overdrive to come up with some of the far out ideas in Elementals". [5]
Villains and Vigilantes is a superhero-themed role-playing game which competed primarily with Champions and Superworld in the early to mid-1980s.
Thor, the god of Norse mythology, has appeared as a character in various comics over the years, appearing in series from a range of publishers.
Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.
William Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series Elementals and Fables.
Comico: The Comic Company was an American comic book publisher headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Its best-known comics include the Robotech adaptations, the Jonny Quest continuation written by co-creator Doug Wildey, and Matt Wagner's Mage: The Hero Discovered and Grendel. Once considered a major contender on the American market, Comico went into bankruptcy in 1990, although it continued to sporadically publish books until 1997. In 2009, two of Comico's original founders launched an original webcomics site called CO2 Comics, which they explained was the reincarnation of Comico.
The Outsiders are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As their name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who do not fit the norms of the "mainstream" superhero community, i.e. the Justice League.
Johnny Thunder is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder.
An elemental is a type of magical entity who personifies a force of nature and controls natural powers derived from their element.
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Flash Comics #1, created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert.
JC Comics was a comic book company primarily involved with the post-Silver Age iteration of the characters the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. JC Comics was owned by John Carbonaro.
Machine Man is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8, a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous 1968 Stanley Kubrick feature film and Arthur C. Clarke's 1968 novel. Shortly thereafter, Machine Man spun off into his own Kirby-created series. He is a robot, the only survivor of a series, raised as a human son of scientist Abel Stack, who was killed removing his auto-destruct mechanism, and further evolved to sentience by a Monolith.
Alan Wellington Scott is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and the first character to bear the name Green Lantern. He fights evil with the aid of his mystical ring, which grants him a variety of powers. He was created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, first appearing in the comic book All-American Comics #16, published on July 10, 1940.
The Justice Machine is a fictional team of superheroes originally created by Mike Gustovich and appearing in comic books from many small publishers in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to Gustovich, writers Tony Isabella and Mark Ellis have also had lengthy creative associations with Justice Machine.
Al Pratt is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first character to use the name Atom. He initially had no superpowers and was originally a diminutive college student and later a physicist, usually depicted as a "tough-guy" character. Al Pratt is also the father of Damage and godfather of Atom Smasher.
Grant Miehm is a Canadian illustrator who has worked for a number of different American comics publishers.
The Hero Alliance is a fictional American team of comic book superheroes in an eponymous series mostly published by companies associated with David Campiti, including his own Innovation Publishing. The group was created by writer Kevin Juaire and artists Ron Lim (pencils), Mike Witherby (pencils), Bart Sears (inks), and Rick Bryant (inks).
Notable events of 1983 in comics.
Hell is a fictional location, an infernal Underworld utilized in various American comic book stories published by DC Comics. It is the locational antithesis of the Silver City in Heaven. The DC Comics location known as Hell is heavily based on its depiction in Abrahamic mythology. Although several versions of Hell had briefly appeared in other DC Comics publications in the past, the official DC Comics concept of Hell was first properly established when it was mentioned in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #25–27 and was first seen in Swamp Thing Annual #2 (1985), all of which were written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben.
Michael "Mike" Eury is an editor and writer of comic books, and of reference works pertaining to comic books and other aspects of pop culture. He has worked for DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics and Comico Comics, having worked on books including Maze Agency and The Legion of Super-Heroes, originating practices such as the loose leaf format of DC's Who's Who in the DC Universe reference series.
Michael Gustovich is an American artist, known for his comic book art and inking in the 1980s and early 1990s for such publishers as Marvel Comics, DC Comics, First Comics, Comico, and Eclipse Comics. He is the creator of the superhero team Justice Machine, which throughout the 1980s and early 1990s was featured in comics from several publishers.