Escapist (character)

Last updated
The Escapist
Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist 01.jpg
Cover to Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist #1 (Feb. 2004).
Publication information
Publisher Novel: Random House
Comics: Dark Horse Comics
First appearance Novel: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Sept. 2000)
Comics: Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist #1 (Feb. 2004)
Created by Michael Chabon
In-story information
Alter egoTom Mayflower

The Escapist is a superhero character created by Michael Chabon in the 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay . In the novel, the Escapist is a fictional character created by the comics writer protagonists. The character later featured in the metafictional work Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist and Brian K. Vaughan's comic The Escapists.

Contents

Chabon created the Escapist as an homage to the heroes of the Golden Age of Comic Books. The character's abilities as an escape artist are inspired by escape artist Harry Houdini as well as Robin Hood and Albert Schweitzer. [1] Another inspiration was the early illusionist career of comic book artist Jim Steranko. [2]

Publication history

Kavalier & Clay

Introduced in Chabon's novel in 2000, the Escapist is said to be the creation of the book's protagonists, the cousins Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, a pair of Jewish comic book creators in the 1930s and 1940s. The character's modus operandi is part of a recurring theme of escapism in the novel, representing the imaginative and positive effects of escapism in superhero comics as well as Kavalier and Clay's attempts to escape from the troubles of their past. [3] Joe Kavalier has fled to America from Nazi-occupied Prague in Europe, leaving the rest of his family behind. Unable to help them, he starts fleeing from himself and everyone trying to get close to him. Sam Clay also wants to escape from himself – both his polio-stricken body and repressed homosexuality.

Within the story, the Escapist makes his first appearance in Amazing Midget Radio Comics #1, [4] published by Empire Comics, a former novelty device company. [5] He provides Kavalier and Clay with a measure of success and fame. However, having signed the rights to the character to the publisher, they make comparatively little from the massively successful character.

Comics adaptation

Writer Brian K. Vaughan signing a copy of the comics adaptation at Midtown Comics in Manhattan 3.15.12BrianKVaughanByLuigiNovi37.jpg
Writer Brian K. Vaughan signing a copy of the comics adaptation at Midtown Comics in Manhattan

In 2004, Chabon teamed with Dark Horse Comics to create an actual comic book series of the Escapist. Named Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, the comic chronicled the supposed decades-long publishing history of the character. The stories and text pieces were written with the concept that Kavalier and Clay were real people and that the Escapist had actually been a character from the Golden Age of Comics. As such, the stories in the anthology were frequently written and drawn in older or simpler styles, in homage to the comics of past eras.

In addition to the Escapist himself, the comic featured stories of other characters supposedly created by Kavalier and Clay, such as the heroine Luna Moth and villains such as the gun-wielding Mr. Machine Gun or The Saboteur.

The comic book won "Best Anthology" at the 2005 Eisner Awards. It is also notable for featuring the final story of The Spirit by the late Will Eisner, which appeared in issue #6 of The Escapist.

In 2006, writer Brian K. Vaughan took on a 6-part miniseries titled The Escapists, which follows a longtime fan's dreams of reviving the character in all new comic adventures. Partly mirroring the story of Kavalier and Clay, The Escapists focuses on Cleveland-born Jewish writer Max Roth, whose late father was an avid Escapist fan. Using his inheritance money to buy the rights to the character, Max teams with artist Case Weaver and letterer Denny Jones, the latter of whom dresses as the Escapist and stops a crime in an attempt to stir up publicity for their comic. Inevitably, things begin to spiral out of the trio's control.

Character history

The Escapist's true identity is Tom Mayflower. He is the crippled nephew of escape artist Max Mayflower (who performs under the stage name of Misterioso). When Max is fatally shot while performing onstage, he reveals that he isn't his real uncle, having rescued him from a cruel orphanage as a baby. He gives Tom a golden key and a costume, explaining that he was recruited long ago by a mysterious organization called the League of the Golden Key to fight tyranny and free the oppressed. With his dying breath, Max commissions Tom to carry on his work. As long as Tom is wearing the costume and the key, he finds that he is no longer lame of leg and can perform amazing feats of escapology. [6] Tom uses his powers to fight crime under the guise of the Escapist, especially against the evil forces of the mysterious criminal network, the Iron Chain. [7]

Like The Shadow, the Escapist is assisted in his quest by specially gifted agents, his sidekicks, who include the former circus strongman Big Al, exotic Asian beauty Miss Plum Blossom, and Omar, an East Indian mystic who possesses the power of hypnosis.

The Escapist is also sometimes aided by his benefactors, the League of the Golden Key, a secret society dedicated to freeing the oppressed and imprisoned. They are the source of the mystic key that grants the Escapist his powers, having granted it to Tom's uncle after freeing him from kidnappers when he was younger.

During World War II, the League makes the Escapist an emergency Champion of Freedom and grants him full access to the powers of the Golden Key. This temporarily grants the Escapist superhuman strength and agility, allowing him to openly combat the Axis forces (coinciding in the novel with Joe Kavalier's feeling of helplessness as the war continues to rage on, while he is unable to rescue his family from Nazi-occupied Europe). Following the war, the Escapist's abilities return to their original level.

In the comic-within-a-comic sequences of The Escapists, Tom's final fate is revealed, and a new Escapist takes up the mantle of the hero. Things are not quite as they appear, however.

In a story meant to embody and comment on the darker "grim and gritty" trend of modern comics, the original Escapist is said to have been killed in action, leaving a young locksmith as his successor. The new Escapist is aided by a new Luna Moth, who claims to be the original Escapist's daughter. She is soon revealed as a fraud however and betrays him to his enemies. When all seems lost, the dark and violent world fades, revealed as a dream of Tom Mayflower, still very much alive. This coincides in the "real world" with Max Roth losing the rights to the Escapist to a corporation that prefers to revert the series to its classic style.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Chabon</span> American author and Pulitzer Prize winner (born 1963)

Michael Chabon is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, graduating in 1984. He subsequently received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of California, Irvine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar (comics)</span> Comics character

Solar is an American fictional comic book superhero created by writer Paul S. Newman, editor Matt Murphy, and artist Bob Fujitani. The character first appeared in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #1 in 1962 by Gold Key Comics and has since appeared in other incarnations in books published by Valiant Comics in the 1990s, Dark Horse Comics in the 2000s, and Dynamite Entertainment in the 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed Crandall</span> American cartoonist

Reed Leonard Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the 1940s Quality Comics' Blackhawk and for stories in EC Comics during the 1950s. Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.

<i>The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay</i> 2000 novel by Michael Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a 2000 novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. The book follows the lives of two Jewish cousins, Czech artist Joe Kavalier and Brooklyn-born writer Sammy Clay, before, during, and after World War II. In the story, Kavalier and Clay become major figures in the comics industry from its nascence into its Golden Age. Lengthy, Kavalier & Clay was published to "nearly unanimous praise" and became a New York Times Best Seller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Mignola</span> American comic artist and writer

Michael Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer best known for creating Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics, part of a shared universe of titles including B.P.R.D., Abe Sapien, Lobster Johnson, and various spin-offs. He has also created other supernatural and paranormal themed titles for Dark Horse including Baltimore, Joe Golem, and The Amazing Screw-On Head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Baker</span> American cartoonist, comic book writer and artist

Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Moore</span> American writer and editor of comic books and novels

Stuart Moore is an American writer and editor of comic books and novels.

Andrew Watson is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day and his series Skeleton Key and Love Fights, published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics.

Christopher John Offutt is an American writer. He is most widely known for his short stories and novels, but he has also published three memoirs and multiple nonfiction articles. In 2005, he had a story included in a comic book collection edited by Michael Chabon, and another in the anthology Noir. He has written episodes for the TV series True Blood and Weeds.

Dave Stewart is a colorist working in the comics industry.

<i>Aliens</i> (Dark Horse Comics line) Comic book line

Aliens is a line of several comic books set in the fictional universe of the Alien films published by Dark Horse Comics from 1988 forward. The stories often feature the company Weyland-Yutani and the United States Colonial Marines. Originally intended as a sequel to James Cameron's 1986 film Aliens, the first mini-series features the characters of Rebecca "Newt" Jorden and Corporal Dwayne Hicks. Later series also included the further adventures of Ellen Ripley, with other stories being unique to the Alien universe and are often used to explore other aspects of the species, such as their sociology and biology, and also tying into Dark Horse Comics' Predator and Aliens vs. Predator lines. The novels by Titan Books also crossed over with the comics leading to some shared continuity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creig Flessel</span> American comics artist (1912–2008)

Creig Valentine Flessel was an American comic book artist and an illustrator and cartoonist for magazines ranging from Boys' Life to Playboy. One of the earliest comic book illustrators, he was a 2006 nominee for induction into the comics industry's Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Wight</span> American comics artist

Eric Wight is an American professional artist, illustrator and animator. He is leader of the Epic Originals line at children's digital reading platform Epic.

<i>Indiana Jones</i> (comics) Comic book series

The Indiana Jones franchise has appeared in many comic books. Marvel Comics initially held the comic book licensing rights before they were acquired by Dark Horse Comics in 1990. Marvel published adaptations of the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while Dark Horse adapted the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis video game, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

<i>Maps and Legends</i> Essay collection by Michael Chabon

Maps and Legends is a 2008 collection of sixteen essays by American author Michael Chabon, his first book-length foray into nonfiction. Several of these essays are defenses of the author's work in genre literature, while others are more autobiographical, explaining how the author came to write several of his most popular works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Richardson (publisher)</span> American publisher, writer, and producer

Mike Richardson is an American publisher, writer, and producer. In 1986, he founded Dark Horse Comics, an international publishing house located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson is also the founder and President of the Things From Another World retail chain and president of Dark Horse Entertainment, which has developed and produced numerous projects for film and television based on Dark Horse properties or licensed properties.

<i>Doc Stearn...Mr. Monster</i> Comics character

Doc Stearn...Mr. Monster is a comic book featuring a superhero created by Michael T. Gilbert, most recently published by Dark Horse Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Kristensen</span> American writer

Ken Kristensen is an American screenwriter, television writer, and comic book author. Kristensen has served as writer-producer on multiple series including Shantaram, The Continental: From the World of John Wick, Echo (Disney+/Marvel), Spidey and his Amazing Friends, The Punisher (Netflix/Marvel) and Happy! (SyFy), and authored comic book series published by Image Comics, IDW Publishing, and Dark Horse Comics. His television pilots have been developed at UCP, HBO, FX, A&E, Paramount Network, and Pivot TV. Kristensen is also a member of the Writers Guild of America West, Producers Guild of America, The Animation Guild, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

This is a list of works by American author Michael Chabon.

Zavier Leslie Cabarga, popularly known as Leslie Cabarga, is an American author, illustrator, cartoonist, animator, font designer, and publication designer. A participant in the underground comix movement in the early 1970s, he has since gone on to write and/or edit over 40 books. His art style evokes images from the 1920s and 1930s, and over the years Cabarga has created many products associated with Betty Boop. His book The Fleischer Story in the Golden Age of Animation, originally published in 1976, has become the authoritative history of the Fleischer Studios.

References

  1. ↑ Chabon, Michael (2014). The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Fourth Estate. p. 153. ISBN   978-1-84115-493-0.
  2. ↑ real kavaliers & clays
  3. ↑ Chabon, Michael (2014). The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. London: Fourth Estate. pp. 575 & 582. ISBN   978-1-84115-493-0.
  4. ↑ Chabon, Michael (2004). "Escapism 101". Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist Volume 1. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books. pp.  25. ISBN   978-1-59307-171-4.
  5. ↑ Chabon, Michael (2014). The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. London: Fourth Estate. pp. 152–161. ISBN   978-1-84115-493-0.
  6. ↑ Chabon, Michael; Cohen, Malachi B. (2004). "Escapism 101". Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist Volume 1. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books. pp.  25. ISBN   978-1-59307-171-4.
  7. ↑ Chabon, Michael (2004). "The Passing of the Key". Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist Volume 1. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books. pp.  5-24. ISBN   978-1-59307-171-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.