Marada the She-Wolf | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Epic Illustrated #10 (Feb. 1982) |
Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) John Bolton (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Marada Starhair |
Species | Human |
Partnerships | Princess Arianrod |
Abilities | Swordsmanship, sorcery, fighting against demons, wizards, and witches |
Marada the She-Wolf is a sword and sorcery comic book fictional character created for Marvel Comics by writer Chris Claremont and English artist John Bolton.
She first appeared in Epic Illustrated #10 (Feb. 1982). The story was originally planned for the character of Red Sonja, Conan's sometime partner, but had to be changed due to issues surrounding the then-in-production Red Sonja movie with Brigitte Nielsen. Claremont moved the historical milieu from the Hyborian Era to the Roman Empire, and changed her hair from red to silver. This change of character from Red Sonja to Marada resulted in some dispute over ownership of the character. Since Marada's adventures were first published in the creator-owned series Epic Illustrated, the rights to her character were eventually given to writer Claremont and artist Bolton. [1]
Marada is introduced as "her mother was the firstborn of Caesar", [2] though it is unclear if this refers to Julius Caesar or to a current emperor (bearing the generic title of "Caesar") during the Imperial age. Her adventures are a mix of fantasy and history, told from an adult point of view. Together with her friend, the princess Arianrod, she fights against evil demons, wizards, witches and other fantastic creatures, but also against the threats a woman could expect from a world ruled by males.
In a tip of the hat to New Mutants #32, Marada met a woman named Ashake in the graphic novel, and in a nod to Giant-Size Dracula #2, a demon named Y'Garon. Years later, Marada the She-Wolf, despite being a creator-owned title, was officially integrated into the mainstream Marvel Universe, with handbooks confirming that Ashake seen in Marada is the descendant of New Mutants' Ashake, [3] thus also making her Storm's ancestor. [4]
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born American writer and artist of superhero comics. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on many major superheroes; with noted work on Marvel Comics's X-Men and Fantastic Four. Byrne also facilitated the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics's Superman franchise with the limited series The Man of Steel, the first issue of which featured the comics' first variant cover.
Christopher S. Claremont is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 16-year stint on Uncanny X-Men from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters as well as introducing complex literary themes into superhero narratives, turning the once underachieving comic into one of Marvel's most popular series.
Storm is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1. Descended from a long line of African witch-priestesses, Storm is a member of a fictional subspecies of humans born with superhuman abilities known as mutants. She is able to control the weather and atmosphere and is considered to be one of the most powerful mutants on the planet, and one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe.
Colleen Doran is an American writer-artist and cartoonist. She illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, including the autobiographical graphic novel of Marvel Comics editor and writer Stan Lee entitled Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, which became a New York Times bestseller. She adapted and did the art for the short story "Troll Bridge" by Neil Gaiman, which also became a New York Times bestseller. Her books have received Eisner, Harvey, Bram Stoker, Locus, and International Horror Guild Awards.
Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' New Mutants, Moon Knight, and Elektra: Assassin. He is the co-creator of the character David Haller / Legion, the basis for the FX television series Legion.
Uncanny X-Men, originally published as The X-Men, is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X-Men, a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led and taught by Professor X.
Richard Veitch is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.
Ann "Annie" Nocenti is an American journalist, filmmaker, teacher, comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work at Marvel in the late 1980s, particularly a four-year stint as the editor of Uncanny X-Men and The New Mutants as well as her run as a writer of Daredevil, illustrated primarily by John Romita Jr. Nocenti has co-created such Marvel characters as Longshot, Mojo, Spiral, Blackheart and Typhoid Mary.
Epic Illustrated was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine Heavy Metal, it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional American comic books of that time bound by the restrictive Comics Code Authority, as well as offering its writers and artists ownership rights and royalties in place of the industry-standard work for hire contracts. The series lasted 34 issues from Spring 1980 - February 1986.
The Modern Age of Comic Books is a period in the history of American superhero comic books which began in the mid-1980s and continues through the present day. During approximately the first 15 years of this period, many comic book characters were redesigned, creators gained prominence in the industry, independent comics flourished, and larger publishing houses became more commercialized.
Louise Simonson is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Conan the Barbarian, Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Steel. She is often referred to by the nickname "Weezie". Among the comic characters she co-created are Cable, Steel, Power Pack, Rictor, Doomsday and the X-Men villain Apocalypse.
June Brigman is an American comic book artist and illustrator. She is best known for creating the preteen superhero characters Power Pack with writer Louise Simonson in 1984. Brigman was the artist of the syndicated newspaper strip Brenda Starr, Reporter from 1995 to 2011 and in 2016 became the artist for the newspaper strip Mary Worth.
John Bolton is a British comic book artist and illustrator most known for his dense, painted style, which often verges on photorealism. He was one of the first British artists to come to work in the American comics industry, a phenomenon which took root in the late 1980s and has since become standard practice.
Bob McLeod is an American comics artist best known for co-creating the New Mutants with writer Chris Claremont.
Characters native to the African continent have been depicted in comics since the beginnings of the modern comic strip. Initially, such early 20th-century newspaper comics as Winsor McCay's Little Nemo depicted the racist stereotype of a spear-carrying cannibal, a comedic convention of the time. African characters later began to appear as another stereotype, the "noble savage"—a similar progression to that of depictions of Native Americans—and eventually as standard human beings.
Bret Blevins is an American comics artist, animation storyboard artist, and painter. He is perhaps best known for his stint as the regular penciler of New Mutants for Marvel Comics.
Magik was a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 1983–1984, starring the fictional characters Magik and Storm. The series title is consistently displayed on the covers as Storm and Illyana: Magik, but the official title as listed in the indicia is the reverse: Magik: Illyana and Storm. It was written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by John Buscema, Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema, and Tom Palmer.
In American comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is a human being that possesses a genetic trait called the X-gene. It causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that manifest at puberty. Human mutants are sometimes referred to as a human subspecies Homo sapiens superior or simply Homo superior. Mutants are the evolutionary progeny of Homo sapiens, and are generally assumed to be the next stage in human evolution. The accuracy of this is the subject of much debate in the Marvel Universe.
Superhero comics are one of the most common genres of American comic books. The genre rose to prominence in the 1930s and became extremely popular in the 1940s and has remained the dominant form of comic book in North America since the 1960s. Superhero comics feature stories about superheroes and the universes these characters inhabit.
Mary Wilshire is an American comics artist best known for her work on Red Sonja and Firestar for Marvel Comics.