Peculiarities Part 3

The continuing (re)imaging of heroes from Madison Comics. Part 1 here. Part 2 here.

Striding in from the left is Maple Leaf, hero of Alberta. She's a First Nations woman who transforms into living super-maple wood with cool maple-leaf hair. Strongest when she is connected to the earth.

The flying guy is Mr. Meteor. I was toying with a jetpack of some sort, but then decided on a real golden-age-style origin: a scientist salvaged a chunk of fallen meteor, ground it up and injected it into his bloodstream, and gained the power of flight!

Last we have Miz Biz. I figured the name was some sort of corporate type hero, but I had that covered with Dinosaur Man, so I wanted to go a different way. She's transplanted Anglo Luchadora, known for takin' care of business - hence the name, and TCB belt.

Peculiarities Part 2

So, here are some more of the obscure heroes from  Madison Comics - see the prior post to get caught up.

So, on the left is the Human Dog. I already had two anthropomorphic-animal types, so I went a different way here. I figure this fellow is a sleuth, with all the relentlessness of a bloodhound on a trail, and that's where he picked up his nickname. He's also loyal to a fault, like a dog; that would be a repeated plot device.

Upper right finds Jackass. The "stupid, foolish or offensive" connotation didn't grab me, so I tried for more of a burro-donkey vibe. Smaller, stubborn, hard to move, and with heavy boots for kickin'.

Our first woman hero is Lady X. Again, the usual "X the unknown" has been done to death, so in this case the X is for crosshairs or "X marks the spot" - Lady X is a sharpshooting whiz. The poorly-drawn Mausers are an hommage to the Paul Kirk Manhunter.

A peculiar diversion

So, it's tough times all around, no doubt, but here's a bit of a fluff-break.

First of all, you need to read this post to refresh your memory.

Now for a correction: the Doctor Peculiar comic was not a one-hit-wonder -- it was a two-issue triumph! Viz:

  

Also, in addition to the superheroes gleaned from the back of the Rovin encyclopedia, GCD now has a listing for the title and reports that the first issue included a six-page story about Muffy Brandon, Space Explorer and a house ad for Julie Winsome, Medical Detective. What breadth! What depth!

Anyway...

I honestly can't remember how I was struck by the idea, but I decided to do character sketches for all the characters in this odd little assortment of heroe, just going down the list one by one. Here are the first installments on the project:

On the right is the Bronze Bruin. I'm not sure yet if he's a were-bear or just an intelligent bear like Smokey. He wears a mask so he won't be recognized, I guess...

Down in the lower left corner is Dinosaur Man. I imagine him as powerful industrialist or high-tech CEO, who just happens to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex-human hybrid. Very cultured and sophisticated, untl he eats you.

In the center is Doctor Peculiar: jazz musician by night, occult do-gooder by... other nights. A little more Phantom Stranger than Dr. Strange.

The tall guy on the left is Flame Tree, with energy shield and throwy-fire bit. Not real happy with the costume, which is supposed to evoke Zulu designs.

On the right is the Green Lance, a total ripoff of leather-jacket-phase Black Knight from Marvel. I suppose he has some kind of  laser-lance or something, or maybe that's just his name, not his weapon of choice.

In the middle is Hanu-Man. Since Hanuman is an actual Hindu divinity, the center of many stories of adventure, I figure he's sort of a Don Blake/Thor type character, a regular guy who transforms into a superhero version of the god. And he carries the Namor vibe, wearing as he does just a speedo.

This has been a nice diversion for me - I hope to present the remaining dozen before too long.

Who knows, I might even get around to Muffy Brandon and Julie Winsome.