List of Amalgam Comics publications
Near the end of the DC vs. Marvel crossover event in 1996, Amalgam Comics released a series of one-shot comic books combining characters from the Marvel Universe with characters from the DC Universe. The first 12 Amalgam titles were released in a single week, temporarily replacing both publishers' regular releases. Half the comics in the event were published by Marvel Comics and half by DC Comics. A year later, in 1997, the stunt was repeated, but without the crossover event as background. Later, both publishers collected their issues into trade paperback collections.[1]All 24 of the one-shot issues occurred between Marvel vs. DC #3 and DC vs. Marvel #4, the last two issues of the crossover event.
In the 24 Amalgam Comics titles that were printed, one-third of those printed included letter-columns by fictitious fans to give a larger background to the stories and to help give hints of what might happen in the next issue. The "fans' " hometowns were usually fusions of existing American cities.[2]
April 1996 - DC Comics
Amazon #1
Amazon #1, written and drawn by John Byrne, featured Amazon a.k.a. Princess Ororo Munroe of Themiscyra.[3]Amazon returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled JLX Unleashed #1.
Assassins #1
Assassins #1, written by Dan Chichester and illustrated by Scott McDaniel, featured two main characters, Catsai and Dare the Terminator. Despite their enmity, they team up to take on the Big Question and his gang.[3]
Doctor Strangefate #1
Doctor Strangefate #1 was written by Ron Marz with art by José Luis García-López and Kevin Nowlan. The issue features the powerful sorcerer Doctor Strangefate. His comic also featured the character Access and highlights his adventures in between the four issues of the miniseries DC vs. Marvel.[4] This book was reprinted in the DC versus Marvel trade paperback due to its part in the overall story.
JLX #1
JLX #1 was written by Gerard Jones and Mark Waid, with art by Howard Porter and John Dell. The members of the Judgment League Avengers (JLA) whose powers are mutant in origin turn against their teammates and form their own team, the JLX. They leave in order to find Atlantis. The JLX returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled JLX Unleashed #1.[5]
Legends of the Dark Claw #1
Legends of the Dark Claw #1 was written by Larry Hama with art by Jim Balent and Ray McCarthy. The Dark Claw also appeared in JLX #1 as a member of the JLA, and returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled Dark Claw Adventures #1.
Super-Soldier #1
Super-Soldier #1 was written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.[6]
An experimental infusion of alien DNA transforms the human Clark Kent into Super-Soldier, hero of World War II. After being sent into suspended animation, he is revived in modern times. He fought against the Green Skull (a.k.a. Lex Luthor), the doomsday robot Ultra-Metallo and the terrorist organization HYDRA.[3][7]
Super-Soldier also appeared in JLX #1 as the leader of the JLA, and returned in two other titles in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titledSuper-Soldier: Man of War #1 and JLX Unleashed #1 (the latter again as the leader of the JLA).
April 1996 - Marvel Comics
Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 was written by Chuck Dixon with art by Cary Nord and Mark Pennington. The character featured here returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled JLX Unleashed #1.
Bullets and Bracelets #1
Bullets and Bracelets #1 was written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Gary Frank.
Magneto and the Magnetic Men #1
Magneto and the Magnetic Men #1 was written by Gerard Jones with art by Jeff Matsuda and Art Thibert. The team featured here returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled The Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1.
Speed Demon #1
Speed Demon #1 was written by Howard Mackie and James Felder with art by Salvador Larroca and Al Milgrom.
Spider-Boy #1
Spider-Boy #1 was written by Karl Kesel with art by Mike Wieringo and Gary Martin. Spider-Boy, the titular character, is a clone whose gravity powers enable him to mimic the wall-crawling abilities of a spider. The character featured here returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled Spider-Boy Team-Up #1. Spider-Boy is an amalgamation of the characters the Spider-Man clone (a.k.a. Ben Reilly) and Superboy.
X-Patrol #1
The team featured here returned in another title in the 1997 Amalgam Comics run titled The Exciting X-Patrol #1.
June 1997 - DC Comics
Bat-Thing #1
Bat-Thing #1 was written by Larry Hama with art by Rodolfo Damaggio and Bill Sienkiewicz. The Bat-Thing attacked people in the streets of New Gotham City, and Detective Clark Bullock tried to protect the Bat-Thing's wife and daughter from the monster.[8]
Dark Claw Adventures #1
Dark Claw Adventures #1 was written illustrated by Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett. This "animated series" version of the Dark Claw comic used an art style that mirrored Batman: The Animated Series and was similar to the comic book The Batman Adventures. Lady Talia pursued the Dark Claw to avenge the killing of her father, Ra's A-pocalypse.[8]
Generation Hex #1
Generation Hex #1 was written by Peter Milligan with art by Adam Pollina. The comic featured a team of meta-mutants (here known as malforms), Generation Hex, suffering prejudice and living by robbery in the Old West. Their leader, Jono Hex, helps them escape the Scissormen, a trio of malform-hunting robots created by Marshal Trask, and gets revenge on his hometown of Humanity, who murdered his family when he was a boy.[2][8][9]
JLX Unleashed #1
JLX Unleashed #1 was written by Christopher Priest with art by Oscar Jimenez and Hanibal Rodriguez. This second outing of the JLX sees them joined by Amazon. The Hellfire League of Injustice summons up the dragon Fin Fang Flame to destroy all meta-mutants. The dragon decides to incinerate the entirety of humanity, since, according to him, "All humanity, after all, is mutated to some extent". The Judgment League Avengers and the JLX team up to defeat it.[8]
Lobo the Duck #1
Lobo the Duck #1 was written by Alan Grant with art by Val Semeiks and Ray Kryssing.
The story revolves around the fearless, muscular, and psychotic anti-hero/bounty hunter Lobo the Duck and his shapeshifting canine sidekick the Impossible Dawg who are investigating the murders of several Amalgam Comics superheroes, including Doctor Strangefate, Super-Soldier, Aqua-Mariner, Dare the Terminator, and Hawkhawk.
Lobo only agrees to find the murderer(s) as the aforementioned heroes had paid him upfront. Lobo fights his way through Gold-Kidney Lady, Doctor Bongface, and various other supervillains before he realizes that the end of the world is about to begin and that only he can stop it.
Some other minor characters introduced in Lobo the Duck #1 include Ambush the Lunatik, a fellow bounty hunter that was eaten by Lobo after angering him; Al Forbush, the owner of Al Forbush's Subterranean Diner; and Jonas Turnip.
Super-Soldier: Man of War #1
Super-Soldier: Man of War #1 was written by Dave Gibbons and Mark Waid, with art by Dave Gibbons and Jimmy Palmiotti. This comic presented Super-Soldier (Clark Kent) in the style of the Golden Age World War II comics. Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are sent to England to follow a mysterious cargo of stolen equipment that is desired by the Nazis.[2][8]
June 1997 - Marvel Comics
Challengers of the Fantastic #1
Challengers of the Fantastic #1 was written by Karl Kesel with art by Tom Grummett and Al Vey. The members of the team were scientist Reed "Prof" Richards, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Susan "Ace" Storm, her daredevil brother Johnny "Red" Storm, and fighting Senator Ben "Rocky" Grimm. Their enemies included Doctor Doomsday and Galactiac.[7][10]
The Exciting X-Patrol #1
The Exciting X-Patrol #1 was written by Barbara Kesel with art by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. The team fought against Brother Brood. This comic was dedicated to the memory of Mark Gruenwald, who had died one year previously from a heart attack.
Iron Lantern #1
Iron Lantern #1 was written by Kurt Busiek with art by Paul Smith. The comic is an amalgamation of the stories of Marvel's Iron Man and DC Comics' Silver Age Green Lantern. Inventor Hal Stark is testing a flight simulator when the machine is mysteriously pulled to the crash site of an alien spacecraft. Stark finds the corpse of its pilot, Green Lantern Rhomann Sur, and a Green Lantern power battery. His heart having been injured when the simulator also crashed, Stark builds a combination powered armor/life support system out of the battery, and dubs himself Iron Lantern. Stark faces such foes as Mandarinestro, H.E.C.T.O.R. (Highly Evolved Creature Totally Oriented for Revenge), and Madame Sapphire, the latter of whom is secretly Stark's lover Pepper Ferris.
The Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1
The Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1 was written by Tom Peyer with art by Barry Kitson and Dan Panosian. In addition to the title characters, this comic book also features Mr. Mastermind and the Sinister Society.
The Sinister Society's members each represent various special metals from both universes. The members and their associated metals are:[11]
- Kultron - Adamantium
- Soniklaw - Vibranium
- Black Vulture - Nth Metal
- Deathborg - Promethium
- Vance Cosmic - Inertron
Spider-Boy Team-Up #1
Spider-Boy Team-Up #1 was written by "R. K. Sternsel" (an amalgam of the names of Roger Stern and Karl Kesel) with art by José Ladrönn and Juan Vlasco. In this comic, Spider-Boy teams up with characters based on Marvel and DC comic books set in the far future and/or outer space, including the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099.[2]
Thorion of the New Asgods #1
Thorion of the New Asgods #1 was written by Keith Giffen and John Romita, Jr..
References
- Weiner, Robert G. (2008). Marvel graphic novels and related publications: an annotated guide to comics, prose novels, children's books, articles, criticism and reference works, 1965-2005. McFarland. pp. 227–229. ISBN 978-0-7864-2500-6. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- Radford, Bill (April 20, 1997). "New Amalgam comics bring back characters, add a few". Beaver County Times. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- DCO PattyJ. "DC vs Marvel". Superman Homepage. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- George Khoury (November 2, 2008). "Pop! The Unforgettable Doctor Strangefate". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- Matt Murphy (October 7, 2009). "LBCC: 56 Questions with Mark Waid". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- Bill Reed (July 6, 2007). "365 Reasons to Love Comics #187". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- D. Aviva Rothschild (2000). "Review of Return to the Amalgam Age of Comics: The DC Comics Collection". The Comics Get Serious. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- Humanity at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Chris Roberson (October 21, 2008). "Secret Services: Section Zero". The myriad worlds of Chris Roberson. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- The Sinister Society at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe