Multiversity’s history column returns with a new column themed around the month of May. This time we’re working our way forward from the first comic labeled “Mature Readers” in 1988 thru the first Valiant superhero, the debut and death of two heroes with AIDS, and a dispute over some marketing.
May 1988
Last month, I told you about a 1989 newspaper column from Joe Queenan complaining about sex in comics, and how that column was part of a larger cultural movement pushing the entertainment industry to put warning labels on mature content. When the New York Times Magazine ran Queenan’s piece, DC had actually capitulated to the pressure almost a full year earlier.
The miniseries “Cinder & Ashe” by Gerry Conway and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez debuted in May 1988. Telling the story of two American Private Investigators with ties to Vietnam, the material didn’t shy away from uncomfortable scenes or censor dialogue (see below for a racist rapist). The content was extreme enough that DC put a “Mature Readers” warning on the front cover (right above the word series).
While that label seems commonplace today, “Cinder & Ashe” is the earliest example I’ve found of a mainstream comic carrying one. I haven’t turned up any comments on this specific application from the Conway or Garcia-Lopez, but most of the creators who voiced an opinion over the next 10 years or so opposed labeling, as they thought it would hurt sales, limit creativity, and make them an easy target for complaints.
May 1991
Before May 1991, Valiant Comics was a small time player struggling to carve a niche for itself. They had plenty of cash on hand – the company was started after the main players raised $81 million in a failed effort to buy Marvel. They had name recognition – Jim Shooter was a founder and polarizing figure who had plenty of fans. All they needed was an edge.
Their first efforts in 1990 looked better on paper than in practice. Valiant acquired the very expensive Nintendo license with the understanding their comics would appear in game stores and they would get access to the “Nintendo Power” magazine mailing list. They got neither and lost money on the deal.
Undeterred, they regrouped and decided to try a different kind of licensed character: the old Western / Gold Key heroes. Shooter had a personal connection to the copyright holder and secured a very favorable deal to use them. They started with “Magnus, Robot Fighter” in May 1991, written by Shooter and drawn by Barry Windsor Smith. It was well received, but sales were nothing special.
The best thing going for “Magnus” was a special offer – readers who collected coupons from the first eight issues could mail off for a special “#0” issue. Zero issues were a rare novelty at the time – this may have been the first one for a mainstream comic – and the gimmick prevented the typical drop in sales after the debut issues. The series (and the follow up titles like “Solar, Man of the Atom” and “X-O Manowar”) slowly built steam until they exploded in popularity a couple years later.
May 1995
When Jim Valentino debuted “Shadowhawk” in August 1992, he knew the character was HIV positive. Although this trait affected plot points in subtle ways, it wasn’t revealed to readers until several years later. This storytelling tactic means Shadowhawk was the first HIV-positive character, but the second one revealed to be such. (In a strange coincidence, the first revealed HIV-positive character is covered below.)
Shadowhawk does, however, can claim to be the first comic character to die from AIDS. After three years of story spread over 18 issues, three miniseries, and a convoluted numbering system, Shadowhawk succumbed to his disease in the May 1995. The event made newspaper headlines through the Associated Press and United Press International.
May 1997
Lighting Comics was a short-lived company from the early 1990s comic boom that epitomizes all of the industry’s worst practices from the era. They manufactured collectibles by promising limited print runs and no second editions. They encouraged speculators by offering special rewards to customers who had a store receipt showing they bought more than one copy. They pioneered nude variant covers of their “bad girl” books. They embraced controversy when they debuted the first HIV-positive superhero, Bloodfire, in May 1993 (cover shown above). Then, in May 1997, they killed him in a stunt aimed to improve sales and shrinkwrapped a condom with the comic.
Continued belowNaturally, Lightning offered collectors two editions so they could buy both. The standard, non-bagged edition was $3 (high for the time period), and the “AIDS Awareness” edition was $9.95. That may seem like an expensive condom, but you have to understand that 20% of net profits from the issue were donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
Maybe.
See, I have three different sources saying this was going to be published. I have uncovered zero evidence that it actually was. Lightning faded away by mid 1997, and it’s possible plans for this comic got scrapped. It doesn’t appear in the Overstreet Price Guide, but neither do any other Lightning publications. The major online retailers like MyComicShop.com, Mile High, and Graham Crackers don’t list it, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Muddying the waters further is some conflicting reports. One source says the comic would be called “Bloodfire” vol 2 #1, another says the title was “Death of Bloodfire” #1, and the third says it’s “the last issue of Bloodfire”. Internet search results turn up very little, but that’s not surprising for a minor comic release that predates most existing internet sites.
I’m inclined to believe orders for this issue were too small to proceed and the company quietly canceled it before dissolving. Still, I’ll be keeping an eye out at conventions just in case. I’d love to add this to my collection of oddball comics.
May 28, 2007
20th Century Fox had been in the business of promoting movies for a long time.
The Franklin Mint had been in the business of selling commemorative coins for a long time.
Surely the combination of their talents would synergize them to greater heights!
That was the idea in early 2007 when they came up with a joint plan to put advertisements for the then-upcoming film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on the backs of 40,000 quarters. Some would be released into circulation, others would be encapsulated and sold to collectors. The film will be in everyone’s faces and on their minds, and fans of comics, the film, and rare coins will pay a premium to get a good copy. Win-win-win, right?
The US Mint disagreed, and on May 28, 2007 they released a public statement warning the Franklin Mint and 20th Century Fox that advertising on coins was illegal. There was some disagreement about whether the image and a url for a website was advertising, but the matter didn’t make it to court. It was also not repeated.
