British comic book publisher Rebellion have announced “The Vigilant,” a one-shot comic that sees the return of several cult comic book characters in what is described as the start of the “Rebellion-verse.” The comic is written by veteran scribe (and Death’s Head co-creator) Simon Furman, with art by Simon Coleby (“2000 AD,” “The Authority”) and more, unnamed contributors. Here’s the plot synopsis:
“When the evil forces of Von Hoffman and Dr Mesmer team up and pluck the immortal Adam Eterno from the winds of time, all of reality is under threat! Only the Vigilant; a mighty team composed of super-beings, warlocks, warriors and monsters stand between us and total chaos! Join The Leopard from Lime Street, Steel Commando, Dr. Sin, Pete’s Pocket Army, Blake Edmonds, Yāo and Thunderbolt the Avenger on their premiere adventure. The Rebellion-verse Begins here!”
All of these characters were originally created for Fleetway/IPC during the 1970s, and were acquired by Rebellion with the rest of Fleetway’s library in 2016. Here’s the lowdown on some of these characters:
– The Leopard from Lime Street: Created by Mike Western and Eric Bradbury for “Buster” in 1976, the Leopard was a heavily Spider-Man influenced superhero named Billy Farmer, who gained superpowers after being scratched by a radioactive leopard while taking photos of it for his school paper. Unlike Spider-Man, the Leopard has to contend with his vile, lazy and greedy uncle Charlie.
– Steel Commando: Introduced in the first issue of “Thunder” in 1970, the Steel Commando was a robot built to fight the Nazis. Unfortunately, due to a glitch in his programming, he would only respond to orders from Lance Corporal Ernie Bates, who was considered the laziest man in the army.
– Doctor Sin: A rapper and occult expert, Sin Tax is the grandson of the original Doctor Sin that was introduced in 1979’s “2000 AD Annual.”
– Pete’s Pocket Army: Created by Francisco Solano Lopez for “Buster” magazine in the ’60s, Pete’s Pocket Army were six small aliens from the planet Liturnus, who befriended a boy named Pete after their ship crash-landed on Earth.
– Blake Edmonds: Introduced in the ‘Death Wish’ strip in “Speed” #1 (February 1980), Blake Edmonds is a hideously disfigured Formula 1 driver who became a masked adventurer.
– Thunderbolt the Avenger: Debuting in “Buster” magazine in 1965, Thunderbolt refers to a male and female version of the character. The male version was Police Constable Mick Riley, who used a wristwatch that injected him with a substance that gave him superpowers like flight and superstrength.
– Von Hoffman: Von Hoffman was a Nazi scientist and the villain of the “Jet” strip ‘Von Hoffman’s Invasion,’ in which the newly-released convict used a gas to turn various animals into giant monsters. His ally Doctor Mesmer was similarly the villain of the “Lion” strip ‘Dr Mesmer’s Revenge.’
You’ll get to know these characters and more when “The Vigilant” arrives in stores this August.
