FSC: E-MAN #2

One of the new mainstay players in the emerging Direct Sales market comprised of comic book specialty stories in the 1980s was First Comics. An outfit out of Chicago, First boasted an initial eclectic line-up but slowly and surely crystalized into a reliable player in the field. Debuting in 1982, among the series First published were WARP (based on a series of Marvel-influenced science fiction plays that had run off-Broadway), Mike Grell’s JON SABLE, FREELANCE, and a revival of the 1970s Charlton super hero series E-MAN. E-MN had initially only run for 10 issues but was fondly remembered for its gentle whimsey reminiscent of the golden age Captain Marvel. The title also got a boost into memory after six of its ten issues were reprinted in the late 1970s as part of the Modern Comics 3-Bags that could be found in discount department stores. So there was some interest among fandom in bringing E-MAN back–though nobody was quite ready for the version that emerged at the start.

While the revived E-MAN was still being drawn by artist Joe Staton, the writing reins had passed from creator Nicola Cuti into the hands of industry veteran Marty Pasko. Pasko was sharp-tongued, his sense of humor a lot more biting and cutting than the style of the first run of the book. And that approach really grabbed notice with this second issue, the first part of a two-part story in which Pasko took satirical aim at the golden child of the moment in comic book fandom: the Chris Claremont and John Byrne era of X-MEN. Even this early on, the run was being lauded as a major milestone by fans–despite several professionals, including Pasko, pointing out its slipshod plotting and overwrought characterization. How much of this was motivated by envy is anybody’s guess–those Claremont and Byrne X-MEN issues have definitely stood the test of time. But in 1983 when E-MAN #2 first came out, they were still relatively recent, and the fervor around them was perhaps at its hottest. If you wanted to bring some eyeballs to a new comic book company launch, this was a pretty effective way of getting there.

Pasko, though, didn’t limit himself to taking potshots just at the characters and the work, he chose to involve caricature versions of the assorted Marvel creators as well, making this satire a bit more personal in the telling. Pasko skewers Claremont’s excessive purple captions, the manner in which his characters directly reveal their emotional states and backstories in thought balloons, and the unhealthy sexual undercurrent that runs beneath the strip. He wasn’t pulling any punches. For his part, Staton illustrates this all in his typical cartoony manner, with his versions of the “F-Men” pulling clear inspiration from the works of Byrne and Cockrum while possessing an appealing cartooniness of their own.

Backing up a moment to the premise: E-MAN is about the adventures of an alien entity who was born in the supernova of a dying star. Able to transition from energy into matter and back, this alien being adopts the identity of Alec Tronn after encountering exotic dancer Nova Kane and being inspired to become a comic book super hero. A short while later, Nova went through a convenient origin to gain similar powers to that of Alec. The pair are often in the orbit of seedy private investigator Mike Mauser, and for some reason there’s an intelligent koala bear called Teddy Q wandering around. This story begins with Mauser being hired to locate the missing daughter of Carmen Porn, who disappeared while attending a concert. Turns out that she’s fallen into the hands of Para-Sight Industries, whose CEO Ford Fairmont is transforming them into living versions of his favorite comic book creations, the F-Men. Alec and Nova agree to help out with Mauser’s investigation despite having their own issues to work through (namely the fact that Nova feels like she’s losing her humanity after her transformation, and being around the almost childlike Alec is only underlining those feelings.)

As E-Man and Nova head up to Kitty Porn’s home in Marlboro Corners, the train they’re riding on catches fire and they’re forced to go into action to rescue the passengers and put out the blaze. In doing so, they’re observed by Fairmont and his team of ersatz F-Men–Fairmont is looking for somebody that he can transform into the object of his and everybody else’s affection. Jean Beige, the Albatross, and he thinks he’s found the perfect subject in Nova. So the F-Men attack Alec and Nova with the intent of abducting her, and make good on their objective: Drizzle is able to ensnare Nova in a raincloud while Zitpops, Weasel, Clodhoppus and Slimesquirmer gang up on E-Man.

Meanwhile, Fairmont’s assistant Dave is also on the lookout for new potential F-Men and he’s honed in on Mauser’s nephew’s girlfriend valley girl Debbe Webbe. At the same time, in the offices of Wonderful Incredible Miraculous Publications, it hasn’t been lost on bossman Stanley Presents that his intellectual property has suddenly come to life and is running amok. After consulting with his underlings Sniper and Companyman, Presents makes a call to a friend of his to help them take back control of the F-Men: Jason Rightguard, Masternose.

In the interim, Fairmont had completed transforming Nova into Albatross, whose utter appeal creates tension among the team, all of whom are immediately in love with her, including Fairmont. At the same time, Mauser and E-Man come across Dave as he tries to abduct Debbe and enter into a running fight with the hapless henchman, eventually capturing him and saving Debbe and Mauser’s nephew Donald Duke. Mauser and E-Man are able to torture Dave with an endlessly looping copy of Kramer vs Kramer until he tells them where the F-Men can be located.

As this is going on, though, Masternose has made contact with Nova and using his Psychic Rapport Building and Sense of Time and Place Disorienting Incense to transform Nova into his creature, the Black Princess. Dave is able to liberate himself momentarily, long enough to warn Fairmont that E-Man is on the way, and Fairmont replies that the F-Men will be ready and waiting for him. And that’s where this two-part adventure is To Be Continued. The second half continues in this same vein, with lots of jabs at Claremont’s writing style and a few other relatively mean-spirited slaps at additional Marvel creators. One gets the impression that this wasn’t at all done in a spirit of good fun, though that’s entirely my own reading. But as somebody whose feelings towards X-MEN had grown a bit colder in light of the tremendous acclaim the series had earned following the Dark Phoenix Saga, I took a lot of delightful schadenfreude out of seeing it and its creators skewed in this fashion. Of course, i was only fifteen years old at the time, the prime target age for this kind of thing.