The early ’90s were an exciting time for comic book fans. Slowly but surely, the stranglehold that the Big Two (Marvel and DC) had on the hearts and minds of fans is eroding, allowing a number of upstart publishers to carve out their own slice of the very lucrative market. . Dark Horse Comics had been successfully turning R-rated movies into comic book series for several years at that stage, and Marvel called on several superstar artists to bluff, leading to the creation of Image Comics and its stratospheric rise. It even spawned the trading card publisher Topps. was creating its own line of comics with great licenses like Mars Attacks and The X-Files. Valiant has its own superhero universe, and other publishers have been able to survive by combining traditional superhero titles with edgier, more unusual works.
Malibu Comics definitely falls into the latter category, and the series of well-produced and diverse comics has found a very comfortable niche in the market. But they have a desire to get in on the action in a shared universe, and it looks like this idea has come to fruition for the first time in The Protectors.
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created Watchmen for 12 issues at DC starting in 1986, changing the course of superhero fiction forever. Even the Big Two’s regular superhero stories got darker, edgier, and more violent. But all too often, there was a lack of intelligence, insight, and questioning of the very concept of costumed vigilantes that Watchmen brought to the table.
The Protectors launched the superhero team into a post-Watchmen world. That shows it. The team was formed after the superheroes (known as the “Paranormals”) had been away from public view for five years following a massive battle that caused massive destruction on U.S. soil. After a team of armed terrorists begins attacking police stations and other government facilities, the team assembled by the government is assembled in secret and initially operates undercover. They are also forced to comply with “no killing” orders in order to regain public trust.
The hero itself is a reboot of the character from the Golden Age of the 30s and 40s. They have somewhat awkward names (Amazing Man, Man of War, and…The Ferret, to name just three), which has a certain charm, but The Protectors It doesn’t quite fit the gritty, more realistic tone that it’s going for.
The writing is also a little clunky, and the characters are really poorly drawn, especially when it comes to the team. It’s pretty much in line with the writing style seen in early 90’s comics, but it hasn’t aged very well.
The art is also particularly bad and feels incredibly rushed. However, the coloring is pretty good, especially by the standards of the time.
So while The Protectors didn’t get off to the best start this issue, its premise of old-school heroes having to adapt to the modern world and answer to the government certainly has potential, and it That was enough to turn this issue out of its doldrums. 6 issues, the miniseries is limited to one issue spanning 20 issues, not counting the various spin-offs.
It was certainly interesting enough for me to keep reading, but the specter of ridiculous comic book gimmicks (holograms, embossed covers, foils, trading cards, variant covers, etc.) got so bad in the ’90s that it The market crashes because of – By the time issue 5 was published, one of the Protectors’ most infamous and ridiculous gimmicks had hit the Protectors.
But to be honest, it’s precisely that gimmick (which I won’t spoil yet) that made me check out this little-known and largely forgotten series in the first place.
So check it out more and you’ll see that gimmick soon. As they said or were told back then, watch this space!
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