Elementals was my first Comic Shop comic book. My first time away from Marvel books picked up at the variety store.
I'd always been a fan of this Bill Willingham guy who did these great drawings in the AD&D manuals (stop laughing, I know). Then I see his name on this comic book. I was blown away. This guy's art had reminded me of John Byrne on X-Men.
But I was surprised to discover that his greatest strength was his writing. The Elementals was very adult, and violent. Characters you rooted for could be killed. Horribly. It had impact. The artwork was great and everyone dressed like they were on Miami Vice. The first 12 issues were perfect.
Unfortunately the publisher, Comico, ran into serious financial trouble, and found themselves $750,000 in debt. When the new owner took over things got worse and I believe he even bounced the check when he bought the rights to Elementals. He does still have them though and for whatever reason has turned down all offers even apparently one from Jim Lee. Sadly it seems there will be no future for Elementals.
Edited to add: A lot of people are confusing my early 80's Elementals with the early 90's Elementals. The early 90's series was not under the control of Willingham and featured nudity and swimsuit and lingerie specials. Not the series I mean. Honestly. I mean the very first series that started in 1983. This is the cover to number one:
1 comment:
nice piece fellow Ontarioan
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