E-Man

[FanboyStranger]

It could still be Ben Reilly though! We can't rule that possibility out.

Hah! That really made me laugh.

[emb021]

A few points.

E-Man was always a humorous super hero, but didn't start off as a satire. This was the direction that First did in their comic version, which is ok, but not what the original one had.

The Ditko Question, as noted, ran as a backup series in Blue Beetle #1-5. There was stuff done for the unpublished #6, and additional work was done by Ditko, and this turned in the the one-shot "Mysterious Suspense #1", which DC later reprinted as part of their "Millennium editions".

All of this is reprinted in the 2nd Action Hero Archive.

Killjoy is a different type of character that ran as a backup in 2 issues of E-Man. The character is now owned by Ditko, and has been reprinted by Robin Snyder in one of the "Ditko Packages" he's published. Ditko later did an additional Killjoy story, but the tone was not the same, missing much of the humor of the original (and I think having Killjoy speak).

[The Confessor]

E-Man was always a humorous super hero, but didn't start off as a satire. This was the direction that First did in their comic version, which is ok, but not what the original one had.

Ummm...no, the original Charlton series by Cuti/Staton was definitely superhero satire. Without a doubt. It certainly isn't straight superhero comics a la Superman or Spider-Man, and the easter eggs, cameos, in-jokes and general sending up of superheroics leave little doubt of its satirical undertones. As you yourself said on the first page of this thread, E-Man is satire, but the First Comics series was a different kind of satire. I haven't read any of this later series, but I assumed from your comment that the satire is more to the fore and perhaps less subtle than in the Charlton series?

The Ditko Question, as noted, ran as a backup series in Blue Beetle #1-5. There was stuff done for the unpublished #6, and additional work was done by Ditko, and this turned in the the one-shot "Mysterious Suspense #1", which DC later reprinted as part of their "Millennium editions".

All of this is reprinted in the 2nd Action Hero Archive.

Thank you for the info.

Killjoy is a different type of character that ran as a backup in 2 issues of E-Man. The character is now owned by Ditko, and has been reprinted by Robin Snyder in one of the "Ditko Packages" he's published. Ditko later did an additional Killjoy story, but the tone was not the same, missing much of the humor of the original (and I think having Killjoy speak).

I've only read one Killjoy strip, but as previously mentioned, I found it practically unreadable. To me it reads like a pointed critique of liberal values as they relate to crme and punishment. As such, it is undoubtedly informed by Ditko's passion for objectivism and although I got what he was trying to say, I felt that it was waaaay too heavy handed.

[GavinR]

So who owns the rights to these and why haven't they been reprinted? It sounds like something I would love to read and it sucks that there isn't a trade of it out there.

[Aaron King]

Ummm...no, the original Charlton series by Cuti/Staton was definitely superhero satire. Without a doubt. It certainly isn't straight superhero comics a la Superman or Spider-Man, and the easter eggs, cameos, in-jokes and general sending up of superheroics leave little doubt of its satirical undertones. As you yourself said on the first page of this thread, E-Man is satire, but the First Comics series was a different kind of satire. I haven't read any of this later series, but I assumed from your comment that the satire is more to the fore and perhaps less subtle than in the Charlton series?

The later issues (such as this one) were awful, heavy-handed one-for-one satire. In this case, it was making fun of the X-Men and the Phoenix Saga. They're really clumsy books and Cuti didn't write them. They remind me of Howard the Duck once Gerber was gone. Any plot exists for the sole purpose of satire.

The Cuti issues are satirical in that they are a lot of light references and subversions of the superhero genre. The satire, however, did not drive the plot. E-Man, Nova, and everyone else were real characters (or at least as real as humor characters get) with lives outside of the references and subversions.

[icctrombone]

It's funny but I thought the First Books were great. They were written by Staton and Cuti joined him in issue #25. They included Mike Mauser later on in the series. I believe that Staton owns E-man. The original Charlton series was Reprinted in Baxter format in the 80's when the First series was being published. I have the entire First run and the Charlton in the various formats ( it was reprinted by a company called Modern ). I even bought whatever comico issues i could find. Staton must have gone through about four or five comic companies with E-man.

[The Confessor]

The later issues (such as this one) were awful, heavy-handed one-for-one satire. In this case, it was making fun of the X-Men and the Phoenix Saga. They're really clumsy books and Cuti didn't write them. They remind me of Howard the Duck once Gerber was gone. Any plot exists for the sole purpose of satire.

The Cuti issues are satirical in that they are a lot of light references and subversions of the superhero genre. The satire, however, did not drive the plot. E-Man, Nova, and everyone else were real characters (or at least as real as humor characters get) with lives outside of the references and subversions.

Oh, I totally agree with you on the second point (I can't comment on the later series though). As I previously noted, the Charlton E-Man comics work as bona fide superhero yarns -- albeit humerous ones -- first and foremost. The satire is bubbling under...like you say, it's not driving the plot. But clearly the original series does have satirical elements.

[Aaron King]

It's funny but I thought the First Books were great. They were written by Staton and Cuti joined him in issue #25.

My venomous reactions to the First series are based entirely on reading one or two issues written by Marty Pasko. According to the GCD, it looks like Staton started writing them around issue #9. I'd never realized that. I'll have to keep an eye out for them.