Only one more single-vote receiver to go after today’s installment of the Final ’90s Countdown! And like I always say, getting only one vote isn’t a thing of shame, but rather a testament to all the beloved books that came out during this usually maligned decade! That said, here we go with
Supreme (Image Comics/Maximum/Awesome, 1992 – 2000)
So, where to start with this comic? It’s got bit of a convoluted history but we’ll get through it!
It all kicks off in Youngblood #3 (August 1992), where the character is introduced. A creation of Rob Liefeld and Brian Murray, Supreme, a somewhat more violent take on Superman, got his own series in November 1992, in a first issue inexplicably labeled as “Volume 2.” …I’ve seen explanations for that ranging from “someone messed up” to “it’s implying a long previous history” to “it’s setting up an eventual ‘Volume 1’ series that would go into the character’s past history.” (And we sort of get that last one, but more on that later.)
But whatever the reason, the actual premise of the series itself sounded interesting to me at the time, in which Supreme, active during World War II, leaves the Earth for decades and returns in our absolutely current and modern year of 1992. And then, let the kicking of asses and the taking of names ensue.
I have to admit, despite thinking the premise was neat, the execution on these early issues were…not to my taste. It was very much an Image Comics of the Early ’90s with “kewl” looks and crossovers with other Image heroes and so on. A brief glimpse at this Grand Comics Database gallery of covers for the first 35 issues shows a whole lot of jagged lines and gritted teeth and just did not seem to Be For Me.
…Um, I realize that I did have someone place a vote for this as their favorite ’90s title, so I really don’t mean to yuck your yum, as people on podcasts say. I’m just giving my surface-level personal response to these “before-times” Supreme comics and for all I know, they read great. I see Shawn McManus drew a couple of them…I like his work! And Keith Giffen is in here somewhere, too!
Anyway, all that said, I don’t recall a whole lot of memories about these earlier Supremes during their initial sales at the shop. There was some anticipation for the first issue, sure…Image Comics was still in its Age of Hotness, after all. And I remember it selling fairly well when it came out. I mean, it did have a pretty striking cover by Murray. I know I linked to the cover earlier, but I’ll go ahead and put it here because honestly, I do like it.
Note that’s the newsstand cover, as the cover comic shops got had an embossed foil logo that doesn’t really show up great in scans like this. But still, that’s a cover that made customers go “whoa, look at this” and pick it up…and then they’d ask what “Volume 2” meant, and friend, only Rob Liefeld’s hairdresser knows for sure. (I should note here that there is an origin series for Supreme, called The Legend of Supreme, masterminded by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming, that covers his origin. If you need a “Volume One” to counter that “Volume Two,” this is close enough, I think.)
So anyhoos, Supreme continued on Supreming, until something very weird happened to the title in 1996. Specifically, this happened:
Alan Moore…yes, that Alan Moore, not any of those other Alan Moores you may be thinking of, took over writing chores with issue #41 (art by oe Bennett and Marlo Alquiza). With its Superman #1 (1939) inspired cover by Jerry Ordway, clearly changes were afoot, especially when you compare that cover to the ones in the gallery I linked earlier. This isn’t the hyperkinetic, violent Supreme we’d been seeing. This is something more retro, more “Silver/Golden” age-y. (And here’s the second printing of that #41, if you’re interested.)
And that’s what we got! Before Moore launched the America’s Best Comics line in 1999, here he was doing fun, silly, Silver Age Superman-inspired stories, complete with his own Lex Luthor type, his own Jimmy Olsen type, his mild-mannered secret identity, his superpowered pet dog, and on and on. Every story was a tribute to that sort of storytelling, as told through modern eyes…not ironically, not parodic, just played straight but still with a sense of humor about itself. It was Moore’s own antidote to the grim ‘n’ gritty trend of the ’80s to which he inadvertently contributed.
(One of my favorite gags is the Jimmy Olsen stand-in character, Billy Friday, finding himself in an endless series of transmutations that continue from issue to issue, referencing the many transformations Jimmy Olsen himself would undergo in his comics.)
This style of Supreme comic continued on for quite some time, and transcended multiple publishers and decades. The original series of Supreme ended its run at Image Comics with #42 in 1996. It picks up with #43 under the name Supreme: The New Adventure, running ’til #48. Then it’s off to Awesome Comics, where we get issues #49 through #56 (including two #52s, a #52A and a #52B), running ’til 1998. We then jump ahead a year, remaining at Awesome, where we get Supreme: The Return. This starts the numbering over again with #1, running until #6 in 2000, essentially being issues #57 through #62.
And yes, that was Alan Moore on all those issues. Notable other artists on these books include Chris Sprouse and Rick Veitch, though to my recollection everyone who worked on the book did a swell job.
So, with #6/#62 from that last series, that was it forever, right? That was the end of this great Silver Age-y experiment, and Supreme was never seen again, correct?
My dates at the top there, of 1998 through 2000, basically reflect the inception of the Supreme title until its eventual end at Awesome. It more of less kept the same numbering throughout, except for that final batch of comics, but I’m still considering it all part of the same run, especially given what comes later.
And what comes later, you may ask? Why, Supreme #63, of course, in 2012 from Image Comics.
Turns out there was still one script left by Mr. Moore, and Erik Larsen illustrated it for this debut issue of a new run of the title. And then the subsequent issues, running through #68 in 2013, had Larsen scripting and drawing, building on Moore’s work on the title while edging it away from the retro look ‘n’ feel that had dominated so much of its run. I read these too, and to my memory they were still a lot of fun…it wasn’t what Moore was doing, exactly, but Larsen comics have an energetic energy all their own and it was applied nicely to the concept.
There was one further Supreme comic in 2015, unrelated (or…is it) to previous goings-on. Supreme: Blue Rose, by Warren Ellis and Tula Lotay, is an interesting take on the very nature of superhero comics themselves [SPOILERS, maybe] , in particular the idea of “reboots.” We find ourselves in a world where Supreme’s reality has been rebooted yet again, but the reboot was somehow incomplete/flawed. It’s one of the few stories to actually dive into what a reboot would actually mean for the fictional world being rebooted (Astro City #1/2 being another classic example) and it makes for fascinating reading for those of us mired in all this superhero universe silliness.
Now, as for reprints…only a few issues of the pre-Moore Supreme were reprinted, with issues #12 though #16 showing up in Supreme Madness from Image. All the Moore Supreme (through the end of The Return) was reprinted in two trade paperbacks from Checker Books, but sadly my memory of these was that the print quality wasn’t that great…everything looked a little fuzzy, like they were low quality scans or they were shot from the original printed pages. I mean, it’s not bad, just not ideal. If that’s all you can find, it’ll do in a pinch.
There we have it…Supreme. A comic with somewhat inauspicious beginnings, looking an awful lot like everything else on the stands at the time, that turned into an almost-forgotten classic. Alan Moore’s run reminded us all of the whimsy and wonder that comics used to give us, while it was surrounded by gritted teeth and sloppy crosshatching. At least he was able to put out as many issues as he did, even if it was under several imprints and with a decade-long gap before his final issue saw the light of day.
Before I wrap up here, I do have one memory from the old shop, shortly after Moore had been on the book for several issues. I had a customer talking to me about how much he loved the Supreme comics, how the character was cool and tough, how ever issue was action packed. “Not like whatever weird things are happening in the comic now,” he said.
As much as I thought Moore’s Supreme run was objectively good, it was a little bit of an eye-opener to encounter someone with the exact opposite opinion. I simply nodded in agreement, probably. I had to look at it from his side…here I am, reading this amazing comic about a super-powered guy who takes no guff from anyone, who’s badass and kicks ass…that suddenly becomes a title involving superpets and looks like it came from the ’60s. I’m sure it was quite the shock.
ADDENDUM: I know I didn’t get into all the spin-offs, like Lady Supreme and Kid Supreme an’ all that, but this post was long enough as is. Just wanted to acknowledge that, yes, I know such spin-offs existed.
My sketch book has a double page spread of Superboy and Kid Supreme by Rick Veitch
Don’t be jealous
It may be worth to mention that Moore basically started his own universe here with Glory (not-Wonder Woman) and Youngblood (not Teen Titans/Young Justice). Both of them have a very tumultous publishing history, the latter even being finished by fans (from original Moore scripts and treatments). And let’s not forget the brilliant Judgment Days crossover concerning a murder trial where the solution lies firmly in the comics meta.
There’s a whole site about this universe: forgottenawesome.blogspot.com
The Chris Sprouse-drawn issues are so beautiful. Some of his best work, I’d say, many (all?) inked by Al Gordon.
And Tula Lotay on Blue Rose was eye-opening, like fashion shots of superheroes seen through a dreamlike haze. She was the perfect choice for that book.
Supreme was one of the titles (along with Brigade, Bloodstrike, and Stormwatch) that did the “Images of Tomorrow” event, where they published issue 25 out of order between issues 12 and 13. I always thought that was a fun idea (even if I never read the comics).
Whenever I see Supreme, I am reminded of what has to be one of the more baffling intercompany crossovers ever – “Gladiator / Supreme”, a crossover with the Shi’ar Imperial Guard character. Another sign of how anything peripherally connected to the X-Men was given a shot in the 90s.
Didn’t Grant Morrison put Supreme in his Multiversity handbook? I know a few Earths had THUNDER AGENTS but with different names (though recognizable), and while Supreme wasn’t mentioed, enough of the other characters and their analogues were mentioned? Anyone? Am I old again?`
It would be great if someone put forth a comprehensive list of what Alan Moore wrote for Image Comics in sequential order in order to know what is actually worth buying while bypassing all of the dross.
Maybe comprehensive lists for what Steve Gerber or any other top tier Bronze Age writer with a proven track record at Marvel or DC wrote for Image would be helpful as well?!
As for Brian Murray, he certainly did great work on the Young All-Stars comic published by DC in the late ’80s in the wake of COIE.
@ Wayne
I don’t recall Supreme being in the Multiversity handbook, and if Rob Liefeld owns the character, it’s not likely that DC could do that. Maybe Morrison created a Supreme homage character for Multiversity?
As for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, yes, Morrison created the knockoff The Agents of W.O.N.D.E.R. (The World Organization of National Defense and Emergency Reserves) who live on Earth 39.
The members are: Cyclotron (Dynamo homage); Doctor Nemo (NoMan homage); Psi-Man (Menthor homage); Accelerator (Lightning homage); and Corvus (Raven homage).
So far DC hasn’t put them to use, as far as I’m aware, but it could be interesting to create homage characters to Archie’s Mighty Crusaders (considering that DC licensed those characters twice and created two iterations) with new character names and put them against the Agents of W.O.N.D.E.R. in a retro ’60s Silver Age limited series or Black Book series or something. They could also throw the Charlton Action Heroes from the ’60s into the mix.
And here’s an idea for DC:
Why not created a 12 issue limited series written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Jerry Ordway in which virtually all of the Golden Age superheroes from defunct publishers are used?
I really don’t know how many there are, but, for the sake of argument, let’s say that there were approximately 20 comic book companies which published superhero stories during WW II. So, what DC could do is have each of these as a separate Earth in the Omniverse. Earth Fox, Earth Centaur, Earth Ace, Earth Holyoke, Earth Fiction House, Earth Crestwood, Earth Chesler, Earth Dell, Earth Nedor, Earth Columbia, Earth Lev Gleason, etc.
Uncle Sam (from Quality/DC Comics)!could appear on each Earth, during WW II, and rally each Earth’s heroes to fight an existential threat–like maybe Darkseid allying himself with the Axis powers of each Earth–and we could have a situation where literally legions of superheroes from each Earth are wiped out in the epic battle (and especially a lot of the “regrettable” characters, of which there are probably at least 100). Perhaps a multitude of Earths also perish, as in COIE. But whichever heroes/Earths survive could then be integrated into the DC Omniverse (even if those characters are public domain, DC could have their own versions of them and in some cases switch up the names).
Of course DC already has all of the Fawcett and Quality characters at its disposal, as well as Golden Age Blue Beetle from Fox. Maybe they could license the MLJ/ Archie Golden Age characters for the story–or else create homage versions of them. I’m not certain if Harvey Comics ever renewed and kept copyright on the original Black Cat, Captain Freedom, Shock Gibson, Girl Commandoes (who should meet up with the Boy Commandos!), The Zebra, Spirit of ’76, etc., but again, DC could offer to license those characters from the Harvey Estate or else create homage versions. And as far as Timely/Marvel goes, there are two options: work out a deal with Marvel, or else use the Timely homage characters which appeared in Freedom Fighters nos. 7 – 9, back in 1977, Americommando, Rusty, Barracuda, Fireball, and Sparky, as DC’s answer to the Invaders.
By the by, there is a Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes Hawaiian Style shirt that is now out there and available to order online. They even included Ferro Lad!
Mike, you’re often apologetic about not meeting self-imposed deadlines for entries. This was certainly worth waiting for a few extra hours!
I just saw that LoSH shirt on Instagram. I look terrible in yellow, otherwise I would have immediately ordered two. It also includes Chemical King, and I believe they’re all drawn by Curt Swan. It’s amazing.
Sean-Steve Gerber is pretty easy, as he pretty much only wrote Cybernary for Image Comics.
@Chris V
Thank you for letting me know. Is it a good read?
@Thom H.
Maybe they will eventually make them in other colors?
Anyway, I agree that the little drawings of the Legionnaires drawn by Curt Swan look neat–but I’d like to see a Bronze Age Legion Hawaiian shirt with all of the team drawn by Dave Cockrum!
Sean-It’s not really one of Gerber’s best works. It doesn’t read very much like what you expect from Gerber.
OK, I did the hard work of compiling all of Alan Moore’s writing for Image too.
Spawn #8-If you like Spawn, this is probably the best Spawn story ever written, but Moore’s work on Spawn is all pretty skippable.
Spawn: Blood Feud #1–4-See above
1963 #1-6-This would tie with Supreme as Moore’s most fun and successful series for Image. Unfortunately, it remains incomplete. It’s still definitely worth hunting down.
Violator #1–3-See above about Spawn-related stories.
Violator vs. Badrock #1–4-Even more skippable.
Shadowhawks of Legend #1-This was an anthology, so Moore only contributed a short story. It’s a really strong short story though.
The Maxx No. 21-You should read all of The Maxx. One of the best books Image ever published.
Supreme-I think this has already been covered.
Judgment Day mini-series-Not that great.
“Heroes, Heroines & Homicide” #Α
“The Trial” #Ω
“Youngblood Prologue featuring Shaft” Awesome Holiday Special
Judgment Day: Aftermath
Youngblood #1
“Dandy in the Underworld” Awesome Adventures! # 1-Moore’s two parts of Image’s Teen Titans rip-off.
Glory #0-Sadly, Moore didn’t continue writing Glory after this one issue.
Now it becomes more complicated, as these comics were originally published by Image Comics under the WildStorm imprint which is now under the DC banner, so I’m listing them separate.
WildC.A.T.s #21–34 & #50-I’ve never been that big a fan of WildCATs. This was probably Moore’s most early-‘90s series. I’d recommend reading Joe Casey’s WildCATs 3.0 instead.
Fire From Heaven #1–2-Not great. Kind of like another Judgment Day mini-series.
Spawn/WildC.A.T.S. : “Devilday”-More Spawn!
Wildstorm Spotlight: Majestic-This was an amazing comic. Moore at his mind-expanding/cosmic best. After Supreme and 1963, this is the Moore Image comic you need to own.
Voodoo #1–4-Eh, you’re not kidding much if you’ve never read this one.
Deathblow: Byblows #1–3-You’re kidding even less if you’ve never read this one.
Chris, according to Wikipedia you missed Spawn #32 (Blood Feud prologue) and Spawn #37.
Also, some of this stuff was collected as:
“Alan Moore: The Complete WildC.A.T.s” reprints all of his run.
“Alan Moore: Wild Worlds” (2007) reprinted Spawn/WildC.A.T.S., Wildstorm Spotlight, Voodoo, and Deathblow, and WildCats #50.
“DC Universe by Alan Moore” reprints a bunch of DC stuff Moore did plus Wildstorm Spotlight, Voodoo, Deatblow, and Wildcats #50.
I don’t think any of those are still in print, which seems wild to me, but also there were two “Tomorrow Stories” specials that never got reprinted either.
I’ll note that 1963 is, at least, relatively cheap to pick up in single issues.
Earth 35 was the Awesome/Supreme analog: https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Earth_35
Sprouse on Supreme was outstanding. I was confused by the never-actually-used redesign by Alex Ross that repurposed his Kingdom Come Brainiac’s Daughter character design and made Supreme look like Terry Bradshaw.
@ Chris V
Thank you for the list!
@Matthew Murray
Thanks for the supplemental information!
@ Wayne
Well, it looks like I stand corrected. There is a Supreme analog on Earth 35 called Supremo, as Chris G. Pointed out.
@ Chris G
Thanks for the correction.
Now I want to know if The Owl from Earth 35 ever interacted with or fought The Crime Syndicate’s Owlman from Earth 3?
I also think that Earth 47 should be renamed Earth 67, and that along with Prez, Sunshine Superman, Brother Power the Geek, etc., an iteration of the zany Bob Haney Teen Titans should exist on that Earth, along with Metamorpho, Angel and the Ape, and Hawk and Dove (brothers Hank and Don Hall).
I also think there should be an Earth Ditko in the DC Multiverse which has only Steve Ditko characters–or pastiches of Ditko characters.
And we need an Earth for DC’s Atomic Age characters.
Also, what is the Earth where Batman married the original Batwoman (Kathy Kane) and Robin (Dick Grayson) grew up to be Batman II and Bruce and Kathy’s son became Robin II? I think John Byrne revisited this concept, but it would be interesting to know if on this Earth Dick Grayson settled down with Bette Kane, the original Bat-Girl. Also, a story where Batman II and Robin II meet the original Super Sons (Clark Kent Jr and Bruce Wayne Jr) from the ’70s would be interesting.
How would they react to each other’s existence?
I also think DC should have a pulp/film noir Earth set in the late ’30s to ’40s where super powered beings, magic, super science, and Krypton simply don’t exist. But on this Earth the appearance of The Crimson Avenger leads to The Sandman, which leads to Batman, which leads to Wildcat, which leads to the original Atom, which leads to the original Green Arrow, which leads to Liberty Belle, Black Canary, and so on. Where they are all just well trained street level fighters with a minimum of gadgets beyond things like a utility belt, bow and arrows, or a gas gun. A world of mystery men and women grounded in reality.
Or imagine an Earth which has “The Consortium of Creators”– characters based on actual creators who worked for, and shaped DC’s rich history. There could be a Gardner Fox homage character, a Len Wein homage character, a Gerry Conway homage character, and so on. The heroes from various Earths could seek out the knowledge and wisdom of The Consortium of Creators, who could be somewhat similar to the Guardians of Oa.
@Sean Mageean, @Chris V,
Steve Gerber also wrote/scripted Codename: Strykeforce 10-14, Codename: Stykeforce Opposing Forces 1 & 2, Pitt 9 & 10, and Savage Dragon/ Destroyer Duck. The last one is worth reading, Pitt is skippable, and I didn’t read Codename: Strykeforce past issue 1.
I loved Alan Moore’s Supreme as it was coming out, even if the main artists’ work was usually ugly before Chris Sprouse took over. Rick Veitch did an amazing job aping the styles of artists like Curt Swan, Kurt Schaffenberger, Wally Wood, and Neal Adams in the flashbacks. The stories were fun and imaginative. Thinking about it right now, I’m tempted to dig through my longboxes…
@Chris G: thanks! I had got to thinking that this Earth was the one that replaced Earth-Frank Miller, I remember that being a thing, but everyone was surprised that the actual FM-Earth was the one where Batman and a lot of characters were Elseworlds pirates.
@Mike Loughlin
Thank you for updating the Steve Gerber/Image list.
It definitely sounds like the issues of Supreme with the Rick Veitch art for the flashback sequences would be fun to read.
Are there any other notable Bronze Age writers who were recruited to write any of these early Image books? Steve Englehart? Chris Claremont? Jim Starlin?
@Wayne
Now I’m getting more confused. By “Earth Frank Miller,” I guess you mean the Earth/alternate future timeline where The Dark Knight Returns takes place, as well as Miller’s Superman stories from several years ago–unless those are on yet a different Earth. Or would Ronin also be set on “Earth Frank Miller?” Actually , I guess Ronin is a Frank Miller owned IP. But why are pirate iterations of Batman and other characters part of “Earth Frank Miller?” The while Batman and others as pirates trope sounds to me more like something that should be set on an “Earth Grant Morrison”…
@Sean Mageean: Chris Claremont wrote/scripted WildCATs 9-12, Cyberforce v2 9-11, and an early ‘00s Gen13 series. He also wrote a (bad) Witchblade/Wolverine crossover. Never read his Gen13. The WildCATs & Cyberforce issues are about Claremont’s Huntsman character, who I’m pretty sure never appeared again. They’re Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri early Image comics with lots of Claremont words on top. I liked them well enough when I was a teenager, but knew they weren’t nearly as good as Claremont’s X-comics. I haven’t read or seen anyone talking them up since they debuted.
I just looked up Len Wein’s bibliography- apparently, he co-wrote Codename: Strykeforce Opposing Forces 2 (w/ Gerber), and wrote Supreme Annual 1 (pre-Alan Moore, I think). He also wrote a miniseries called 21, which I’ve never heard of.
I remembered seeing Tom DeFalco’s name in an Image comics ad, and being surprised. The comic being advertised looked awful, but it was released: Randy O’Donnell is the M@n 1-3. Yes, “Man” is spelled that way in the book’s title.
Jack Kirby co-wrote Phantom Force 0-2, his last published work. Worth seeking out for completists.
Marv Wolfman wrote/scripted Brigade 17-22 and The 10th Muse 1-9. Never read them, and my brain is having a hard time combing Wolman’s scripting with Liefeld-wannabe art in Brigade.
Jim Starlin did some art for Supreme: the Return 2 (technically not an Image comic), but didn’t write any comics for Image.
David Michelline co-wrote the Image/Valiant crossover Deathmate Yellow. I think it was the HARD Corps sequence, which featured a tacked-on Spartan from WildCATs. I remember the team being called, “H.A.R.D.C.A.T.s,” which I found mildly amusing.
Frank Miller wrote Spawn 11 and the Spawn/Batman crossover. Both are terrible.
Walt Simonson co-wrote Gen 13 Bootleg 4 (w/ Louise Simonson) and 11-12 (w/ Aaron Lopresti), wrote & drew Cyberforce 0, co-wrote part of Wildstorm! 1 (w/ Louise Simonson), and wrote all of Weapon Zero. He also wrote the Weapon Zero/ Silver Surfer crossover. Cyberforce 0 was drawn by Simonson, so it’s worth seeking out. The W0/Surfer issue wasn’t great, it was part of a rough Marvel/Top Cow crossover called Devil’s Reign that is entirely skippable. I haven’t read the rest.
Nothing came up from Steve Englehart, Roger Stern, Cary Bates, Roy Thomas, or Jim Shooter. I had fun looking this up, though, and being surprised by some of what I found.
@Sean:I remember fans guessing which Earth would be their canon, I guess? This was months before Supremo etc. Probably since FINAL CRISIS as Supremo was in that.
I just remember DC souring on Miller and yes, it would have been the DARK KNIGHT books.I might very well be wrong, as I often am, but Miller taking so long to finish THE HOLY TERROR was something that pissed the editors off, even though that book had nothing to do with Batman.
I just call it Earth-Frank Miller. I distinctly recall people looking at the images of the Earths and was “this one” Earth-FM. Think on it, he’s ignored.
The pirate Batman is as GREAT book. Elseworlds for certain. A lot of splash pages, told in prose. Morrison made it a water world and as with other Earths he put it present day. Mid-90s, it might have been DETECTIVE COMICS. Find a copy, you’ll be intrigued.
@Sean: to be clear, Earth-FM was replaced by the water world pirate one-shot. Surprise to me, but one would think FM deserved his own Earth. Not me, but some.
@Mike Loughlin
Thanks for researching the information! I’m glad you had fun with it. I do have most of the Phantom Force issues, including the Kirby ones, and some of the Walt and Louise Simonson comics sound like stuff I might want to track down. Gen 13 is one Image book I have found enjoyable enough to buy when I find issues in dollar boxes.
@Wayne
It makes sense that books occurring on “Pirate Batman Earth” would have a lot of splash pages…
But does that Earth’s Batman say: “I’m Pirate Batman–AAARRRGGGHHH!”?
I believe that Frank Miller’s Holy Terror was going to be a Batman story, but DC rejected it, so Miller just altered Batman and called him The Fixer, and Catwoman was altered as well, and Miller unleashed a gonzo propaganda screed.
@Sean: I don’t think the characters speak at all. Miller was going to do BATMAN KILLS AL-QUEDA and then use The Fixer and whatever the female analogue was, you could see where it would have been Catwoman because Miller didn’t even erase the ears half the time.
@Wayne
Well, it seems like they could go in a fun direction with a pirate Batman character if they had him meet an iteration of Aquaman, or Lori Lemaris, or Dolphin, or some other aquatic characters. They could also have him meet Jon Valor–The Black Pirate.
It was a very serious comic. As with every Multiversity Earth, Morrison made them present day (like JUSTICE RIDERS and THRILLKILLER, which should be a film) and on a waterworld. The original was good old swash-bucking.
@Wayne
I wish DC would give us a few lighthearted worlds.
Like an 80-Page Giant with some of the ’60s/’70s humor stuff, plus, a few new stories of Swing With Scooter, Date With Debbi, Binky, Sugar & Spike, The Inferior 5, etc., set in that era.
There could even be a Swing With Scooter: Year One limited series or one shot, set in London, circa 1964 -1965, about Scooter and his band, The Banshees, before Scooter relocated to Plainsville, USA. We could see the Banshees trying to make it, playing at The Crawdaddy Club, The Ealing Club, The Marquee Club, The Ricky-Tick, and other music venues in England. We could get humorous cameos by The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, The Animals, Donovan, etc. Amanda Conner, or Michael Allred, or Dan Parent could draw it.