10 Indie Comics That Deserve A Sequel
The current comic book market is dominated by Marvel and DC. It’s been that way for many decades, but independent publishers and creators have persisted in offering alternatives to the “big two”. While many publishers rise and fall each year, there are always series that become popular with readers around the world.
In the 1980’s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles caused an explosion of indie black-and-white comics. In the 1990s, Image Comics led a wave of viable alternatives to Marvel and DC Comics. Today, publishers like IDW, Boom! and Dynamite keep the independent spirit going by releasing plenty of comics that deserve more issues.
ten Cycops debuted with a young artist named Brian Stelfreeze
Published in 1988 by Comics Interview, Cycopes was a sci-fi series where three-person teams protect the world. When the white team is about to fall for an assassination, it proves deadly. Cycopes was written by Julie Woodcock and featured a new comic book artist named Brian Stelfreeze.
The three-issue series was succinct in its story, rounding it out enough. However, Cycopes was left with the villain still at large, setting the stage for a sequel. As long as Brian Stelfreeze provides the covers, if not the interior artwork, a sequel would be welcome.
9 The men of the day have created a complex world of vampires
day men was an eight-issue series that created a vast world of secret vampire clans that were at war with each other. Each coven, modeled after organized crime families, had trained, deadly agents protecting them during the day. Writers Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson worked perfectly with Brian Stelfreeze to create this world.
At the end of day men, Matt Gagnon left open the possibility of a sequel. History left the Virgo family to expect retribution from European families for stopping the Plague of hybrid vampires. David Reid, the Virgo family’s day man, still serves his family after earning their trust and loyalty. The world must be explored further before leaving it.
8 Ironwood was another rich world, but that’s for grown-ups
Bill Willingham kept two characters when he sold Elementary, the iron golem Fantasia Faust and the nascent dragon Dave Dragavon. He built the world iron wood around them and told a story of ribaldism and magic knife hunting. It was all done through the adult-only Eros Comix, an imprint of Fantagraphics.
Although pornographic, the world iron wood designed is excellent and needs further exploration. A role-playing supplement by Theatrix gave more insight into the world, showing potential. A sequel doesn’t have to be an adults-only title, as Willingham has proven its stories alone are worth the price.
7 Babe is a quirky character that needs to be explored further
In the 1990s, John Byrne was one of the legendary designers who formed the Legend imprint at Dark Horse. Among Byrne’s contributions to the shared universe with Mike Mignola, Art Adams and Mike Allred was baby, about a gestalt heroine with vast possibilities. She had the exponential strength of five women combined, each of which could trigger fusion on her location.
Since one of the women was a convicted felon, the possibility of her trying to use Babe’s identity to commit crimes was never explored. baby ended with Danger Unlimited, a Fantastic Four-like group interested in Babe. This isn’t surprising, given that his origins involve alien technology. The cliffhanger is one of Byrne’s unfinished stories most worth finishing.
6 Leave it to chance was a coming-of-age story that ended too soon
James Robinson and Paul Smith leave to chance was a wonderful series that followed a girl growing into her legacy as a paranormal investigator. Accompanied by a pet dragon, leave to chance had a sense of fun and innocence absent from comic books of the late 90s. The final issue of the series was published by Image Comics in 2002.
The latest issue set the stage for young Chance Falconer to come of age. A sequel, even just a standalone graphic novel, would show how the young woman has taken her father’s place as protector of his town. Unfortunately, it’s been twenty years since readers last saw it, so time is running out.
5 Coventry has built a fascinating modern magical world
In 1996 and 1997 Fantagraphics published three issues of Bill Willingham’s Coventry. This predates his most famous series at Vertigo, Fables. Although it excels thanks to Willingham’s clever writing, Coventry also features his incredibly detailed illustrations, seen far too rarely.
The world of Coventry started with a plague of frogs investigated by a paranormal detective and expands from there. Each page seems to elaborate on the world, involving mythical creatures, werewolves, angels and demons. Sadly, Coventry suffered from the near collapse of the comic book market, but had two follow-up novels featuring the legendary hero Beowulf, Hyde and research and The creator of monsters.
4 Monkeyman and O’Brien featured monkeys, super strong women and alien toads, all by Art Adams
Art Adams launched his creation of Monkeyman and O’Brien in 1993. Their adventures were sporadic, but each story brought readers fun and adventure. Their last appearances date back to 1998 with a serialized strip in the first issues of Black horse supplement and a cross with Gen13.
A comeback for the duo could just be a standalone graphic novel that ties together the lingering story threads. In a 2017 interview, Adams mentioned that if he did interior work again, it would be on something designer-owned like Monkeyman and O’Brien. Hope is eternal for fans of this duo’s adventures.
3 E-Man was one of the first superheroes in the comedy genre
E-Man was created in 1973 by writer Nicholas Cuti and artist Joe Staton for Charlton Comics. He was different from other superheroes, from his orange and yellow costume to his origin as an energy born in a supernova. Over the years, creators have returned to creating stories reminiscent of the Golden Age hero, Plastic Man.
Over time, the creators secured ownership of the character. There was a E-Man story planned by publisher Charlton Neo in 2014. Staton planned the story to be the last E-Man story, but the publisher folded before the comic was published. Hopefully Staton and the fans can one day shut down.
2 Elementaries went into limbo after ignoring Bill Willingham’s Bible
In the 1980s, Bill Willingham created one of the best-known independent superhero comics, Elementary. Both series and various specials and spinoffs dealt with mature subject matter, setting the stage for mainstream superheroes to tell more mature stories in years to come. Decades before the X-Men established the mutant nation of Krakoa, the Elementals established a formal supernatural nation.
In the 1990s, Bill Willingham sold the Elementals to Comico’s new owner, Andrew Rev. Before leaving the book, Willingham created a Bible story detailing how the “Oblivion War” story he had started was to unfold. As Willingham described it in a text by iron woodthe last time he saw this bible was that it was used as a door stopper.
1 We can never go home was supposed to have a sequel
We can never go home was a fantastic limited series written by Matthew Rosenberg and Patrick Kindlon, with art by Josh Hood. Published by Black Mask, it was rated by many websites as one of the best comics of 2015. We can never go home featured a teenage girl named Madison who discovers her superpowers and runs away with a new friend named Duncan.
The story grew more complex as it unfolded with mystery surrounding Madison’s parents, the government agents after them, and the criminal enterprise that employed other superhumans like Madison. We can never go home ended with Madison on the run and Duncan trying to get lost in the dark. A sequel was promised in a Black Mask giveaway for 2016’s Free Comic Book Day, but nothing developed beyond that.
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