How was your Fourth of July weekend? The holiday got us thinking about independence, specifically independent comics! Without further ado, here are the top four most successful independent comics heroes!
4) The Crow
Created by Detroit’s own James W. O’Barr, The Crow is probably the most successful character on this list with the fewest appearances. Eric Draven is a young musician who, together with his fiancée Shelly, is brutally murdered in an act of gang violence. Precisely one year later, he returns from the dead to take bloody revenge on those responsible for his murder. The original five issue mini-series was adapted into a 1994 film with Brandon Lee in the title role. The film was enough of a success to spawn two sequels and a TV spin-off despite the bizarre and tragic death of its star during filming.
Despite that success, O’Barr had complicated feelings about the character for a long time. He’d created it as a response to his own fiancée’s (accidental) death. It didn’t really make him feel better. Then he befriended Brandon Lee prepping for the movie, which ultimately made him feel worse. O’Barr eventually brought the character back to the comics page, but only after the first two movies were out. A new adaptation of the original story hits theaters next month, starring Bill Skarsgard in the title role.
3) Hellboy
Mike Mignola’s Hellboy turned thirty last year! The two-fisted occult investigator is at the center of a universe that freely mixes 30s pulp fiction, 1800s spiritualism, Lovecraftian cosmic horror, and the Universal Monsters. An agent of the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, Hellboy rejects his world-ending destiny and battles back the weird beings that threaten humanity. While not exactly a traditional superhero tale, Hellboy is Dark Horse Comics’ longest running and most beloved character.
The original series has spawned a universe of spin-offs starring everyone from Hellboy’s BRPD colleagues to 1930s crime-fighter Lobster Johnson. Hellboy has been adapted into live action movies, animated movies, table top RPGs, board games, video games, and more over the years. In fact, he will be returning to theaters next year in a direct adaptation of “The Crooked Man” mini-series. The screenplay is even by the comic’s writers, Mignola and Christopher Golden!
2) Spawn
After a few years as Marvel’s cash cow artist, Todd McFarlane was ready to do his own thing. Todd co-founded Image Comics with a few other ex-Marvel superstars in 1992. Each contributed an original series to the company’s lineup, and Todd’s was Spawn. It told the story of Al Simmons, an amoral mercenary who was betrayed by his employers at the CIA. He died and went to hell but pledged his service to the demon Malebolgia for a return ticket to Earth. There, he was reborn as a Hellspawn – an undead creature bonded to a demonic symbiote that gave him fantastic powers.
At nearly 360 issues, Spawn is the longest-running title in the history of independent comics. He’s been adapted into a so-so blockbuster movie, a cult favorite HBO animated series, and countless toys produced by McFarlane Toys, another of Todd’s efforts. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is working on a new Spawn movie, but its been (ironically) in development hell for years.
1) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In 1984, comic fans Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created a one-off parody comic called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It told the story of four humanoid, mutated teenage turtles taught martial arts by their mentor/father, a mutated rat named Splinter. Their mission: kill The Shredder, the ninja who murdered Spliter’s owner years ago. It lampooned Frank Miller’s work on titles like Daredevil, Wolverine, and Ronin. They printed 3,275 copies using a tax refund and sold it directly to fellow fans at New England comic conventions.
Twenty-five years later, Laird sold the rights to the Ninja Turtles to multimedia titan Viacom for $60 million. The characters had been a fixture of comic racks, toy store shelves, and Saturday morning cartoons that entire time. Three generations now have grown up with the Heroes In A Half-Shell on TV and aged up into reading their gritty comic adventures. Their most recent movie hit theaters last year (featuring martial arts icon Jackie Chan as the voice of Splinter!) and its spin-off TV series debuts next month.
We’re Always Looking For Independent Comics’ Keys!
Do you have Caliber Presents #1, first appearance of The Crow? How about John Byrne’s Next Men #21, debut of Hellboy? Maybe you’re sitting pretty with a copy of Malibu Sun #13 (Spawn preview) or an early printing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1? If you have those key issues, or any one of countless others, let Back to the Past help you sell them! Or if you’re still growing that collection, follow us on social media @b2pcollect to keep up with what we’ve got coming to auction, eBay, and our online gallery.