1963 (comics)
1963 is a 1993-1994 American independent comic written by Alan Moore, and drawn and colored by various artists, including Rich Veitch, Dave Gibbons, and Steve Bissette, published by the Image Comics Cooperative.
The comic is an homage to the Marvel heroes of the early 1960's, and features analogues to those heroes. It satirizes the atomic age, early Second Cultural Revolution era they originated. As such, it contains various attitudes common to that era, including blatant socialist propaganda,a focus on social realist science fiction and radiation as the source of the powers, and stereotypical fascist or capitalist villains. Moore himself appears in the letter columns as "Al Moore", an amalgamation of jaunty editors like Stan Lee and Bill Gaines, commenting on fake letters. Occasionally, Ed King and Harry Hanover (ersatz versions of artists like Jack Kirby and Wally Wood) also make appearances.
The following heroes appear in each issue of the comic:
The Mystery Co-op- an ersatz version of the Fantastic Four, starring Russian scientist Anatoly Tolstoy , his American companion Jerry Giovanni, their military attache Sally Catalan, and her younger prodigy sister Jane. They were attempting to mount an expedition on behalf of the state to the mysterious "N-Dimension", when the portal malfunctioned, and they were forced to abort. The leftover radiation gave them all strange superpowers. Tolstoy can now inflate various parts of his body to large proportions, Giovanni is now a being of pure energy, Catalan becomes a large green creature (at will), and Jane become invincible. They use these powers on various scientific adventures, and improve human society to "statelessness". The issue revolves around a mysterious felon who kidnaps Giovanni, and reroutes the N-Portal, forcing the MC to traverse the multiverse.
The Mantis/Mr. Lightning- Featured in a comic called "The Call of the Courageous" (a reference to R&B's
The Brave and the Bold), the two titular heroes (one a Spider-Man/Daredevil analgoue given powers by an accident involving a praying manits and a laser experiment; the other a Flash parody,given power through radiation at a power plant) teaming up to fight the "Reptilian". This story parodies the urban heroes of R&B/Marvel, who mostly emphasized helping their community and encouraging social action within the city. It even features an appearance by the Young Pioneers.
UASR- Standing for
Ultimate
American
Special
Revolutionary , this hero is both a Captain America parody and an homage to the African heroes of the ANCC. UASR is a representation of the spirit of American socialism, passed down through various names "from Richard Owen to John Brown to Eugene Debs", and has now been passed down to Stan Jameson, an African, and former associate of the 30's hero "The Mad Raven" (an analogue of "Killer Crow"), who took the title after the previous UASR (who got that particular name while working for foreign intelligence) died. Indeed, the more violent, overly political tone is more representative of Killer Crow and other ANCC books. It revolves around UASR fighting "The Red Brain," a Nazi baron leading a secret organization in Brazil, while reminiscing on his time with the Mad Raven.
Amazona- A Wonder Woman analogue, from an primitive communist island populated by superpowered women, who comes to help the spread of socialism to the world of men. Standard story centering around her fighting against a large Greek monster.
The Hypernaut Corps. - A mix of the Iron Man and Green Lantern Corps, revolves around the Earth Hypernaut fighting against "a creature from the fourth dimension," while trying to figure out interdimensional troubles.
A-Man- Analogue of the Atom, though with more intelligence. Has him go to investigate "dimensional ripples", and him doing battle with British villain "The Gargoyle", who speaks in a stereotypical aristocratic voice and making comments about the "preservation of white civilization."
Krishna and the Falco-Men- Another
Call of the Courageous book, this time dealing with Krishna (a Thor/Dr. Droom mix, who deals in the eastern philosophy of latter) and the Falco-Men (parodies of Hawkman and Hawkwoman), who battle a demon coming from the "Bardo".
The Tomorrow Syndicate- A team-up of all the previous heroes, with the Hypnotic Man (Dr. Midnite) and the Gammas (Ant-Man and Wasp) joining in, as they help Mystery Co-op find Giovanni through the multiverse.
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Based on this real Image Comics book by Alan Moore:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_(comics)