Shadowline (Epic Comics)
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- This article is about the Epic Comics imprint. For the Image Comics imprint see ShadowLine.
The Shadowline Saga is a comic book imprint from Epic Comics that was published in its original incarnation from 1987 - 1990. It was created and edited by Archie Goodwin.
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982 that lasted through the mid-1990s, and was briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s. Launched by then Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter as a spin-off of the successful Epic Illustrated magazine, the Epic imprint allowed creators to retain control and ownership of their properties. Co-edited by Al Milgrom and Archie Goodwin, the imprint also allowed Marvel to publish a more mature line of comics oriented toward an older audience.
The Shadowline Saga was Marvel's first attempt at creating a mature-themed line of superhero comics. Further, it was the first line produced by Epic Comics utilizing a pre-conceived shared universe concept. The central concept tied all of the titles together, allowing them to serve as one unified crossover. The line could either be read as individual title(s) or the entire line of titles could tell a much broader story when read together chronologically.
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[edit] Original Era
[edit] Premise
The Shadow Dwellers:
They were almost human. Their evolution paralleled ours, though they evolved swifter and a great deal better. But we evolved in greater numbers. Far greater numbers.
Individually, they were superior but they were no match for the great tide of humankind that came in time to rule the Earth. So they became a shadow race, living among us, speaking our languages, but secretly, eternally apart. Sometimes as protectors, sometimes as predators. Over the centuries, they became the stuff of our legends and our myths. Sometimes heroes. Often monsters.
But as the Twentieth Century moved nearer and nearer its close, the world had shrunk to the point that there was little room for living in secret and the power of humankind had grown to doomsday proportions. There was a more pressing need than ever to emerge, to make themselves felt; to influence, to control the destiny of the planet they shared with us.
Scattered on the Earth, separated from each other by centuries of secrecy and hiding, torn by their own feuds and personal strife, the need to emerge was answered in ways as varied as the people of the shadows themselves varied. But it was answered. By the likes of Doctor Zero, Powerline, and The Order of St. George. Cautiously, recklessly, with responsibility and without, they entered into the mainstream of human life.
Sometimes heroes. Often monsters.
[edit] Titles
The original line of The Shadowline Saga titles included:
- Doctor Zero (created by Archie Goodwin )(8 issues)
- The most ancient and powerful of the Shadow Dwellers, effortlessly manipulating humanity with his Machiavellian ways.
- Power Line (created by Archie Goodwin )(8 issues)
- Two young Shadows joined together with the noble goal of balancing Dr. Zero's manipulations with acts of true heroism.
- St. George (created by Archie Goodwin )(8 issues)
- The Knight of The Order of St. George, a human priest armed with Shadow-designed armor created to prepare its wearer for battles against today's dragons.
All of The Shadowline Saga stories were set in a shared universe within the Marvel Comics Multiverse which was retroactively designated Earth-88194.
[edit] Second Era
Doctor Zero, Power Line, and St. George #9 - 13 were supposed to be part of The Shadowline Saga "Critical Mass" Crossover. Due to poor sales, Epic cancelled the three Shadowline series and published the story in an anthology format as the Critical Mass Limited Series.
- Critical Mass (created by D.G. Chichester & Margaret Clark )(7 issues)
- The abilities of Doctor Zero , Power Line , and St. George have been called upon to put an end to the insane plans of Professer Henry Clerk, a physicist ready to set loose the dark forces of nuclear power on the heartland of America. But there are two things remaining before they can match their power against Clerk's: first, Powerline must come to the aid of Michael Devlin, the Knight of the Order, in his race to reforge his shattered armor; and then, Devlin must struggle to redirect Doctor Zero's blood rage to bear on Clerk, as the modern day St. George battles against Zero, an impossibly powerful dragon...
[edit] See also
Terror Inc.
Marvel Comics Multiverse
[edit] Further reading
Ed. Jim Salicrup, Marvel Age #62 "Epic Spotlight: The Shadowline Saga", Marvel Comics Group, May 1987
Ed. Jim Salicrup, Marvel Age Annual #3 "Marvel A to Z", Marvel Comics Group, Jun. 1987
Ed. Jim Salicrup, Marvel Age Annual #4 "A Shadowline Saga" & "Epic A to Z", Marvel Comics Group, Jun. 1988
Ed. Jim Salicrup, Marvel Age #83 "Critical Mass", Marvel Comics Group, Mid Dec. 1989
