Today’s Super-Homage is one that I’ve talked about before:
Icon. He was created by Dwayne McDuffie for Milestone Comics and was featured
in his own title in the early 1990s’s. I talked about him back in February when
I looked at a trade that has his series’ first eight issues. He shares some
similarities to Superman in that he’s an alien who crashed on Earth and he has
a secret identity. The similarities stop there though. Originally named Arnus,
he crashed on Earth in 1839 and took the form of an African-American baby. He
was named Augustus Freeman and kept his alien heritage a secret for over a
century. It isn’t until the 1990s where he (at the behest of a young girl named
Raquel) decides to become a superhero and clean up the city of Dakota.
Today’s issue is Icon #10. I did think about looking at an
issue where he and Superman actually duked out, but it’s part of a crossover
called "Worlds Collide." I haven’t read the total crossover, so this one seemed
best. If you want to hear some discussion about those issues, head over to From
Crisis To Crisis: A Superman Podcast where they went in-depth with that
crossover between DC and Milestone. Dwayne McDuffie wrote the issue. M.D.
Bright provided the pencils. Mike Gustovich handles the inks. James Brown (not
the singer but that would be cool) and David Montoya handles the colors. So,
let’s see what happens when Icon chases after some gangster
Icon #17
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils: M.D. Bright
Inks: Mike Gustovich
Colors: David Montoya
and James Brown (Good God! Hey!... Had to do it.)
Letters: Steve Duturo
Editor: Matt Wayne