Masked Man
Encyclopedia
The Masked Man is a fictional comic book
crime-fighter created by B.C. Boyer and published by Eclipse Comics
. His first appearance was in Eclipse, The Magazine
#7 (November 1982). He was later seen in Eclipse Monthly
and his own ongoing series entitled The Masked Man, which ran 12 issues. The character and series was very similar to Will Eisner
's The Spirit
character.
During his crime-fighting career, Carstairs meets a number of allies and enemies. Among these is Dan Drekston, a reporter who threatens to reveal the identity of the Masked Man unless he can take Barney's place as Carstairs' companion. He also encounters Phantom Man, a.k.a. Lenny Winchester, when he saves Carstairs' life. The Phantom Man is an old man in a blue business suit, fedora
, domino mask and gloves (a tribute to Will Eisner
's The Spirit
). Aphidman (Spider-Man
parody), a high school student named Percy who thinks he has superpowers like Spider-Man
, but not really. Carstairs also meets Maggie Brown, who was blinded
by gunfire; after saving her life, Carstairs falls in love with Maggie, although Barney believes Maggie is faking her blindness. Barney also meets Carstairs' sister, Roxy Chicago, a criminal and murderer.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
crime-fighter created by B.C. Boyer and published by Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
. His first appearance was in Eclipse, The Magazine
Eclipse Magazine
Eclipse Magazine was a black and white comics anthology magazine published by Eclipse Comics from 1981 to 1983.-Overview:...
#7 (November 1982). He was later seen in Eclipse Monthly
Eclipse Monthly
Eclipse Monthly was a full color comics anthology title published by Eclipse Comics. It introduced many characters that would later be featured in their own series or collections.-Series:Series published:*Capt. Quick and A Foozle by Marshall Rogers...
and his own ongoing series entitled The Masked Man, which ran 12 issues. The character and series was very similar to Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
's The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
character.
Fictional character biography
The Masked Man is the alter ego of private eye Dick Carstairs, who takes on the identity of the Masked Man so that his friend Barney McAllister, a reporter, could grab headlines using tales of his crime-fighting adventures.During his crime-fighting career, Carstairs meets a number of allies and enemies. Among these is Dan Drekston, a reporter who threatens to reveal the identity of the Masked Man unless he can take Barney's place as Carstairs' companion. He also encounters Phantom Man, a.k.a. Lenny Winchester, when he saves Carstairs' life. The Phantom Man is an old man in a blue business suit, fedora
Fedora (hat)
A fedora is a men's felt hat. In reality, "fedora" describes most any men's hat that does not already have another name; quite a few fedoras have famous names of their own including the famous Trilby....
, domino mask and gloves (a tribute to Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
's The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
). Aphidman (Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
parody), a high school student named Percy who thinks he has superpowers like Spider-Man
Spider-Man's powers and equipment
Spider-Man's powers, abilities, and equipment are used by Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man in tandem to combat his many foes. He receives most of his powers when he is bitten by a radioactive common house spider...
, but not really. Carstairs also meets Maggie Brown, who was blinded
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
by gunfire; after saving her life, Carstairs falls in love with Maggie, although Barney believes Maggie is faking her blindness. Barney also meets Carstairs' sister, Roxy Chicago, a criminal and murderer.