Vanguard (Image Comics)
Encyclopedia
Vanguard is a fictional alien hero created by Gary Carlson
and Erik Larsen
for Carlson's self-published anthology Megaton. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything happening. His sole companion is a sarcastic, hovering cycloptic robot and their morphing androids, though he quickly developed a relationship with a reporter Roxanne Wells.
Following Larsen's departure from Marvel Comics
and co-founding of Image Comics
he and Carlson re-tooled the character slightly and re-introduced him as a part of Larsen's Savage Dragon
's universe of which he was a close part, via Image he received two mini-series, Vanguard and Vanguard: Strange Visitors and a 1-shot but frequently appeared in Savage Dragon
, Freak Force
and the third volume of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
as well being a member of Rob Liefeld
's short-lived re-vamp of Brigade
before Leifeld's expulsion.
's first fully professional work was on the title (though Graphic Fantasy pre-dated it).
Cosmo VII, a Soviet Union
robot assaulted Vanguard, Wally and Roxanne in Vanguard's space station, drawing him to Earth (as Supreme would in his Image series) and leading to conflict between the USA and the USSR and between Vanguard and the Savage Dragon's S.O.S and Mighty Man.
Following on from a back-up story, Vanguard began his series fighting Supreme
, Supreme had encountered Vanguard's race while in his exile in space. The fight resulted in Earth's first contact with Vanguard, and ended in Chicago
with Supreme the victor and Vanguard was left outside the Savage Dragon
's police department, arrested and taken to a maximum security prison, which he was swiftly broken out of by his robot aid Wally using their teleporter and one of their shape-shifter
robot drones, Lurch, unfortunately the teleportation went wrong and sent Vanguard to a science lab, and Lurch had a glitch that made him rebellious, Lurch, posing as Vanguard escaped and fought The Dragon, while Vanguard escaped the space station and accidentally caused the overweight female scientist there to become a super-villain 'Modem' who could control robotics/electronics.
Vanguard was able to intervene with Dragon and Lurch's battle, which lead to his first meeting with Roxanne Wells, Wells had found Vanguard's helmet, which he had lost during his fight with Supreme, and had repaired it, able to speak English once more the situation was resolved, only for Wally, under the control of Modem, to battle both Dragon and Vanguard, in Chicago and then on Vanguard's ship, Vanguard teleported Modem's molecules across the vastness of space.
Issue 5 featured a fight between Vanguard and a time-traveller called Berseker, and Issue 6 featured Vanguard's first date with Roxanne, and his battle with the Imagineer, an old man who used a machine to become various super-criminals.
Vanguard continued to feature in The Savage Dragon and Freak Force
series after this, helping Freak Force against their clones, and Freak Force and Cyberforce
against alien, metal eating ants. Lurch was particularly crucial in the Savage Dragon, he posed as Lt. Frank Darling and allowed the policeman to fake his death to escape blackmail from Overlord and the Vicious Circle, only for the robot to survive and continue to attack Overlord over and over revealing the man to be alive.
Issue two of Vanguard's initial six-issue series featured a mysterious back-up story, this story was not explained until some time later, when the character appeared in the third volume of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
as a villain.
Vanguard attempts to assist when reality threatens to fracture into six different Earths. 'Tremors' tear him away.
, Badrock
, WildC.A.T.S
, The Dragon and Freak Force. Gary Calrson again wrote the series and art was by Scot Eaton
.
After Vanguard met Roxanne's parents and defeated Modem again, Amok crashed to earth destroying a NASA
space station in the process, this destruction was blamed on Vanguard who clashed with Amok, whom he knew as a slave' on Vanguard's homeworld (yes, on Vanguards planet Slavery existed and this slaves just happened to be brown-skinned people who revolted and were wiped out) and the last survivor of an extinct planet (Radan), Amok kidnapped Roxanne and Vanguard enlisted the help of Supreme in rescuing her, with the final issue dedicated to a long fight between Amok and a number of guest stars. After beating Vangard, Supreme and quite a few of the guest stars senseless, even punching Supreme so hard he was knocked to outer space. Upon regaining consciousness Supreme charged back to earth with vengeance on his mind to deliver his best punch. Amok took Supreme's best punch and flattened him, much to the amazement of the multiple guest stars cowering in anticipation of the coup-de-grace from Supreme. After laughing at Supreme's best shot it was apparent Amok could not be beat physically. Against the wishes of even Roxanne who could now understand Amok as it took him some time to adapt to English, Vanguards robot pal telekinetically gave Amok a lobotomy (even after finding out Amok was not a sensless brute but just crazed from the loss of his family and profiled because of his enormous size and demeanor).
Aside from the One-Shot Ethereal Warriors, which teamed him with Ethrian, a character created by Frank Fosco (who pencilled the special) Vanguard's appearances since Strange Visitors were mostly in a supporting role, assisting The Dragon mostly and also the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
, it was revealed by Larsen (source needed) that Vanguard was positioned to watch for the Cosmic Cops that attacked in the Freak Force
ongoing series.
Gary Carlson
Gary Carlson is an American comic book writer, editor and publisher.-Biography:Gary self-published and created the black and white superhero anthology Megaton back in the early '80s, which introduced many new comic book talents including artists Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld and Angel Medina as well...
and Erik Larsen
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
for Carlson's self-published anthology Megaton. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything happening. His sole companion is a sarcastic, hovering cycloptic robot and their morphing androids, though he quickly developed a relationship with a reporter Roxanne Wells.
Following Larsen's departure from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and co-founding of Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
he and Carlson re-tooled the character slightly and re-introduced him as a part of Larsen's Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
's universe of which he was a close part, via Image he received two mini-series, Vanguard and Vanguard: Strange Visitors and a 1-shot but frequently appeared in Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
, Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
and the third volume of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
as well being a member of Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
's short-lived re-vamp of Brigade
Brigade (comics)
Brigade is a comic book published by Image Comics and later by Awesome Entertainment, created, plotted, and originally written by Rob Liefeld and first illustrated by Marat Mychaels as a spin-off to the then-popular series...
before Leifeld's expulsion.
Megaton
In Megaton comics, stories that are not canonical to the 'Image Universe' and more specifically the Savage Dragon story-line/universe, Vanguard has already been watching Earth for sometime, and was already in a relationship with Roxanne Wells. Erik LarsenErik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
's first fully professional work was on the title (though Graphic Fantasy pre-dated it).
Cosmo VII, a Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
robot assaulted Vanguard, Wally and Roxanne in Vanguard's space station, drawing him to Earth (as Supreme would in his Image series) and leading to conflict between the USA and the USSR and between Vanguard and the Savage Dragon's S.O.S and Mighty Man.
Vanguard
The initial six-issue series was written by Vanguard creator Gary Calson and featured a 'revolving door' of artists that included Joe Madureira. In the text of the final issue it was implied that the comic was originally intended to be an on-going series, rather than a mini-series, but various issues, including the revolving door of artists, led to it being prematurely ended.Following on from a back-up story, Vanguard began his series fighting Supreme
Supreme (comics)
Supreme is a fictional superhero created by Rob Liefeld and first published by Image Comics, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment...
, Supreme had encountered Vanguard's race while in his exile in space. The fight resulted in Earth's first contact with Vanguard, and ended in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with Supreme the victor and Vanguard was left outside the Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
's police department, arrested and taken to a maximum security prison, which he was swiftly broken out of by his robot aid Wally using their teleporter and one of their shape-shifter
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
robot drones, Lurch, unfortunately the teleportation went wrong and sent Vanguard to a science lab, and Lurch had a glitch that made him rebellious, Lurch, posing as Vanguard escaped and fought The Dragon, while Vanguard escaped the space station and accidentally caused the overweight female scientist there to become a super-villain 'Modem' who could control robotics/electronics.
Vanguard was able to intervene with Dragon and Lurch's battle, which lead to his first meeting with Roxanne Wells, Wells had found Vanguard's helmet, which he had lost during his fight with Supreme, and had repaired it, able to speak English once more the situation was resolved, only for Wally, under the control of Modem, to battle both Dragon and Vanguard, in Chicago and then on Vanguard's ship, Vanguard teleported Modem's molecules across the vastness of space.
Issue 5 featured a fight between Vanguard and a time-traveller called Berseker, and Issue 6 featured Vanguard's first date with Roxanne, and his battle with the Imagineer, an old man who used a machine to become various super-criminals.
Vanguard continued to feature in The Savage Dragon and Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
series after this, helping Freak Force against their clones, and Freak Force and Cyberforce
Cyberforce
Cyberforce is an Image Comics super-hero team created by artist Marc Silvestri and writer Eric Silvestri in 1992. Silvestri would begin performing both the plotting and pencilling chores, but the series was subsequently drawn by other artists, including David Finch...
against alien, metal eating ants. Lurch was particularly crucial in the Savage Dragon, he posed as Lt. Frank Darling and allowed the policeman to fake his death to escape blackmail from Overlord and the Vicious Circle, only for the robot to survive and continue to attack Overlord over and over revealing the man to be alive.
Issue two of Vanguard's initial six-issue series featured a mysterious back-up story, this story was not explained until some time later, when the character appeared in the third volume of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
as a villain.
Vanguard attempts to assist when reality threatens to fracture into six different Earths. 'Tremors' tear him away.
Strange Visitors
Much of Strange Visitors focussed around a long fight between Vanguard and a giant hulking alien called 'Amok', the series guest starred a number of other characters including Supreme, GloryGlory (comics)
Glory is a fictional character originally from Image Comics, and later on from the Awesome Comics comic book series created by Rob Liefeld. The character's full name is Gloriana Demeter, a half-Amazonian, half-Demon warrior.- Rob Liefeld's Glory :...
, Badrock
Badrock
Badrock is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in books published by Image Comics. Created by Rob Liefeld, he first appeared in Youngblood #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
, WildC.A.T.S
Wildcats (comics)
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
, The Dragon and Freak Force. Gary Calrson again wrote the series and art was by Scot Eaton
Scot Eaton
Scot Eaton is a comic book artist, best known for his work on Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, X-Men: Endangered Species, and X-Men: Messiah Complex.-Beginnings:...
.
After Vanguard met Roxanne's parents and defeated Modem again, Amok crashed to earth destroying a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
space station in the process, this destruction was blamed on Vanguard who clashed with Amok, whom he knew as a slave' on Vanguard's homeworld (yes, on Vanguards planet Slavery existed and this slaves just happened to be brown-skinned people who revolted and were wiped out) and the last survivor of an extinct planet (Radan), Amok kidnapped Roxanne and Vanguard enlisted the help of Supreme in rescuing her, with the final issue dedicated to a long fight between Amok and a number of guest stars. After beating Vangard, Supreme and quite a few of the guest stars senseless, even punching Supreme so hard he was knocked to outer space. Upon regaining consciousness Supreme charged back to earth with vengeance on his mind to deliver his best punch. Amok took Supreme's best punch and flattened him, much to the amazement of the multiple guest stars cowering in anticipation of the coup-de-grace from Supreme. After laughing at Supreme's best shot it was apparent Amok could not be beat physically. Against the wishes of even Roxanne who could now understand Amok as it took him some time to adapt to English, Vanguards robot pal telekinetically gave Amok a lobotomy (even after finding out Amok was not a sensless brute but just crazed from the loss of his family and profiled because of his enormous size and demeanor).
Aside from the One-Shot Ethereal Warriors, which teamed him with Ethrian, a character created by Frank Fosco (who pencilled the special) Vanguard's appearances since Strange Visitors were mostly in a supporting role, assisting The Dragon mostly and also the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
, it was revealed by Larsen (source needed) that Vanguard was positioned to watch for the Cosmic Cops that attacked in the Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
ongoing series.
External links
- Savagedragon.com Erik Larsen's official site.