Quasar #1(kinda-more on this later) is written by Mark Gruenwald with art by Greg Capullo. It was published by Marvel Comics with a cover date of March 1992.
Quasar is an intergalactic superhero who wields Quantum bands, wrist bands which allow him to travel quickly using quantum leaps and enable him to construct tangible quantum constructs.
This issue ties in with the Operation: Galactic Storm crossover event. This 19 chapter event crossed over 7 different Avengers related titles. In this chapter (part 3), the Kree and Shi'Ar (the two alien races at war throughout this crossover) are racing to Captain Mar-Vell's tomb to recover his psionic energy producing Nega bands (similar to Quasar's Quantum bands). Quasar and fellow Avenger Starfox battle the aliens, but ultimately fail in protecting the Nega bands. The Kree gain control of the bands and when Kree warrior Atlas activates them, he is strangely replaced by perennial Marvel sidekick, Rick Jones, who is about to explode in the vacuum of space.
I was immediately bothered when I turned the cover and saw in the publication notes, that this issue was actually #32 of the series! I felt duped and considered finding another Q #1 to keep the theme of this challenge true. However, #1 is on the cover, so I stuck with it. Apparently, this title was not regularly offered on newsstand's at this time and in 1992 people were still buying comics in drug stores and Wal-Marts (I was). So I'm sure by placing 1, 2, and 3 on the covers of the newsstand editions of the Operation: Galactic Storm chapters, Marvel was making it easier for retailers and readers to take a stab at the book. Mark Gruenwald is a well-established veteran and did a great job of taking advantage of the new readers this story would bring. Back story wasn't overly present and the reader was given the right amount of info to be able to enjoy the characters. It was also interesting to see Greg Capullo's art from 20 years ago and compare it with the work he is now doing on Batman.
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| Well played, Marvel. Well played. |
Fan of Quasar? Been misled by a cover before? Leave your comments below!
I like looking at the progression of an artist. It's interesting to look at their work from twenty years ago next to current projects.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Operation: Galactic Storm crossover. I always assumed that the Quasar issues numbered 1, 2, and 3 were the newsstand versions (since the title was the only one in the crossover not previously available on newsstands) and the direct market versions had the regular issue numbers. However, your scan clearly has no UPC code, making it a direct market version. Weird that they would have still put a #1 on the cover.
ReplyDeleteHmm, never heard of Quasar.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
A to Z co-host