The mid-1980s saw a number of comic book publishers suddenly burst onto the scene, from small self-publishers to not-so-small independent publishers. The new direct market was inundated with all kinds of comics from these publishers - from super heroes to noir crime to romance to science fiction to horror tales and so much more. A comic fan could find just about anything they wanted during that heyday, so long as you had a comic store somewhere near you to find them. While DC, Marvel, Archie, and the big mainstream publishers still sold their comics on the racks at convenience stores, these other indy publishers were marketing directly to comic book fans through comic stores and subscriptions only. A small company, probably long forgotten by many now (no pun intended) was Now Comics. Now was probably best known for some of its media adaptations - Fright Night, The Twilight Zone, Speed Racer, Married ... With Children, Terminator, The Green Hornet, The Real Ghostbusters, and others. Now also published some rather unique titles, such as Eb'nn, Ralph Snart Adventures, and a short-lived series called Syphons.
Syphons was the only series from Now Comics that I picked up back in 1986 when it first came out. The colorful painted covers of bright superheroes was an easy sell to a DC comic fan like me. I was all about the superheroes (even though I had also become a fan of Ms. Tree and Somerset Holmes, two non-superhero indy titles out around that time), and so I picked it up. And loved it. All seven issues of it. I waited around for issue 8 for the longest time, unaware that the series had been cancelled with the seventh issue (back then, there was no internet, and the only comic news I got was information from the employees at "The Great Escape," my local comic store in Louisville, Kentucky).
Flash forward some thirty-plus years (having long ago sold off most of my comic collection as I got older, went to college, and thought I had "outgrown" comics), and being back into comics again, I've had fun finding some of those older series that I grew up on. At a comic convention not so long ago, I came across all seven issues of Syphons in the $1.00 bin, and having fond memories of the title, I picked up the whole set. Re-reading the series was a lot of fun, and quite honestly, there was a LOT from this series that I did not remember. I had vague memories of their origin (getting their powers from an alien craft), and I remember towards the end they were using their powers for a delivery service (a rather unique idea, at the time, for superheroes). But I had forgotten how their benefactor, Mr. Cross, was not a very nice man and had ulterior motives for pretty much everything he did - and he had no problems using people as cannon fodder.
For those who are curious, the Syphons are four orphaned teens who ran away from the orphanage to strike out on their own - only to encounter an alien craft that endowed them with energy powers. Mr. Cross and his men happened to show up on the scene, and offered to help the four teens - Mark a/k/a Knighfire; Tim a/k/a Brigade; Lisa a/k/a Raze; and Trisha a/k/a Stardancer, the team leader. Their origin is told in just three pages (unlike today's comics, where it would take 6 to 12 issues to tell an origin), and the first issue alone sets up the major story of the coming alien invasion that the Syphons will have to fight. But there are plenty of subplots, including Mr. Cross's true plans; two local police detectives who think the deaths in the area are more than just coincidence; and the inter-personal relationships among the four teen Syphons.
The series was created, written, and drawn by Allen Curtis, a name that, quite frankly, I am unfamiliar with. Looking him up online, I don't see that he did much outside of the Syphons series for Now Comics (he may have written something in First Comics' Grim Jack, as well as perhaps story in Innovation Comics' The Maze Agency Annual, but I can't find any verification of that). And that's a shame, as I really enjoyed Curtis' storytelling - particularly in the first five issues. He developed his four main characters very well, giving each of them unique personalities and looks. He does a great job at building his story, providing plenty of subplots and hints of things to come, while moving his main story along. To a certain extent, he is good at "soap opera" story telling - one major story with several smaller stories building in the background. Perhaps that is what I enjoyed about his work.
His art is a bit stiff in the first couple of issues, but as the series progresses, his art becomes more refined and definitely better in terms of people and backgrounds. Sadly, though, the colorist, who provides such crisp, bright colors in those first issues, begins to darken the colors and blend them more towards the end of the series, giving the book less of a crisp feel and more of a dark, moody feel (and perhaps that was what Curtis wanted). As for me, I did not like it all. The final two issues, with the Syphons leaving Mr. Cross and trying to strike out on their own, while interesting in premise, was not executed well. There were several plot threads set up - but since the series ended with issue seven, we do not get to see how they play out. (There are two follow-up series to this, neither of which I have - so perhaps one or both of those tie up the loose ends of this series.)
I will say that the beautifully painted cover of issue one is very striking and definitely a great selling point - issues two, four, and six also have some nicely rendered covers as well. Something about those odd-numbered issues, though (three, five, and seven), comes across as very bland and rushed in appearance. Which may have played a part in declining sales that resulted in its cancellation, because let's face it - regardless of whether we are supposed to or not, everyone judges a book by its cover, especially when it comes to comic books. If the cover is not that interesting, or looks poorly drawn, then who is going to pick it up?
I'm going to have to hunt down the other two series (the first is 4-issues and the second is 3-issues, I believe) and see how they hold up compared to this first run.
RATING: 7 overnight express delivery packages out of 10 for trying to bring a different kind of superhero team into the comics' world - perhaps it was just ahead of its time...
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