There’s not really that much difference between regular Aquaman and Evil Aquaman.
Here’s a neat little item that just happened to fall out of one of the comics in a collection I was processing: a 1997 promo mini-folder (measuring about 4 1/2 inches wide) for DC’s various JLA-related projects:
Oh, the Electric Superman costume…we had no idea how good we had it as far as alternate Superman costumes go.
On the back of the little folder thingie is a shot of the Evil Justice League:
…and I know I joked in the subject of this post that there’s no real difference between the two Aquamen, but…J’onn J’onzz and Kyle Rayner aren’t that much different aside from the skull motifs and Evil Kyle’s spiky hair (a universal sign of evil, natch). That giant creepy smile on Evil Batman though…holy crow.
Inside the folder was JLA project-plugging ahoy:
“Hey, ‘July’ sorta sounds like ‘JLA’ if, you know, you…uh, mispronounce it.” “BRILLIANT! That’s our month…get those fliers printed!”
Anyone know who did the art on the good/bad JLA? the bad JLA looks like howard porter to me, but I could be projecting– who’s the good?
Both of those are definitely Howard Porter. I just reread the whole Morrison JLA run recently. Still not a huge fan of Porter’s art, but the stories were just so good.
You know the evil Wonder Woman is evil; her lasso is…pink? Pink is evil?
This reminds me of the episode of SUPER FRIENDS in which Batman went to a parallel universe where the Super Friends were all criminals known as…the Super Enemies. The visual distinctions there were mostly clearer than in the illustration you provide: Evil Aquaman wore an eyepatch; evil Batman wore orange tights; evil Robin had a mustache; and evil Superman wore mascara. For some reason, evil Wonder Woman looked generally the same as the regular model, except that she seemed to be taking Botox.
How was that Rock of Ages arc, anyway? I bought #9 at our small town grocery store, the issue with The Key and the Conner Hawke Green Arrow and all the crazy “dream” alternate timeline stuff, and couldn’t wait for more (I still have the comic!). Unfortunately, I was in junior high, and the grocery store distribution was veeeerrrry spotty, and trips to find this stuff elsewhere were pretty few and far between. I didn’t get to read another issue until #50, which I bought at an actual comic shop when it came out.
So, anyway: Rock of Ages – what’d I miss?
What I want to know about was the 8 pen set furthur down in the ad…
I love that in the Nineties, happiness was a sign of evil. Except for Evil Flash, who’s just kind of okay. And Manhunter, who’s apparently disgusted by something.
I prefer my evil doppelgangers with goatees, thank you. How else can I tell them apart?
Alex, ‘Rock of Ages’ was excellent- I would rate it as the best arc of Morrison’s JLA run, which is itself some of his best superhero work. You should still be able to find it in tpb, if you look.
JLA Secret Files #1, featuring character bios and a Q and A interview with Martian Manhunter written by up-and-comer Mark Millar!
(“Rock of Ages” is awesome, by the way)
It’s just as Casey says – the only way to tell if a your guy was a hero in S-hero comics was by how serious they looked compared to the arrogant smiling villains. In comparision, Manga characters with their cheerful expressions must’ve looked postively threatening to the S-hero crowd. No wonder they didn’t like them upon first sight.
Howard Porter was local at the time and was a guest at a comic con I worked in Connecticut. I managed to get him to sign a ton of this kind of JLA promo stuff for me.