''The Intimates'' was a twelve-issue
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
limited series
In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...
, written by
Joe Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as '' Wildcats 3.0'', ''Uncanny X-Men'', '' The Intimates'', '' Adventures of Superman'', and '' G.I. Joe: America's Elite'' among others. As part of the comics creator gro ...
and published by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
'
Wildstorm
Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
. The series was created by
Joe Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as '' Wildcats 3.0'', ''Uncanny X-Men'', '' The Intimates'', '' Adventures of Superman'', and '' G.I. Joe: America's Elite'' among others. As part of the comics creator gro ...
,
Jim Lee
Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...
and
Giuseppe Camuncoli
Giuseppe Camuncoli (born March 2, 1975) is an People of Italy, Italian comic book artist best known for his work on the Marvel Comics titles ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''The Superior Spider-Man'' and the DC Comics/Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo ...
.
The Intimates followed the lives of superpowered teenagers and their lives in a school for
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
es. It focused on the characters behind the superpowers and their lives rather than missions or action-oriented conflicts seen in most superhero
comics
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
.
The series was known for its "information overload" storytelling style, with "pop-up" panels and "info scrolls" at the bottom of each page, providing small facts about the events taking place, such as glimpses into a character's history or random "facts." One issue featured a fake ad for the food given away at the Seminary, "chemically treated to calm ALL overactive behavior!"
History
The series was an instant critical hit, but would suffer from slow sales its entire life. Originally Lee provided covers and occasional panels, with Camuncoli providing the rest of the art. However, Lee's contributions became less and less frequent as the book went on, until he finally left to join
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...
on ''
All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder
''All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder'' is an American comic book series written by Frank Miller and penciled by Jim Lee. It was published by DC Comics, with a sporadic schedule, between 2005 and 2008. The series was to be rebooted under the ti ...
.'' Camuncoli would stay on longer, but also eventually left to draw ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' and the ''
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
: Armageddon'' mini-series detailing the Worldstorm storyline.
Destra, Punchy and Duke recently appeared in
The Authority.
[The Authority v3 #18]
Cast
The main cast are six superpowered teens who share a homeroom at The Seminary.
;Punchy: A teenager with an affinity for "Super Espionage Boom" comics who uses a
Punching Nun puppet of mysterious origin. The puppet allows him to generate a giant red fist capable of knocking down trees or punching through steel doors. He secretly holds feelings for Destra, but she acts indifferent.
;Destra: A
fashionista
Fashionistas may refer to:
* ''Fashionistas'' (film), a 2002 American pornographic film
* ''Fashionistas'', a 2004-2008 live show produced by John Stagliano at the Harmon Theater (aka Krave Nightclub) at the Mandalay Bay casino, Las Vegas Strip, ...
who gained explosive fingernail clippings and invulnerability due to a romantic liaison with her alien boyfriend. Her father is one of The Seminary's biggest contributors. Throughout the series she explores her suspicion that the food served at The Seminary is chemically treated to control student behavior
;Duke: A super-strong and invulnerable All-American boy. The staff at The Seminary believes in his potential as a superhero, but Duke is reluctant. His father is an overbearing redneck who enjoys shooting propane tanks, and encourages his son to not "take any crap!"
;Empty Vee: (a pun on
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
) Extremely shy and quiet, Vee was exposed to a meteorite that crashed in her backyard. This changed her natural state to invisible and gave her the power to become visible. She has a crush on Punchy for the first three issues, but he rejects her advances.
;Kefong: Kefong is a late student whose powers allow him to create "temporal bubbles," which can protect him from mental subversion or cause others to vomit. His character is modeled after
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
. He is also an accomplished
breakdancer
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City.
Breakdancing consists mainly of ...
.
;Sykes: Sykes is the result of brain experiments by his parents. He wears technology that creates a "null field" around his head; if this is turned off, the immediate area is enveloped in a
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
madness. He appears catatonic, never speaking and rarely acknowledging the world around him. It was revealed in issue #6 that his uncle sexually assaulted him.
References
*
*
External links
Joe Casey Talks Intimates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Intimates
2005 comics debuts