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''The DNAgents'' is a comic-book series created by writer Mark Evanier and artist Will Meugniot and published by Eclipse Comics in 1983. It was later picked up briefly by Antarctic Press. In June 2006, reprinted issues were collected into ''DNAgents Volume 1'' by
Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...
. The series centers on a team of
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es created through
genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...
by the Matrix Corporation to act as superhuman enforcers for the head of the company.


Publication history

Both Marvel Comics and DC Comics expressed interest in publishing ''The DNAgents'', but Evanier and Meugniot decided against signing with them because they would have had to give up the TV and merchandising rights, and since both Evanier and Meugniot had extensive backgrounds and contacts in the television industry, they were confident that they would be able to sell DNAgents as a TV series without help from a publisher. Mike Friedrich served as an agent for Evanier and Meugniot, submitting ''The DNAgents'' to five different publishers. When all five offered to publish it, they decided on Eclipse Comics, a large independent publisher, for the amount of creative freedom they were ready to allow and for their strong plan for promoting the series. Eclipse published ''DNAgents'' #s 1-24, from March 1983-July 1985 and ''New DNAgents'' #s 1-17 from Oct 1985-March 1987. Antarctic Press released a single issue retelling their story. The DNAgents reappeared in a cameo ''The Savage Dragon'' #41 (July 1997), retroactively setting the series in the Image Universe. In 2004, About Comics reprinted several issues in digest form.


Cast of characters


DNAgents

*Tank: The team's gentle giant with super-strength, and an armored weapon suit. Socially awkward, he seeks friendship and love with other people. *Surge: An impulsive, arrogant hothead who can control and generate electricity. *Amber: She could manipulate magnetic energy to create shields or energy blasts, or enable her to fly. Very outgoing, social and curious. *Rainbow: A telepath who can create and manipulate illusions, and dabbled in nude modeling. *Sham: The youngster of the team, and a shapeshifter and infiltration agent. However, he suffers from a strong, nearly crippling shyness of strangers, and considers the rest of his team the only people he can trust. He is also extremely sensitive to bright lights.


Other characters

* Crossfire, another Eclipse comic of the era written by Mark Evanier, was a frequent guest character, and a romantic interest for Rainbow. *In issue #13, an attempt to create a new DNAgent resulted in Snafu, who later became a pet to Sham. *In issue #14, the DNAgents engaged in a "non-crossover" with the Teen Titans comic where each team faced a homage of the other with the DNAgents meeting up with "Project Youngblood" while the Titans dealt with the genetically-engineered "ReCombatants" in ''
Tales of the Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
'' #48. At the end of both stories, the homage/parody teams sacrificed themselves to save the main heroes.


Other media

* In 1986 a sourcebook was printed by Fantasy Games Unlimited for using the characters with their '' Villains and Vigilantes'' superhero
role playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal a ...
. This book also contained conversion notes for '' Champions'' and '' Superworld'' RPGs. * The DNAgents have a brief cameo appearance as guests at the wedding of Barbaric and Ricochet in the '' Savage Dragon'' comic series.''Savage Dragon'' Vol.2 #41 (August 31, 1997)


References


External links


DNAgents Profiles at InternationalHero

Mark Evanier's homepage: News Frome ME


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dnagents Eclipse Comics titles Antarctic Press titles Shadowline titles Eclipse Comics superheroes Comics publications Fictional genetically engineered characters Superhero teams