''Fusion'' was an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

published from

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

–

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

, whose creative team included the writer Steven Barnes, the artists Lela Dowling and Steve Gallacci, conceptual editor Lex Nakashima and many more. The world of ''Fusion'' is centuries in our future, when a series of galactic wars have led to a spiraling

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...

between "tekkers and splicers" — that is, between those who take a technological and technocratic route to improving humanity, and those who have abandoned humanity altogether through genetic engineering. The story involves the exploits of a group of space mercenaries in an era when humans who have not been enhanced either genetically or cybernetically, are becoming extremely rare. From the first issue, the book included two back up series featuring ''Dr. Watchstop'', and the ''Weasel Patrol'', a comic stemming from doodles "drawn" of Tan. ''Weasel Patrol'' had an animated pilot that was produced by

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

in 1991. It was never picked up as a series. In 2014, the first five issues were reprinted in a collection titled ''Fusion: The Soulstar Commission''.

Regular characters

The only recurring characters are the crew of the mercenary spaceship ''Tsunami''. * Indio Tremaine: Captain. Human. Born into the Clan of the Three Suns, of which she is the only survivor. * Dow Cook: Synthetic human bio-engineered invulnerable to shock and trauma and with enhanced self-healing ability. Very insecure about himself. * Tan: A ''musteliform'' bred from Terran

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

stock.

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

, an alumnus of

Labatt's Labatt Brewing Company Limited () is a Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew. In 2004, Interb ...

Tech (a fictitious university named after the beer). An

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

mechanical and

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

wizard with a severe

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

problem. Never goes anywhere without his leather pilot cap and goggles. * Beolvoch: A ''meehook''. Something like a

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

with

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s. Has an extremely high metabolic rate and thus a voracious appetite for raw meat. Must eat regularly and copiously to stay active. Consequently, spends much time in a

suspended animation Suspended animation is the slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. States of suspended animation are common in micro-organisms and some plant tissue, such as seeds. Many animals, including l ...

state or complaining that he is hungry. Appears to be a genuine alien species rather than uplifted and genetically engineered ''earthform''. * Alshain: A ''felinoid''; a temperamental and somewhat edgy pilot. * Carz: A ''leoniform'' with only one working

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

. He is generally a steadying influence, but when he loses it, beware! * Herrick: A hawklike creature, of military

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

. Dies very early in the series, in one of many moves which went against

formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

. Appears in "how we got here" sequences. * Haven: A birdlike creature with well-developed

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

ing instincts. She is a doctor by training. * Eddie: Modelled after some creature with very long ears and a

prehensile tail A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has Adaptation (biology), adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully Prehensility, prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and ...

. Likes to hang upside down. A cool dude in shades and khakis or Hawaiian shirts. Nothing rattles Eddie. Was a classmate of Tan at Labatt's.

References

{{reflist Cyborg comics Comics about genetic engineering Planetary romances Space Western comics