''Scarab'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

written by

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

and published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, featuring a

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, ...

called Scarab. It ran for only eight issues between November

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and June

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, although the character later reappeared in DC's '' Justice Society of America'' series.

Fictional character biography

Louis Sendak is a 78-year-old man and a retired superhero. A green door in his house leads to an other-worldly labyrinth to which his father would often go during Louis' childhood to collect strange, alien items. One of these items was the Scarabaeus, which latched on to Louis in 1941 and transformed him, giving him superpowers which he used to become the superhero Scarab.

Publication history

Vertigo series

The series came about when John Smith asked Stuart Moore for his ideas about a possible reboot of Doctor Fate for DC's Vertigo imprint and giving the imprint its own interpretation of DC's Golden Age history and characters. Smith's proposal was deemed "too extreme" for an established character and was asked to rework the concept into an original creation, which became Scarab. ''Scarab'' was subsequently cut down from an

ongoing series In comics, an ongoing series is a series that runs indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited series (a series intended to end after a certain number of issues thus limited), a one shot (a comic book which is not a part of an ongoing series), ...

to a

, with pencils by

Scot Eaton Scot Eaton is a comic book artist, best known for his work on '' Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', '' X-Men: Endangered Species'', and '' X-Men: Messiah Complex''. Career In the early 1990s Eaton started penciling ''Doctor Fate'' an ...

and inks by Mike Barreiro, which ran for eight issues in 1993 and 1994.

Crossover

Two Indigo Prime agents, Dazzler and Creed, appeared in ''Scarab'' #7 & 8 as a way to end the series due to the problems that Smith had encountered with writing it. Smith explained that "by that time I was probably just so sick of the thing I thought — 'Screw it. I'll rip off my own story' — and stuck in ''Indigo Prime'' as a lazy way out'".

JSA

In '' JSA Secret Files'' #1, the book that began the new '' JSA'' series in 1999, James Robinson and David S. Goyer referred to Sendak.

Wesley Dodds Sandman (Wesley Dodds) is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name Sandman, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman. Attired in a green busi ...

asked the Gray Man to contact the old man for help finding the baby who would become the new Doctor Fate. In issue #1 of ''JSA'', Louis appeared in uniform at the funeral of Wesley Dodds and later told the JSA members some of his history, including that he "dropped out of sight after '44". The character then appeared in ''JSA'' #16 and 18, in a storyline written by Goyer and Geoff Johns.

Notes

References

* * * {{Refend

External links

The Return of Khepri
Comics by John Smith (comics writer) Comics characters introduced in 1993 DC Comics superheroes Vertigo Comics titles