Publication History

Bloodwulf was an American superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 comics

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 title and character created by Rob Liefeld

Rob Liefeld

Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....

. The character first appeared in the one-shot "Darker Image

Darker Image

Darker Image was intended to be a 4-issue miniseries published by Image Comics. The series was intended to serve as an introduction to three "grim and gritty" characters. The series, however only had one published issue...

" in 1993, published by Image Comics

Image Comics

Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...

. The character later appeared in a Bloodwulf mini-series from 1995 in four issues, illustrated by Daerick Gross Sr.. He also appeared in a one-shot from 1995 entitled "Bloodwulf Summer Special" where he was pitted against Supreme

Supreme

Supreme may mean or refer to:* Supreme , a comic book superhero* Supreme , a term used in cookery* Supreme, Louisiana, a census-designated place in the United States* Supreme , a hip-hop producer* Supreme Records, a record label...

.

Character Biography

Bloodwulf is an alien bounty hunter from the planet Luap'ur where he lives with his multiple wives and brood of children. He craves a life of action, however, and is always ready and willing to leave his quiet, domestic life behind for grand space adventures. His mother, Redwulf, and grandmother, Califia, are also formidable star farers. Bloodwulf's powers include enhanced strength and a personal force field which allows him to breathe in the vacuum of space.

Bloodwulf vs. Lobo

Bloodwulf as created by Liefeld is very similar to the DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 character, Lobo. In fact, the cover to Bloodwulf #1 depicts Lobo hanging dead in the background, signifying that Bloodwulf has symbolically replaced Lobo as the toughest comic character around. Lobo actually appears in Bloodwulf #2 as a whining, drunken, loser whose days of glory are long past due to the fact that the character was taken out of the hands of his original creators and overexposed by corporate money men. Ironically, one of Lobo's creators, Keith Giffen

Keith Giffen

Keith Ian Giffen is an American comic book illustrator and writer.-Biography:Giffen was born in Queens, New York City....

, did the plot and art breakdowns for the Bloodwulf Summer Special.

Rather than being an expansion of the Lobo "idea," however, Bloodwulf was almost a direct copy of the character. The two characters look strikingly similar with only the color scheme differing. Bloodwulf's hair (which is a little taller) and facial tattoo (which is a little bigger) are red whereas Lobo's are black. Bloodwulf also rides a souped up space motorcycle, as does his predecessor. Even the story plots take a similar tack, both having a science fiction theme while relying heavily on parody and excessive violence. If at all possible, Lobo's humor was a little more subtle and sophisticated, actually poking fun at ultra-violent comics and the fans who enjoyed them. On the other hand, Bloodwulf's humor is more standard fare, poking fun at science fiction standards like Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

, Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

 and Aliens in a more juvenile Mad Magazine fashion. The first issue of the Bloodwulf limited series has a pair of droids approaching the bounty hunter with a hidden message from a captured princess asking him to find a reclusive hermit who is her "only hope." Issue #2 has Bloodwulf visiting the Pleasure Plaza, a space station that looks like a brothelized version of Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

 Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine may refer to:* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a 1993-1999 television series* Deep Space Nine , the television show's setting...

 (including having a Ferengi

Ferengi

The Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,...

 bar tender). The final villain of the limited series is a verbose soliloquizer who is an amalgamation of Darth Vader

Darth Vader

Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

 and Sandman

Sandman (DC Comics)

Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...

 writer, Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman

Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...

(called "Gaimanwank" in the story).