Cyclone!
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n 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 —...
anthology comic book originally published in 1985.
The title featured four ongoing stories:
- The Dark Nebula a cosmic superheroSuperheroA 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 —...
by Tad Pietrzykowski - The Golden Age Southern Cross superheroSuperheroA 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 —...
by Tad Pietrzykowski & Glenn Lumsden. - The Jackaroo (known as Harry and the New Heroes in the first issue) by Gary ChalonerGary ChalonerGary Chaloner is an Australian comic book artist and writer. Born in Sydney in 1963, he began self publishing in 1985 with David de Vries, Glenn Lumsden and Tad Pietrzykowski under the Cyclone Comics imprint. He has collaborated with Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, Kurt Busiek, Stephen Jewell and Tim...
. - The Southern Squadron, a superheroSuperheroA 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 —...
team by David de Vries and Gary ChalonerGary ChalonerGary Chaloner is an Australian comic book artist and writer. Born in Sydney in 1963, he began self publishing in 1985 with David de Vries, Glenn Lumsden and Tad Pietrzykowski under the Cyclone Comics imprint. He has collaborated with Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, Kurt Busiek, Stephen Jewell and Tim...
.
The initial run of Cyclone! was eight issues, after which the anthology format was dispensed with and it was renamed Southern Squadron. The Southern Squadron, comprises:
- Lieutant Smith, a female Australian military operative who commands the team.
- Nightfighter, a beer-swilling ockerOckerThe term "ocker" is used both as a noun and adjective for an Australian who speaks and acts in an uncultured manner, using a broad Australian accent...
from Melbourne who gains in strength whenever he gets excited (according to his creator, David de Vries, he is a combination of HulkHulk (comics)The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
and BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
). The Nightfighter's battle cry being "Hold on to your braincells!", a rip-off of the Thing'sThing (comics)The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
trademark "It's clobbering time". - Southern Cross, a young, trendy North Shore fashion designer from Sydney with psychokinetic powers. Southern Cross has a power-cane, which he needs to amplify his powers so he can fly.
- Dingo, the werewolf son of a SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n immigrant (who fills a similar sort of role to that of the BeastBeast (comics)Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
in X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, or the ThingThing (comics)The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
in the Fantastic FourFantastic FourThe Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, according to de Vries).
The Southern Squadron was formed by the government of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in 1982, to deal with superpowered crime and to give local superheroes guidance, training and legal authority. The Southern Squadron are based in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They cooperate closely with their New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
counterparts, the Waitangi Rangers.
The Southern Squadron was also published in a four issue mini-series by Aircel
Aircel
Aircel group is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India. The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited, whose current...
in America in 1990, reprinting stories from the original Australian stories.
The Dark Nebula, and The Jackaroo were given their own titles in February and May 1989 respectively. The Dark Nebula lasted eight issues and The Jackaroo was a single issue. The Jackaroo was also released as a three issue mini-series published by the American company Eternity, reworked from various stories originally published in Australia.
In 1989 Cyclone Comics also published a limited run called G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
Australia, reprinting stories from the Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
series with some additional Australian material.
The Cyclone name returned in 1992 when Gary Chaloner launched Cyclone Comics Quarterly with new characters. It ran for four issues. The first issue included a solo adventure of Flash Damingo, a member of Southern Squadron, and a new character Morton Stone: Undertaker.
The original Cyclone! Characters have undergone something of a revival with the launching of The Dark Nebula webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
in 2006. The website has been operation for a little over two years. This webcomic currently includes Dark Nebula, the Golden Age Southern Cross and The Southern Squadron.
The new series of The Dark Nebula, The Southern Cross & The Southern Squadron graphic novels are also available on-line through http://www.indyplanet.com