The Intimates
Encyclopedia
The Intimates was a twelve-issue American
comic book
limited series
, written by Joe Casey
and published by DC Comics
' Wildstorm
imprint
. The series were created by Joe Casey
, Jim Lee
and Giuseppe Camuncoli.
The Intimates followed the lives of superpowered teenagers and their lives in a school for superhero
es. It focused on the characters behind the superpowers and their lives rather than missions or action-oriented conflicts seen in most superhero comics
.
The series was known for its "information overload" storytelling style, with "pop-up" panels and "info scrolls" at the bottom of each page, providing small facts about the events taking place, such as glimpses into a character's history or random "facts." One issue featured a fake ad for the food given away at the Seminary, "chemically treated to calm ALL overactive behavior!"
on All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. Camuncoli would stay on longer, but also eventually left to draw Batman
and the Captain Atom
: Armageddon mini-series detailing the Worldstorm storyline.
Destra, Punchy and Duke recently appeared in The Authority.
Punchy: A teenager with an affinity for "Super Espionage Boom" comics who uses a Punching Nun puppet of mysterious origin. The puppet allows him to generate a giant red fist capable of knocking down trees or punching through steel doors. He secretly holds feelings for Destra, but she acts indifferent.
Destra: A fashionista
who gained explosive fingernail clippings and invulnerability due to a romantic liaison with her alien boyfriend. Her father is one of The Seminary's biggest contributors. Throughout the series she explores her suspicion that the food served at The Seminary is chemically treated to control student behavior
Duke: A super-strong and invulnerable All-American boy. The staff at The Seminary believes in his potential as a superhero, but Duke is reluctant. His father is an overbearing redneck who enjoys shooting propane tanks, and encourages his son to not "take any crap!"
Empty Vee: (a pun on MTV
) Extremely shy and quiet, Vee was exposed to a meteorite that crashed in her backyard. This changed her natural state to invisible and gave her the power to become visible. She has a crush on Punchy for the first three issues, but he rejects her advances.
Kefong: Kefong is a late student whose powers allow him to create "temporal bubbles," which can protect him from mental subversion or cause others to vomit. His character is modeled after Dean Martin
and Bruce Lee
. He is also an accomplished breakdancer.
Sykes: Sykes is the result of brain experiments by his parents. He wears technology that creates a "null field" around his head; if this is turned off, the immediate area is enveloped in a psychedelic
madness. He appears catatonic, never speaking and rarely acknowledging the world around him. It was revealed in issue #6 that his uncle sexually assaulted him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, written by Joe Casey
Joe Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite, among others.-Biography:...
and published by 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...
' Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. The series were created by Joe Casey
Joe Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite, among others.-Biography:...
, Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
and Giuseppe Camuncoli.
The Intimates followed the lives of superpowered teenagers and their lives in a school for 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 —...
es. It focused on the characters behind the superpowers and their lives rather than missions or action-oriented conflicts seen in most superhero 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...
.
The series was known for its "information overload" storytelling style, with "pop-up" panels and "info scrolls" at the bottom of each page, providing small facts about the events taking place, such as glimpses into a character's history or random "facts." One issue featured a fake ad for the food given away at the Seminary, "chemically treated to calm ALL overactive behavior!"
History
The series was an instant critical hit, but would suffer from slow sales its entire life. Originally Lee provided covers and occasional panels, with Camuncoli providing the rest of the art. However, Lee's contributions became less and less frequent as the book went on, until he finally left to join Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
on All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. Camuncoli would stay on longer, but also eventually left to draw Batman
Batman
Batman 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...
and the Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
: Armageddon mini-series detailing the Worldstorm storyline.
Destra, Punchy and Duke recently appeared in The Authority.
Cast
The main cast are six superpowered teens who share a homeroom at The Seminary.Punchy: A teenager with an affinity for "Super Espionage Boom" comics who uses a Punching Nun puppet of mysterious origin. The puppet allows him to generate a giant red fist capable of knocking down trees or punching through steel doors. He secretly holds feelings for Destra, but she acts indifferent.
Destra: A fashionista
Fashionista
Fashionista or fashionistas may refer to*Fashionista , an Australian TV series*Fashionistas, an American pornographic film*The Fashionistas, minor villains in the Kim Possible series*Fashion victim, an avid follower of fashion...
who gained explosive fingernail clippings and invulnerability due to a romantic liaison with her alien boyfriend. Her father is one of The Seminary's biggest contributors. Throughout the series she explores her suspicion that the food served at The Seminary is chemically treated to control student behavior
Duke: A super-strong and invulnerable All-American boy. The staff at The Seminary believes in his potential as a superhero, but Duke is reluctant. His father is an overbearing redneck who enjoys shooting propane tanks, and encourages his son to not "take any crap!"
Empty Vee: (a pun on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
) Extremely shy and quiet, Vee was exposed to a meteorite that crashed in her backyard. This changed her natural state to invisible and gave her the power to become visible. She has a crush on Punchy for the first three issues, but he rejects her advances.
Kefong: Kefong is a late student whose powers allow him to create "temporal bubbles," which can protect him from mental subversion or cause others to vomit. His character is modeled after Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
. He is also an accomplished breakdancer.
Sykes: Sykes is the result of brain experiments by his parents. He wears technology that creates a "null field" around his head; if this is turned off, the immediate area is enveloped in a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
madness. He appears catatonic, never speaking and rarely acknowledging the world around him. It was revealed in issue #6 that his uncle sexually assaulted him.