Tribe (comics)
Encyclopedia
Tribe was a short-lived comic book
published first in 1993. Created by Todd Johnson and Larry Stroman
, Tribe launched as part of Image Comics
' second round of titles and with sales of over one million copies is still the largest selling African American
comic produced by African American creators. Although Tribe had been intended as a series it was canceled due to publishing delays.
Axis Comics later printed two more issues (2,3) of the series before itself going under due to financial difficulties. The final issue (0) was published by Good Comics.
Special edition white covered copies of the initial issue, signed by both Johnson and Stroman have sold on ebay
for as much as $300.
, New York
. During its limited run, the plot of Tribe centered on their conflicts with a conglomerate of European and Japanese techno-pirates known as "Europan", which had a mysterious connection to a power-crazed, armor-clad villain known as "Lord Deus". The final issue also featured an appearance by Erik Larsen
's Savage Dragon
, even positing an alternate origin for the character.
Due to constant changes behind the scenes, with Stroman and Johnson switching companies, Tribes release schedule was spotty, and the opening storyline seemed to meander and constantly shift focus, hinting at future twists that would never see fruition. In issue #1, Blindspot and Hannibal rescue young illusionist Alexander Collins from thugs hired by Europan, introducing him to their collective. In #2, Europan attacks both Collins (later to be known as "Front") and the lab of a Tribe-associated scientist who later becomes known as "Steel Pulse" after his liquid metal armor is released by gunfire from the Europan cyborgs and becomes bonded to his body. Tribe also faces the faux-"gangsta" superpowered assassin "Out Cold" at Front's club. Suddenly, the bizarre "Lord Deus" arrives on the scene, along with the Savage Dragon, who is on duty as a police officer.
In the final published issue of Tribe from the short-lived Good Comics (confusingly numbered "#0", but actually concluding the existing storyline from Image), Tribe and the Dragon fight Lord Deus, who drops portentous hints as to his true supernatural nature and sends the Dragon back in time (thus revealing his "origin"). Suddenly, team strongwoman "Rosalyn" transforms into a godlike armored being who proclaims she "remembers" her true past, implying that she is an immortal and an old enemy of Deus. Deus is defeated by Rosalyn and escapes, while the rest of Tribe is confused by her new appearance and powers.
Even after leaving Image Comics, Tribe continued to drop hints and in-jokes regarding its universe's characters, as well as including the cameo from the Savage Dragon. In issue #2, Tribe tries to avoid scrutiny from the police by claiming to be the "Urban Division" of Youngblood
.
Tribe was led by Blindspot, who wore a stealth suit allowing him to become invisible. Blindspot was apparently a scientific genius whose work was exploited and "stolen from [him]" by Europan. Other members included Front, a nightclub DJ who can change individuals' perceptions and create totally interactive and immersive illusions; Shift, a former champion prize fighter who has super-speed and hyper-reflexes; Short Order, who can divide himself into multiple smaller versions of himself; Hannibal, a robot that gets destroyed and rebuilt over and over again; Steel Pulse, a liquid metal being that employs an exoskeleton to keep its shape; and Rosalyn, a voluptuous powerhouse whose abilities were not specifically defined.
Stroman and Johnson claimed that Tribe would have a rotating focus on its multitude of members not seen in the early (and only) issues. Trading card sets put out for the series showed a number of these potential future characters, including "Fly Girl", a New York runway model and fashion designer with flying abilities. "Fly Girl" supposedly produced a line of clothing for Tribe's headquarters, the "Beat Down Gym", and in a touch of real-life commercial synergy, Stroman and Johnson advertised similar Tribe fashions for sale in advertisements within the comic book. It is unknown whether any such clothing saw production.
However, in September 2007, it was announced that Stroman was returning to Marvel Comics
to pencil a What If? one-shot. When asked in a Wizard Magazine interview about the future of Tribe, Stroman replied, "I told the story I wanted to tell at that time. Now that I'm drawing comics again, there may be some stories to tell."
Tribe has been optioned as a live-action movie and animated series starring Mario Van Peebles and will be relaunched as a comic in 2012.
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...
published first in 1993. Created by Todd Johnson and Larry Stroman
Larry Stroman
Larry Stroman is an American comic book artist and writer. After first gaining attention illustrating the Epic Comics series Alien Legion , he went on to illustrate various Marvel Comics books such as The Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, Ghost Rider Larry Stroman is an American comic book artist and...
, Tribe launched as part of 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...
' second round of titles and with sales of over one million copies is still the largest selling African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
comic produced by African American creators. Although Tribe had been intended as a series it was canceled due to publishing delays.
Axis Comics later printed two more issues (2,3) of the series before itself going under due to financial difficulties. The final issue (0) was published by Good Comics.
Special edition white covered copies of the initial issue, signed by both Johnson and Stroman have sold on ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
for as much as $300.
Plot
Tribe was a comic about the adventures of a predominantly African-American and minority superhero group based out of BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. During its limited run, the plot of Tribe centered on their conflicts with a conglomerate of European and Japanese techno-pirates known as "Europan", which had a mysterious connection to a power-crazed, armor-clad villain known as "Lord Deus". The final issue also featured an appearance by Erik Larsen
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
's Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
, even positing an alternate origin for the character.
Due to constant changes behind the scenes, with Stroman and Johnson switching companies, Tribes release schedule was spotty, and the opening storyline seemed to meander and constantly shift focus, hinting at future twists that would never see fruition. In issue #1, Blindspot and Hannibal rescue young illusionist Alexander Collins from thugs hired by Europan, introducing him to their collective. In #2, Europan attacks both Collins (later to be known as "Front") and the lab of a Tribe-associated scientist who later becomes known as "Steel Pulse" after his liquid metal armor is released by gunfire from the Europan cyborgs and becomes bonded to his body. Tribe also faces the faux-"gangsta" superpowered assassin "Out Cold" at Front's club. Suddenly, the bizarre "Lord Deus" arrives on the scene, along with the Savage Dragon, who is on duty as a police officer.
In the final published issue of Tribe from the short-lived Good Comics (confusingly numbered "#0", but actually concluding the existing storyline from Image), Tribe and the Dragon fight Lord Deus, who drops portentous hints as to his true supernatural nature and sends the Dragon back in time (thus revealing his "origin"). Suddenly, team strongwoman "Rosalyn" transforms into a godlike armored being who proclaims she "remembers" her true past, implying that she is an immortal and an old enemy of Deus. Deus is defeated by Rosalyn and escapes, while the rest of Tribe is confused by her new appearance and powers.
Even after leaving Image Comics, Tribe continued to drop hints and in-jokes regarding its universe's characters, as well as including the cameo from the Savage Dragon. In issue #2, Tribe tries to avoid scrutiny from the police by claiming to be the "Urban Division" of Youngblood
Youngblood (comics)
Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...
.
Characters
Originally, Tribes creators explained that Tribe was intended to grow to over 200 members; Tribe was supposed to be a massive underground movement with dozens upon dozens of heroes. However, as of this writing, only a handful of the 200 have been introduced.Tribe was led by Blindspot, who wore a stealth suit allowing him to become invisible. Blindspot was apparently a scientific genius whose work was exploited and "stolen from [him]" by Europan. Other members included Front, a nightclub DJ who can change individuals' perceptions and create totally interactive and immersive illusions; Shift, a former champion prize fighter who has super-speed and hyper-reflexes; Short Order, who can divide himself into multiple smaller versions of himself; Hannibal, a robot that gets destroyed and rebuilt over and over again; Steel Pulse, a liquid metal being that employs an exoskeleton to keep its shape; and Rosalyn, a voluptuous powerhouse whose abilities were not specifically defined.
Stroman and Johnson claimed that Tribe would have a rotating focus on its multitude of members not seen in the early (and only) issues. Trading card sets put out for the series showed a number of these potential future characters, including "Fly Girl", a New York runway model and fashion designer with flying abilities. "Fly Girl" supposedly produced a line of clothing for Tribe's headquarters, the "Beat Down Gym", and in a touch of real-life commercial synergy, Stroman and Johnson advertised similar Tribe fashions for sale in advertisements within the comic book. It is unknown whether any such clothing saw production.
Future
Rumors and fan requests of a relaunch or continuation have circulated as recently as 2005. To date there is no concrete information about such an event. In their joint interview in George Khoury's Image Comics: The Road To Independence, Stroman and Johnson insisted that recent rumors about an animated Tribe or film treatment are totally false and that they have no knowledge of any such projects. At the time of the interview, Stroman was no longer working in comics.However, in September 2007, it was announced that Stroman was returning to Marvel Comics
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...
to pencil a What If? one-shot. When asked in a Wizard Magazine interview about the future of Tribe, Stroman replied, "I told the story I wanted to tell at that time. Now that I'm drawing comics again, there may be some stories to tell."
Tribe has been optioned as a live-action movie and animated series starring Mario Van Peebles and will be relaunched as a comic in 2012.