| Posted: 29 May 2008 at 12:36pm | IP Logged | 1
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WENDELL VAUGHN . . . THE FIRST EARTH MAN EVER APPOINTED PROTECTOR OF THE UNIVERSE. BONDED TO THE ENERGY-TRANSFORMING QUANTUM-BANDS THAT ARE BOTH WEAPONS AND SYMBOLS OF HIS STATION, HE FIGHTS AN ONGOING BATTLE TO DEFEND ALL LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE FROM COSMIC EVIL !
STAN LEE PRESENTS . . . QUASAR !
I just finished reading this "classic" run by Mark Gruenwald. Over time, I've been able to complete my collection from Mile High and MyComicShop.com. I've been working my way through it for the past couple of years and have really enjoyed it ! I am sad that the book did not go on. In issue #60, Gruenwald writes the following comments on the Quantum Quorum (letters page):
I had a blast writing this series and I think I managed to turn out a whopping good yarn here and there as well as providing an alternative to all the attitude-heavy heroes so prevalent these days. A five year run is quite respectable in this day and age, I'd say.
Gruenwald also notes that "low sales, the nemesis of all comic books" was responsible for Quasar's cancellation as an ongoing series. I never knew Gruenwald personally, but from all of his writing and the comments made by his peers, I have gleaned that Mark was both an excellent writer, a professional in his field and a good person to know! Perhaps some of Mark's own persona was written into the character of Wendell Vaughn?
I can't help wondering if the reason that Quasar was cancelled is because he was portrayed as such a genuinely "nice" person. Wendell was always thinking of others more highly than himself, making various sacrifices (even dying at one point) for the greater good of others. In many ways Quasar is like a cosmic-Christ figure. I find Vaughn's character to be down-to-earth, admirable, and humorous. He is a refreshing change to all the angst-filled characters such as Wolverine and the Punisher.
Like all Marvel characters, Quasar wasn't without his faults and weaknesses. He had to deal with a demanding father and the awesome responsibility of protecting the entire universe. Both of these challenges impacted each other and Vaughn's self-perception, creating a hero who often times failed, while other times finding success. Perhaps these are hints of Spider-Man's character, written throughout the Quasar series? Trying to do the right thing while suffering personally from the negative consequences, was Wendell's life !
In many ways, I am really glad that Quasar was portrayed as a "good-guy" ! Someone with that much Cosmic Power at his disposal needs to have altruistic motives. The Cosmic Quantum bands are formidable weapons capable of great devastation. Yet Quasar always used them for the cause of righteousness. Force fields, communication links, ram heads, hammers, boxing gloves, catcher's mitts, spikes, etc. Anything that Quasar could imagine, he transformed into defensive and offensive weapons at the speed of thought.
Beyond his likeable character qualities and amazing powers, Quasar had some fascinating supporting characters throughout the book:
Co-workers (Kayla Ballantine, H.D. Steckley)
Heroes (Makarri, Paragon/Kismet, Silver Surfer, Starfox, Gladiator & Shi'Ar Guard)
Villains (Absorbing Man, Living Laser, Terminus, Modam, Tutinax, Angler, Geometer, Skeletron & Co., Thanos, Presence)
Cosmic Heavy Weights (Watcher, Maelstrom, Eon, Epoch, Elders of the Universe, Stranger, Living Tribunal, Adam Warlock)
But it was the plots written about the Cosmic Avenger that kept me engrossed throughout the entire series. The majority of the stories are quite entertaining from the standpoint of sci-fi, technology, religion and philosophy. Some of the highlights include: Quasar's Origin, Project Pegasus, Journey Into Mystery, Who Will Be the Fastest One Alive?, Cosmos in Collision, the Infinity Gauntlet & War crossovers, Who Will Be Her's Mate?, Wandering the World's of What-If?, Starbrand-Starblast-New Universal, Operation Galactic Storm crossovers, Anti-Body Slam, etc. (Note: upon cancellation of the series, Quasar showed up briefly with Beta-Ray Bill and the Silver Surfer in a fun three issue series called Star Masters !)
The art in Quasar #1-60 was fun and colorful too, a worthy companion to Gruenwald's excellent writing ! Many people drew the book through it's sixty issue run. However, I am quite partial to Greg Capullo's pencils and Harry Candellario's inks ! I believe these were the standards that set the artistic pace for most of the book. Greg & Harry developed a nice combination of realism, detail, anatomy, and epic scale. These provided hours of fun, laughter, suspense and cosmic enjoyment ! Under their pens & brushes, Quasar's adventures and his costume (especially his "stellar cape") come alive !
Out of all the stories, I believe I enjoyed Operation Galactic Storm the best ! I've read it twice ! It also helped that this 20 issue story-line crossed over into Thor, the Avengers (both East & West), Captain America, Wonder-Man, Iron Man, etc. This was a crossover that had some real teeth, and I think, admirably demonstrates the horrors of war. Cosmos in Collision ranks as 2nd Place Runner-Up ! This was an extremely complex story-line dealing with the lofty concepts of metaphysics and Mark Gruenwald handled this run thoughtfully. It is more than an entertaining comic story. It gives the reader an opportunity to think beyond fiction to matters of life, death and the afterlife.
For those of you who have read the recent Annihilation series, you know that Quasar (Wendell Vaughn) died in the four issue Nova crossover. In his place is the new Quasar, Phyla-Vell, the "daughter" of the Kree Captain Mar-Vell. Phyla has her own strengths and weaknesses, and is proving to be a formidable hero in the pages of Annihilation Conquest and the new Guardians of the Galaxy. However, I must confess a soft-spot in my heart for Gruenwald's portrayal of Wendell Vaughn. This will always be my favorite incarnation of Quasar ! It is my hope that he will return to the pages of Marvel comics someday !
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