Prime (comics) - Publication History

Publication History

Prime made his first appearance in Prime #1, dated June 1993, written by Gerard Jones and Len Strazewski and illustrated by Norm Breyfogle.

As part of the Ultraverse imprint, the comic was set within a shared universe of super-powered beings conceptualized by Mike Barr, Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, James Hudnall, Gerard Jones, Larry Niven, James Robinson, and Len Strazewski. Image Comics, a line of creator-owned comics that had record-breaking sales figures, had a publishing deal with Malibu that had ended shortly before.

Writers Jones and Strazewski used the book to explore a number of themes, such as the place of role models in establishing personal definitions of heroism, as well as touchy matters regarding sexuality and pedophilia.

Artist Breyfogle set the definitive visual tone of Prime. His style was marked by the use of interconnected panels with spilled margins and broken borders, as well as frequent use of speed lines and other hyperkinetic emphasis effects. Breyfogle's depiction of Prime was also distinctive for stark lighting, over-rendered musculature, and a dark approach to gore. Breyfogle departed as regular artist after issue 12. Among the artists who made up for Breyfogle's departure were George Pérez, Darick Robertson, and John Statema.

Marvel Comics purchased Malibu in 1994. In 1995, Marvel characters began crossing over into the Ultraverse, beginning with the appearance of Thor and Loki in Godwheel — a crossover that revealed many of the elements that Larry Niven had written into the Ultraverse creators' bible.

As time passed, these incursions became more frequent, culminating in 1995, with the event known as "Black September." This crossover effectively gave Marvel the license to rewrite many of the Ultraverse books' core concepts.