Digital Webbing has announced it will release in January E-Man: The Idol, a new story for the character in honor of his 35th anniversary.
E-Man was originally created by Charlton Comics in 1973 — he was an eons-old entity born out of a dying supernova, and tackled crime with a lighthearted air and the power of a million exploding… stars. Of course, Toonopedia writes the character’s success was limited by the circumstances surrounding him:
E-Man had everything going against him — timing (superheroes were no longer a hot trend when he debuted, in 1973), publisher (fans paid little attention to Charlton), creative team (writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton were both newcomers to the field), even wardrobe (orange, yellow and white — puh-leeze!).
Over the character’s long history, E-Man had been printed by groups such as Comico and Alpha Productions before being scooped up by Digital Webbing in 2006. In this new story, the publisher writes, E-Man will team up with private eye Mike Mauser to find an ancient and powerful idol — which happens to be in the possession of Nova Kane, a part-time stripper and archeology student.
At any rate, it’s clear that Digital Webbing, a networking site for aspiring comics professionals that branched into publishing in 2001, is excited by the announcement. “It’s rare for a writer and artist to still be spinning yarns about a character they created three and a half decades into the run,” said publisher Ed Dukeshire. “It’s quite an achievement.”
