There's more to comic book heroes than Marvel and DC. Sometimes, publishers will get lucky and they'll create something that hits the big time. This doesn't help some studios from closing but it does become a great bargaining chip before being bought up by a different studio. Dark Horse, IDW and Mirage have hit the big time by either creating a great comic book character, or creating comic books for big characters in other mediums. This is a look at comic book superheroes that exist with a little less fanfare but no shortage of charm and cool factor.
The Mask
Obviously, I saw the movie first, but once I saw the comic book, it was a little much in some areas, especially gore. The Mask is far more violent, and his crazy antics are far more crazy here. The artwork isn't anything to write home about, but it has its own bit of charm to it. His jokes kill people and the story works out far different than the film. Let's be real here, this doesn't honestly belong on a superhero list, but at least Kelly uses the Bighead Mask persona to try and do good things like take down the mob and the crime bosses. The comic books only really were good in the first two, after that, they kind of just go from person to person with people who discover the mask. To its credit, at the very least, it didn't have a Son of the Mask followup. We can be thankful for that.
Savage Dragon
Far more violent and adult oriented than the animated TV show. While it didn't gain any mainstream success like the X-men, it still had a decently healthy run. The comic book series has that beautiful 90's gleam to it and just stands as an example of 90's nostalgic art. This was a sign of the times, especially with the huge imaginative roster of monsters like Arachnid and Barbaric. Savage Dragon is just a smart mouth cop who takes his job very seriously and takes down monsters in order to protect the public.
Scott Pilgrim
Just a guy who wants to date a girl. However, if he wants to get with Ramona, he has to fight through her Seven Deadly Exes. This was a very creative way to depict a story of jealousy in a bright light while also having some great fight scenes. No two battles are the same, and Scott learns a lot through the whole thing. Now, is he a superhero? Well, he certainly has skills like a superhero and is able to fight at a superior level to normal humans. Like some of these others, this was a bit of a bending of the rules. Scott Pilgrim is pretty awesome. The ending could have been better but the story itself is quite satisfying anyway.
V
This is another bending of the rules, much like the Watchmen segment in the DC list. Yes, DC published this, but they were not the first publishers of the British version. The story and characters are quite different from the brilliant 2005 film. V is different, but he's still pretty brilliant when it comes to fighting for an idea to protect the people's rights. The way he did it was a little hard to believe, but it was awesome to see one man bring a corrupt government to their knees. His mask has become iconic, as is his theme about the 5th of November. Call him an anti-hero all you want, he's a hero in these books.
The Tick
Let's be honest here, this is primarily the TV Show. The comics are good, but the TV show is brilliantly hilarious. The comedic timing and the insanity of all of the characters is just so fun to watch. The villains are very imaginative and have their own funny gimmicks. Some of them follow this gimmick to an almost religious degree while some of them just shrug their gimmicks off and only use them when they think about them. The Tick is just so dedicated to justice and fighting evil doers that he takes this to an annoying degree, especially to his sidekick, Arthur. Arthur is the straight man throughout the whole thing. While the Tick just accepts things as weird, Arthur is there to point out the logic in the whole situation and how there is none. While the comics are fun and have their own charm, for some reason, the TV series was angled more toward children and they actually used that restraint. Somehow, this made the comedy a bit more funny. This is an arguable standpoint but try them both for yourself.
Hellboy
The comics are dark, grim, and sometimes just hilarious. This is a monster hunter who fights Hitler while going down to fight monsters from Hell itself. Hellboy was brought to my attention by the Ron Pearlman movie and that is probably still my favorite iteration of the character. For some reason, the sequel didn't come off quite as good as the first one, and the movies just went straight down hill from there. The comics, however, remain very entertaining, and even the cartoon movies had a good bit of charm to them. If you'd like to explore this character, just be careful with the live actions. Otherwise, he's a dark taste and he may surprise you.
Miyamoto Usagi
The tales of Usagi are long, and he is a major badass. He is no nonsense, his fighting style rivals even that of the Ninja Turtles, as he has proven that he exceeds their skill level to some small degree. This is not reflected in his appearance in the 1987 series. There, he is mistakenly called Usagi Yojimbo as his name, but Yojimbo is just his title as bodyguard. He is much better depicted in the 2012 series, in their fifth season. Miyamoto Usagi and his sword are amazing, and you'll find yourself getting very interested in his many exploits.
Judge Dredd
The darkness of the world needs order, and Judge Dredd is dedicated to doing his part in making that happen. He is deadly with his multifunction pistol and his knowledge of fighting. Judge Dredd often uses strategic advantage to win the battle and even luck when his partner helps him. The comic series is parted into two collections. There's the 1977 original series that is very crude and written for a British magazine. Then there is the new releases that started in 2012. Either way, the battle between Judge Dredd and Judge Death are some of the most captivating of the series, and his battle against the villainous judges is a milestone in the series. Karl Urban's movie is probably the best example of bringing him to the big screen. Drokk it...
Spawn
Todd McFarlane came into the comic scene hardcore through Spider-man and he used that leverage to get him into the comic book scene for himself. He created Spawn, and it changed the landscape of the entire industry. All the sudden, a warrior from Hell can be a knight of heroism and Spawn can take on the Violator with chains and hellfire! Spawn came to the Earth and started taking out villains of all kinds, even ones that parents don't want their kids to know about. The Klown can be covered in blood and Satan's generals can go after Spawn from all across the dimensions. This comic series is long and very, very dark. If you want a good media to watch besides the comics, check out the animated series from HBO. Do not bring the kids.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Yes, I'm including all of them, because I didn't want them to take up four whole spots on this list. The phenomenon that was the TMNT series was beyond any expectations. It seemed that no matter what they did, they made money with this series through toys, movies, many TV series, apparel, and video games of all kinds. The comic books for this series has passed from the original Mirage to IDW and the whole series is pretty awesome in its own right. Not all of it is stellar, but the comic books had a more adult orientation, where the 1987 TV series was geared much more toward kids, which it hit very hard. Even after originally killing the Shredder in the first issue, the Ninja Turtles got rebooted in IDW where the story kept its very mature theme and the violence was kept fairly graphic while also adding more and more villains and new mutant characters. The turtles have had a very stable range of characteristics. Michaelangelo has kept a more child-like persona, craving pizza and keeping a very humorous view on life. Donatello is smart, loves computers and creates a vast range of technical marvels to solve problems. Raphael uses his brute strength to deal with situations, is quick to anger and is one of the better fighters among them. Leonardo is their leader with a more duty oriented view of fighting their opponents while also protecting his friends and family. None of this was really evident in the first official run of the comic books. The characters evolved from their original comics and have garnered a following that still loves them to this day. Virtua Cowabunga!
