Broken Frontier

Joe Mad is back on what is likely to be Marvel’s #1 book.

Pat Lee is on Cyber Force.

Rob Liefeld is drawing Heroes Reborn...

Gen13 is back...

Time check? What year is this?

Things come and go, and things come back again. How is it that a time period that is so roundly derided by fans and critics alike is enjoying such a resounding renaissance?

Joe Madureira arrived at Marvel in 1991. He was 16 years old. His first published work at the company was an eight page Northstar story for the Marvel Comics Presents anthology,

However, it was in the X-Office that Madureira caught aflame. In 1994, at the age of 19, Madureira was the artist on one of the hottest books of the 1990s, Uncanny X-Men, where he re-defined the look of Marvel’s merry mutants during the Age Of Apocalypse.

As the mad frenzy that was 1990s comics peaked, Madureira jumped ship and found fame and fortune on his infrequent outings on the book that launched a whole new genre—BattleChasers.

And that could have been that.

However, one of the other hallmarks of the 1990s—ridiculously late or unfinished comics—struck, and BattleChasers and Madureira vanished...

Until late last year, when fandom was rocked by the announcement that Joe Madureira, missing in action for so long (if you don’t count the odd Street Fighter cover) was back.

The Ultimates is everything that was cool about the 1990s, huge sprawling story lines, mega battles, gore and guts... but this time, combined with awesome storytelling. Now, one of the 1990s biggest creators is teaming up with the naughties break out writer, Jeph Loeb, to tackle The Ultimates. There are few comic news stories in 2005 that rivaled the bomb that was Joe Madureira’s return to comics and to Marvel.

To my eyes, Jim Lee came out of the big, bad ass, gun-toting, huge-breasted 1990s relatively unscathed. That may or may not have something to do with the fact that he sold Wildstorm, one of Image’s premiere studios, to DC in late 1998.

It wasn’t until five years later, in 2003, that Lee once again made his mark on comics, teaming up with another runaway success of the 1990s, Jeph Loeb, to deliver Batman: Hush. He has since gone on to even bigger things, with a stint on Superman and, of course, his team-up with Frank Miller on All Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder.

Another of Lee’s creations, Gen13, is set for a big return this year, courtesy of Gail Simone and Talent Caldwell.

Marc Silvestri is another huge name from the 1990s. Working in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Marvel’s X-office, Silvestri paved the way for other Image founders with his runs on titles like Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine.

Launching his Image campaign with Cyber Force, Silvestri went on to make his mark with books like The Darkness. Jump forward a few years, and Marc is back on a new property, Hunter/ Killer, a book which is generating support with the fans.

There is one name that is so fused with 1990s comics that it is almost impossible to think of one without the other. Step back and await the outpouring of fanboy bile, for I am about to type the letters R-O-B-L-I-E-F-E-L-D which, remarkably, spell Rob Liefeld.

Rob’s explosion onto the scene was heralded by his transformation of the New Mutants into X-Force, with X-Force #1 selling four million copies, an industry record at the time. He also claimed the highest selling independent book of the time with the 1992 debut of Image Comics’ first book, Youngblood.

After recent stints on Cable, Wolverine, X-Force and DC’s Teen Titans, Rob Liefeld is back at Marvel and is going to do the unthinkable—relaunch Heroes Reborn...

So, everything 90s is new again. It is quite a surprise to see the cycle of nostalgia swing back again so soon.

It is not just in the pages of books helmed by Image founders, but also in books like The Ultimates, The Authority, and even in small press books like Alias’ Hyperactives, that we see that the 90s are back...

So, it’s time to party like it’s 1995!