WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: It's A Hard Road To Fame (HARDCASE)

Of the six writers Dave Ulrich and Chris Ulm invited to help them create the shared universe that was the Ultraverse, they included two who made their bones in the Bronze Age, one who would go on to make his bones in a few short years, one who was drawing attention at the time...and James D. Hundall.

Hundall (1957-2019) was a talented comic writer who showed up on my radar with his first series, the 1986 Eclipse paranormal spy series ESPers.  He went from there to Marvel and did a few lesser-known series, including a continuation of Peter Gillis' sci-fi/war/superhero mash-up Strikeforce Mouritori.  He arguably came closest to achieving A-Level Comics Fame when he penned Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, a dark little piece of noir that was inspired by the behavior of a certain small-thumbed egomaniac who mistook commentary for a blueprint on how to act.  Cult TV fanatics might know him for the fact that Chris Carter bought the rights to his creator-owned series, Harsh Realm, discarded everything about it except for the title and did what he wanted.

It was probably due to Hundall's name that I picked up the first issue of Hardcase from Twilight Zone Comics in Ridgewood when it became the first of three Ultraverse issues released in June of 1993.  It's been that long since I read it for this project.  It ended up being one of the longest running Ultraverse series, barely surviving the Marvel Reboot and lasting 26 issues.

Tom Hawke was an aspiring actor when he became the first Ultrahuman, gaining strength, speed, and invulnerability.  Joining forces with three other newly minted Ultras, he formed the Squad--until a monstrosity attacked that killed two of them and left the third, Tom's girlfriend, in a coma.  He retreated into acting, but the emergence of new Ultras and his failure to save a police officer he bonded with prompts him back into action.  Good thing, too, as the amnesiac Ultra spokeswoman Choice has escaped from the Choice Corporation and is looking for his help...and the mysterious Rex Mundi is looking to kill the both of them as part of his crusade to wipe ultrahumans off the face of the Earth.

The thing that strikes me about Hardcase is that this is one of the first titles without an obvious single inspiration.  It seems Hundall took the original, Golden Age Superman (he can't fly, but he can leap great distances in a single bound), put on some layers of Spider-Man's psychology and Iron Man's celebrity and took full advantage of the Los Angeles culture at the time to tell his story.  The only thing that really screams 'Image-rific' is the man's costume with those massive shoulder pads and the gold chain belt and wrist bands.

It also helps that, like James Robinson with Firearm, Hundall knows we want characterization with our fighting and world building.  In issue #13's letter column he talked about how he liked to put each issue into the category of action or 'soul searcher'...and sometimes the 'soul searcher' issues are the best.  Issue #9's 'True Confessions' does have a brief fight scene, but is mainly composed of a monologue by Hardcase to his comatose former girlfriend about his feelings for Choice and his need to move on.  A large portion of issue #13's 'The Turning Point' is an illustrated story that reveal's Choice's back story and true name and connects her to the events we saw in flashback in the very first issue--before she literally disappears from the book for a while.  Hundall always knew how to pace things so that we don't get too bored by one tone or the other...

And damn if he also didn't know how to make the 'shared universe' aspect of the Ultraverse work.  Hardcase contains none of the disconnects I've felt when reading some of the other books.  When the Strangers show up in the last panel of issue #3, it's not because one of their storylines is about to take precedence, but because they need advice on the ultrahero game--and also because their storyline and Tom's converge.   When the title reaches the Break-Thru crossover in issue #6, Hardcase is paid to do a job that requires him to work with The Solution team...which leads to two of the Solution members helping Thom discover Choice's backstory in issues #12-13.  I was really surprised that Ultraforce wasn't brought up until the three part 'Battle Royale' storyline.  Other characters do not appear in this series unless there's an organic reason to, which leads to a more fluid reading experience.

The run is broken up into two arcs--the search for Choice's backstory occupies the book's first year, and Hardcase's conflict with Rex Mundi taking up the rest.  There are a number of villains that range from unmemorable (the first Foxfire*, Headknocker) to the mildly annoying (the vaguely stereotypical Dust Devil) to the genuinely good.  Even though Rex Mundi is obviously meant to be the main villain, the one which I was most fascinated with was Hardwire, a sleazy psychopathic hitman which managed to be as 90's as Hell while also feeling real in the context of the series.  There's also Trouble, who fascinate me not for the character itself but how Tom resolves his conflict with him (I'm a sucker for 'opponents sit down for a drink to talk shop,') to the point where I was disappointed when another baddie named Trauma ends it abruptly.  There's never a point in this run when I start rolling my eyes out of the Xtreme-ness of it all.

Sadly, while Hundall is in the driver's seat throughout the series (not counting an assist from Steve Englehart for the Strangers appearance), we're treated to a merry-go-round of artists.  The bulk of the art is by Scott Benefiel and Tim Hamilton, and they're both good enough.  I think I prefer Benefiel's issues to Hamilton's very exaggerated work.  But, with the exception of Brent Anderson in issue #9 (the perfect fusion of subject and artist!), the other ten artists who draw the other issues are not up to the task.  I think the inconsistent artwork is the biggest fault of the series, and  I would have preferred if they could have found one other artist to fill in on all those issues and stick with them.

This is actually the first series I've encountered where the title weathered the Marvel Purchase without a reboot--Hardcase disappears from his own comic for an issue to participate in the Godwheel mini, and the character ends up butting head with Loki in #23 before resolving the Rex Mundi storyline.  Hundall does the best he can with the abrupt change in direction the Ultraverse takes, but I'm not surprised he didn't stay long after, nor did the publisher attempt a Hardcase V. 2.

I genuinely liked Hardcase.  Unlike the other titles I've dug into, the crossover elements are more or less handled smoothly and there are very few narrative bumps.  I wish that the revolving door of pencillers would not have disrupted the series as much as it did, but overall I would recommend this.  I just wish it got as much attention as the other solo series that came out that June.

There's another heavy hitter on the horizon next time as we deal with another Founding Father of the Ultraverse, who chooses to go down a more...mystical road.  Mike W. Barr and Terry Dodson (with an assist by Adam Hughes) introduces us to a warrior reincarnated in the body of a soccer mom called...Mantra!

Until then, why be meta when you can be ultra? Postscript (9/22): Malibu co-founder and Bravura founding editor Tom Mason was kind enough to give me some more insight into Hardcase on the Ultraverse Facebook Page.    With his permission, his comments are reprinted below.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my comparison of the character to the Golden Age Superman was accurate!  Thanks to Mr. Mason for letting me add his memories; it is my hope he will continue to add insights as I continue covering the imprint's other titles.

"Hudnall was put up as an Ultraverse creator by Chris Ulm who read his run on ESPers. Dave and I agreed. According to Hudnall, he was very inspired by the early Superman stories where he wasn't yet an all-powerful god-like being. Hudnall loved the stories where Superman could leap tall buildings and outrace locomotives and fought corrupt politicians. A more grounded hero.

Originally, Hardcase wasn't going to be a launch title. Hudnall was enamored with The Squad and wanted to tell their story first. But since The Squad was mostly a before-the-UV story and we had a group title, The Strangers, that was essentially a real-time origin of the UV, we went with Hardcase for the launch month. It was the better decision.

Finding an artist who could stay on the book was difficult. Someone high-up at Malibu - Bob *cough* Jacob - took a personal interest in the book. He kept wanting an "Image-style" artist, and he and Hudnall were late-night phone buddies. (Maybe I should put these things in a book....)"

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*--Yes, before we got the Rose Autumn cosmic hero Foxfire, there was a generic fireguy with wings.  Between this and the Mustang confusion, I would have loved to have words with the continuity person over at Malibu.