# Help me ID an incredibly obscure Graphic Novel from around 1990 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766 "2018-10-31T03:56:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/1 "2018-10-31T03:56:44Z")
I just vaguely remember it, outside the basic premise. The premise is that it’s dumb for heroes to tell exactly what they do/are in their names. “The Human Torch” lets people prepare for him\* by buying fire extinguishers for example. IIRC, the first generation of super-heroes are wiped out (by mob-types?) because the baddies know exactly how to prepare for them. The next tier of heroes all change their names to generic stuff like “Super-Power Man” or “Omni-Power Lass”. Once they’ve gone on a mission or two, they ditch the costumes, and grab new generic names. I’ve only read this once, when it was new and other than the name/costume stuff, all other details could be wrong. Here’s the other clues I have: 1. It was in the format of an old fashioned Marvel Graphic Novel from the '80s, so it was bigger physically than a normal comic book sized graphic novel. 2. The publishers never did much else. They published one or two graphic novels, and maybe a few comics and that’s it. I vaguely recall that one of their other GNs showed a modern dojo (lots of wood, but looking '60s modern) and a guy with a tiger head and a karate outfit on it. At least I think that was them. 3. It was roughly 1986-1994, give or take. I’d love to find it so if anyone has a clue, I’d appreciate it. \*This is pre-internet so the news would get out a load slower. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/2 "2018-11-04T13:33:34Z")
One bump rule. Wow–200+ views and nobody knows? Does anyone have any memories of this at all? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/3 "2018-11-04T13:50:35Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Does anyone have any memories of this at all? I was reading a lot of comics back then and this doesn’t ring any bells at all for me. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/4 "2018-11-04T16:53:13Z")
Valentino’s excellent _normalman_ (mid-80s) includes a bunch of characters with names similar to those described in the OP (Captain Everything, Sophisticated Lady, Ultra Conservative, Ganja Man, etc.), but that’s where any resemblance ends. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/5 "2018-11-04T17:27:46Z")
It doesn’t ring any bells for me either. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/6 "2018-11-04T17:38:18Z")
I put the word out at the CBR forum, and will let you know of any responses. ---
**Author:** ![Grave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71c47a/32.png) [@Grave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grave)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/7 "2018-11-04T18:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > a guy with a tiger head and a karate outfit on Really though this might be a Tekken related comic based on that, but no luck with searches. The Czar is on the right track - just be prepared that you are misremembering almost all of the story. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/8 "2018-11-04T18:15:52Z")
It doesn’t sound familiar to me, but was it a true graphic novel, a giant sized comic, or a collected series? Could it have been one of these? [http://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/indie-superheroes/](http://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/indie-superheroes/) As for tiger head, that sounds exactly like Bronze Tiger, but he is a DC Villain. The only other tiger headed hero I can think of is not a martial artist and part of the Shazam family, also DC. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/9 "2018-11-04T19:50:40Z")
For some reason, the description reminds me of “DESTROY!!: The Loudest Comic Book in the Universe!!” > **[DESTROY!!: The Loudest Comic Book in the Universe!!: McCloud, Scott: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/DESTROY-Loudest-Comic-Book-Universe/dp/B000M14TU4)** > > DESTROY!!: The Loudest Comic Book in the Universe!! \[McCloud, Scott\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. DESTROY!!: The Loudest Comic Book in the Universe!! ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/10 "2018-11-05T04:02:56Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > It doesn’t sound familiar to me, but was it a true graphic novel, a giant sized comic, or a collected series? Could it have been one of these? > > [http://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/indie-superheroes/](http://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/indie-superheroes/) > > As for tiger head, that sounds exactly like Bronze Tiger, but he is a DC Villain. The only other tiger headed hero I can think of is not a martial artist and part of the Shazam family, also DC. It was a true graphic novel. It’s an obvious Bronze Tiger rip-off, but a different character. And its’ a completely different book. Czar: thanks for putting out the question for me. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/11 "2018-11-05T12:27:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > For some reason, the description reminds me of “DESTROY!!: The Loudest Comic Book in the Universe!!” > > [http://a.co/d/cangCIH](http://a.co/d/cangCIH) DESTROY!! only had two superheroes, and they had approximately the same power set (One was Superman-ish, one was Hulk-ish). I don’t think this was the one. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/12 "2018-11-05T12:49:58Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > DESTROY!! only had two superheroes, and they had approximately the same power set (One was Superman-ish, one was Hulk-ish). I don’t think this was the one. No it definitely doesn’t fit the description. I was just reminded of it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/13 "2018-11-05T13:03:30Z")
I was heavily into comics at that time and I’ve no recollection of such a graphic novel either. I don’t know what to tell you. That said, while I was googling it I found [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pro_(comics))which, while nothing to do with the OP, looks amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/14 "2018-11-05T16:05:23Z")
> [@Grave](#): > > just be prepared that you are misremembering almost all of the story. The only things I’m 100% sure about are 1. The change costumes and names after every few missions gimmick (it’s what the whole thing is about). I may have the details wrong (they changed after every mission, they changed monthly, etc) but they changed names/costumes. 2. That it was a full color graphic novel 3. The approximate date range. …that’s it. Anything else is subject to 30+ years of memory fog. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/15 "2018-11-05T18:49:17Z")
I’m drawing a blank, too. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/16 "2018-11-05T19:15:39Z")
Dial H for Hero had the same people appearing as different heroes in each issue, but the main idea was that the watch used by the heroes randomly changed you into different (fan suggested) heroes. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/17 "2018-11-05T19:51:48Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Dial H for Hero had the same people appearing as different heroes in each issue, but the main idea was that the watch used by the heroes randomly changed you into different (fan suggested) heroes. I am obliged by an oath I took under a full moon at age 14 to tell anyone who mentions “Dial H for Hero” how much I absolutely hated that comic, if for no other reason than the fact that one of the reader-submitted characters that got used had been generated via the Mighty Men and Monster Maker toy. Pardon the interruption. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/18 "2018-11-07T21:44:51Z")
No luck over at the CBR Forum. 108 views, and two responses of “Never heard of it.” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/19 "2018-11-08T02:21:30Z")
Dude, even _I_ don’t recognize anything like that. That takes true obscurity. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766/20 "2018-11-08T07:40:08Z")
Fenris, it’s time to face the obvious explanation for why nobody else remembers this comic book: You clearly slipped into this world from an alternative universe at some point since 1995. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-an-incredibly-obscure-graphic-novel-from-around-1990/823766.md?page=2)