Sludge (comics)
Sludge | |
---|---|
NYPD | |
Abilities |
|
Sludge is a comic book series from Malibu Comics, set in the Ultraverse. It was created by Steve Gerber, Gary Martin and Aaron Lopresti.[1] It depicted a dirty cop called Frank Hoag who was killed by the local mafia and was transformed after his death into a superpowered and viscous creature, called Sludge.
Publication history
Sludge made his first appearance in Sludge #1, dated October 1993, written by Steve Gerber and illustrated by Aaron Lopresti. As part of the Ultraverse imprint, the comic was set within a shared universe of super-powered beings conceptualized by writers and artists of Malibu comics. Sludge ran for only twelve issues, with one special: Sludge: Red X-Mas. A second special, Sludge: Swamp of Souls, was planned but never completed. Sludge also appeared in other Ultraverse books. After the Black September event, Sludge appeared in the first two issues of Foxfire (1996).
Character history
Frank Hoag was an experienced but corrupt
Frank meets Shelley Winters, a
Powers and abilities
Sludge has tremendous strength and durability, as well as vast regenerative capabilities, allowing him to heal from near-fatal wounds in seconds. Submersion in water speeds up the process. He does not need food or air and is immune to most chemical toxins.[7] Sludge can cause spontaneous tissue growth in others by touch.
Possibility of revival
In 2003, Steve Englehart was commissioned by Marvel to relaunch the Ultraverse with the most recognizable characters, including Sludge, but the editorial decided finally not to resurrect the Ultraverse imprint.[8][9] In June 2005, when asked by Newsarama whether Marvel had any plans to revive the Ultraverse, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada replied that:
Let's just say that I wanted to bring these characters back in a very big way, but the way that the deal was initially structured, it's next to impossible to go back and publish these books.
There are rumors out there that it has to do with a certain percentage of sales that has to be doled out to the creative teams. While this is a logistical nightmare because of the way the initial deal was structured, it's not the reason why we have chosen not to go near these characters, there is a bigger one, but I really don't feel like it's my place to make that dirty laundry public.[10]
Appearances in other media
Sludge appears in the
References
- ^ Cronin, Brian (December 4, 2016). "The Malibu Ultraverse: 15 Things We Still Miss". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Sludge #1 (1993).
- ^ Sludge #2 (1993).
- ^ Sludge #4 (1993).
- ^ Buxton, Marc (March 11, 2015). "'Howard the Duck and Other Brilliant Steve Gerber Characters". Den of Geek. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Sludge 6-9 (1993).
- ^ Sludge Vol. 1 #10 (October 1994)
- ^ Cronin, Brian. (April 15, 2017) [1] CBR.com
- ^ Englehart Steve
- ^ "Joe Fridays – Week 9". Newsarama. 18 July 2023.
External links
- Sludge at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe