| Espers | |
|---|---|
 The cover toEspers #1, art byMick Austin. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Eclipse Comics1986–1987 Epic Comics1989–1990 Halloween Comics1996-1997 Image Comics1997–1998 |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | July 1986 – April 1998 |
| No. of issues | 5(Vol. 1,Eclipse Comics) 8(Epic Comics, asInterface) 6(Vol. 2,Halloween Comics) 7(Vol. 3,Image Comics) |
| Main character(s) | Linda Williams Ian McVicar William Silent Bear Maria Rivas Jiro Yabuki Simon Ashley |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | James D. Hudnall |
| Written by | James D. Hudnall |
| Artist(s) | David Lloyd John M. Burns Paul Johnson Bill Koeb Dan Brereton Greg Horn Gene Gonzales |
| Editor | Cat Yronwoode1986–1987 |
Espers (sometimes styled asESPers) is acreator-owned Americanscience fiction/superherocomic book series created and written byJames D. Hudnall. It centers on a disparate group of people with variouspsychic powers who are brought together under duress and later coalesce as a team. The series was first published byEclipse Comics in 1985, and most recently published byImage Comics in 1998.
Writing in 1995, Hudnall noted the spy genre, Japaneseanime films and the British TV seriesThe Champions as influences on the series.[1] He hopedEspers would bridge the gap between superhero comics aimed at younger readers and the growing adult-orientated comic market, and strove to write strong female characters for the series; Hudnall hoped to create "aHill Street Blues of comic books". At the time he was working for Eclipse as marketing director, andEspers was his first published comics work. Hudnall also admiredAlan Moore - especiallyWatchmen - andFrank Miller. He and initial artistDavid Lloyd undertook considerable research ahead of the series to ensure the needed level of accuracy and realism; Hudnall also eschewed codenames or costumes for the characters.[2]
The first five issues in the series were published from 1986 to 1987 byEclipse Comics. The first four issues were illustrated byDavid Lloyd, and the fifth byJohn Burns. The initial 4-issue story arc, later titled "Espers," introduced the main characters. Covers for the first four issues were provided byMick Austin,John Bolton,Brian Bolland andGarry Leach.[3]John M. Burns took over as artist for the second four issue arc of the series, titled "The Liquidators".[4] However, only one issue - #5 - was published before the title was put on hiatus,[5] a decision that Hudnall himself attributed to disappointing sales and to an unspecified dispute between Eclipse and himself.[6]
The series languished in limbo until 1989, when Hudnall struck a deal withMarvel'sEpic Comics imprint, where eight issues were published under the titleInterface from 1989 to 1991. The first six issues of that series, featuring painted art byPaul Johnson, re-introduced the main characters and re-told the first story arc in flashback form, before picking up the "Liquidators" storyline. The final two issues of the Epic series functioned as an epilogue to the arc.
The series then suffered its second extended publishing hiatus, this time for over five years before Hudnall himself revived the series in 1996, self-publishing another six issues under his ownHalloween Comics imprint from 1996 to 1997. These issues were numbered as volume 2; 1–6, and comprised the "Undertow" story arc, featuring art by then-newcomerGreg Horn. Reflecting the real-life publishing schedule of the series, the events in these issues take place several years after those detailed inInterface.
The series was then moved toImage Comics, a decision which Hudnall explained in print at the time as one intended to make the series more broadly available than he could under his own imprint. Image published another seven issues of the series from 1997 to 1998, the first six of which again featured art by Horn. As of 2024[update] the series has not seen publication again.
People imbued with advanced psychic powers (known as 'espers') have been around for hundreds of years, but that their existence had been successfully kept from the general public by a secret conspiracy among a handful of powerful groups, including the Inner Circle, the Triad, and the Society of Esper Anarchists (known as the SEA). These diverse groups are all engaged in a generations-long war against each other in the shadows for power, control, and world domination. Five Espers from around the world are gathered by Linda Williams in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to rescue her father fromBeirut, where he is being held hostage by terrorists working for the Inner Circle. In the process they stumble upon a much bigger conspiracy.
Williams and her allies come under simultaneous (but separate) attack from super assassins hired by the Inner Circle and by the forces ofmafia crime lord Benito Giovanetti (revealed to be theman behind thegrassy Knoll). The Espers are aided by Alan Black, an assassin for the S.E.A. Afterwards the Espers encounter a Mind Dancer before they are aided by a mysterious 'Master' named Lori who teaches them more about their powers before disappearing herself.
Several years later, the Espers come to the rescue of a 17-year-old high school girl fromCalifornia named Skye Lanning. The petulant teenager possesses powerful psychometric powers, and as a result is being pursued by both the Triad and the Inner Circle. The Espers try to convince a reluctant Skye to join their team instead for her own protection. The struggle culminates in a final battle at an Inner Circle headquarters hidden in plain sight atWalt Disney World inFlorida. It is revealed that all the world's Espers originated from a secret human breeding program masterminded by a shadowy group called the Architects, whose origins date back to theAmerican Revolutionary War. The Architects have sought to alter humanity over hundreds of years through breeding and mysticism, and became The Inner Circle in 1880. In 1922 a group of Espers fled this selective breeding program; these were the forebears of the six 'renegade' Espers who make up the team.
The Espers come under attack by the occult branch of the Architects called The Pentacle while trying to stop the Architects' master plan to turn theUnited States Navy's High Frequency Active Aural Research Project (HAARP) - an array of antennae pumping high doses of energy into the ionosphere turning it into a transmitter blanketing the Earth - into the most powerful mind control device on the planet.
Later the Espers go in search of Alan Black inChicago, believing that they cannot battle the Architects without the help of the S.E. A; Alan and Simon then travel to an S.E.A. cell inSiberia, and Simon finds the 'Master' Lori. Meanwhile, Bill, Maria, and Ian head toRio to try to liaise with the Triad, who dominate the city.
| Title | Publisher | ISBN | Release date | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espers | Caliber Comics | [ISBN missing] | December 1994 | Espers Vol. 1 #1-4 |
| Espers: Black Magic | Image Comics | 9781582400280 | 16 November 1998 | Espers Vol. 3 #1-4 |
| Espers: Undertow | Image Comics | 9781887279932 | 24 November 1998 | Espers Vol. 2 #1-6 |
| Espers: The Storm | Caliber Comics | 9780941613804 | December 1998 | Espers Vol. 1 #1-5 |
| Espers: Interface | Image Comics | 9781582400501 | 8 February 1999 | Interface #1-6 |
Image planned a second collection of Volume 3, namedEspers: Crossed Purposes, but it was never published. As of 2024[update]Interface #7-8 also remain uncollected.
Reviewing the title forAmazing Heroes,Gerard Jones had mixed feelings - praising Hudnall's ambitions and ideas but noting that the minimalist style left the series wanting in characterisation.[7]
