I’m trying something new this week! “You’ve Never Read…?!” will be an ongoing retrospective series on comic series, runs, and storylines that had major ramifications for the industry or received critical acclaim that have fallen out of the collective consciousness due to not being available in trades (or digitally). The first series to get the spotlight: Ash, published by Event Comics starting in 1994.
Based out of Chicago, Event Comics was an independent comic book publisher founded in 1994 with Ash as its flagship title. Ash told the story of Ashley Quinn, a New York firefighter who suffers what should have been fatal burns only to miraculously survive and emerge with a superhero persona with fire based powers called Ash. Ash is a muscle bound behemoth with a firefighter-themed costume and massive gauntlets that can generate flame blades and whips to fight with along with other vague fire-based powers.
The initial series lasted six issues (and a seventh #0 issue to serve as a bridge to future series). The plot in those six issues mostly worked to set up the mystery of how Ash came to be. Each issue opens with a quote or passage from famous authors and poets like Charles Dickens, T.S. Eliot, and Percy Bysshe Shelley before Ash fights various monsters and villains while trying to learn about his own origin. It is ultimately revealed that Ash was born out of some sort of healing pod from the future, and the Angel Gabriel (yes, from the Bible) tells Ash he might be the messiah. There’s also a mime/clown looking character set up as the primary antagonist. All of this happens in the first four issues. The fifth issue introduces a brand new character called Covenant who was created and owned by Greg and Tim Hildebrant who draw all of the character’s appearances in the issue separate from the artists for the rest of the comic. They even have all of his dialogue written by John Ingram who does not write for any other characters in the series.
What I’m trying to establish here is that this comic is completely and utterly bonkers. I’ve reread every issue multiple times in preparation for this piece, and I’m still not sure what the hell actually happened in any of them. It is driven by spectacular artwork with some perplexing story elements. You’re probably wondering at this point how on earth this comic qualifies as influential or important enough to warrant inclusion in this series. The truth is I have intentionally buried the lede here. Ash was created, written, and drawn by the duo of Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti. They also happen to be the co-founders of Event Comics itself.
Joe and Jimmy were a couple of young artists just starting to make a name for themselves in the industry in the early-1990s. Joe made a name for himself as a penciler on several titles published by Valiant Comics before later co-creating the character Azrael in Batman: Sword of Azrael published by DC Comics in 1992. Meanwhile, Jimmy established himself as one of the best young inkers in the industry while working on several titles for Marvel Comics. For being so young and inexperienced, it was a pretty bold decision for the two to strike out on their own and found their own publishing company. Ash was their first and most successful comic in the early days of Event Comics, and that was bolstered by their ability to bring in some of the biggest names in the industry to draw mid-issue pin-ups of the character. Legendary artists such as Barry Windsor-Smith, Mike Mignola, Geofrey Darrow, Jim Lee, and Kevin Nowlan all leant their talents to these pin-ups. They also attracted the attention of filmmaker Kevin Smith who gave the two a cameo appearance in his film Chasing Amy that hit cinemas in 1997. Arguably the most impressive achievement for the two was that they found success as the comic book speculator bubble was bursting.
While a tiny publisher like Event Comics was succeeding, industry giant Marvel Comics filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and was bought by Toy Biz. Looking for a way to boost sales and elevate some stagnant properties, Marvel looked to Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti for help. They subcontracted Event Comics and outsourced several titles to them under the imprint Marvel Knights. Event Comics was given editorial control of these titles and the freedom to hire the creative teams. Joe and Jimmy relied on the relationships they had developed to get big names attached to their books. The first four series they published were Black Panther, Punisher, Inhumans, and Daredevil. Daredevil was the crown jewel of the bunch. Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti were on pencils and inks respectively, and they brought in filmmaker Kevin Smith to write it. The idea that a successful Hollywood director and screenwriter would write a comic book was unheard of at the time, and it vaulted Daredevil into the top fifteen in sales industry wide on a monthly basis. The success of Marvel Knights helped save Marvel Comics financially, and it rejuvenated interest in characters that have since gone on to be adapted into major motion pictures and television series. In 2000, Joe Quesada was named editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics where he would go on to oversee creation of the MAX and Ultimate imprints. He currently serves as the executive vice president and creative director of Marvel Entertainment. Jimmy Palmiotti continues to write and ink comics for the major publishers as well as his creator-owned series which he publishes through his company PaperFilms. It’s very possible that none of these things could have become reality without a little comic called Ash.