Description
Hero: Warrior of the Mystic Realms is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from May to October 1990. While often found as a four-issue lot online, the story is actually a six-issue complete miniseries (#1–6).
The series was written by seasoned Marvel writer David Michelinie (famous for his runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Iron Man) and fully illustrated by Steve Purcell (creator of Sam & Max). It stands out as a unique entry in Marvel's late Copper Age catalog by blending high fantasy, cosmic dimensional travel, and modern-day humor.
Plot Overview
- The Protagonist: The story revolves around Cody Pace, a highly ordinary, somewhat shallow security courier from Hoboken, New Jersey.
- The Cosmic Destiny: Cody is suddenly chosen by an otherworldly cosmic enforcer named Ambrose-7 to become a universal savior. He is given Devilthorn, a legendary mystical battlepike capable of destroying immortal entities, projecting energy blasts, and tearing open dimensional rifts.
- The Catch: Cody is granted a bizarre form of immortality: he cannot truly die, but every time he is killed in battle, he instantly resurrects in perfect health on an entirely different alien world or "mystic realm".
- The Arc: Across the series, Cody is flung from planet to planet, matching wits and blades against a tyrannical galactic conqueror named Malevelos and his savage army of alien creatures. He must survive these hostile landscapes, assemble a patchwork group of alien allies, and figure out how to stop the overarching evil threatening the multiverse.
Key Features & Style
- Steve Purcell's Art: The series is highly regarded for Purcell's distinct, energetic, and highly detailed art style. It features a colorful array of wildly imaginative alien landscapes, grotesque monsters, and inventive armor designs.
- Fish-Out-Of-Water Tone: Rather than a brooding, stoic fantasy hero, Cody Pace is a flawed, sarcastic regular guy who is consistently overwhelmed by the grand, melodramatic tropes of the high-fantasy realms he is forced to save.