We Are ZETRAMAN!

"Zetraman was of my earlier comic book scripts,
but it still holds up."
--Steve Ross

"Zetraman made me laugh out loud."
--Richard Sakai (Producer, "The Simpsons")

"The world can be saved by steam!"
--Professor Steamhead

"Steam On!"
--Zetraman

Zetraman first appeared in Ninja High School #07, created by Ben Dunn and published by Eternity Comics (which later became a part of Marvel Comics).

(This is one of the few Zetraman stories I didn't write.
The cover was signed by Ben Dunn.)

Zetraman began as a three-man team, even though the word "Zetraman" is singular. (A tribute to Japanese attempts at "Engrish.")

The initial line-up was:

MIKEY (Zetra Blue):
African-American, unofficial team leader,
"the intellectual one"; water powers

HOWARD (Zetra Red):
Tall, blonde, and Nordic; looks for the simplest solution;
"the strong, silent type"; Earth powers

PHRANK (Zetra Yellow) :
Possibly Hispanic, wears glasses; a bit of a lech;
"the comic relief"; wind powers (usually gas-related)

Ben Dunn and I are big fans of Japanese live action superhero shows. We loved the Super Sentai series long before they were re-edited with American-shot footage, and made their American debut as the Power Rangers.

Ben especially liked a show called Sun Vulcan. Zetraman's "Have a (Zetra) Day" badges are a parody of the ones worn by the Sun Vulcan team.

(Limited edition replicas of the Zetra Badges were manufactured and sold by Antarctic Press. Now they're rare collector's items!)

Since Ben and I were on the same Super Sentai page, he let me write the next Zetraman story, which appeared in Ninja High School #27.

In "Three Zetramen and a Baby," I fleshed out Mikey, Howard, and Phrank's characters, since their first appearance was little more than a series of funny gags.

I also introduced Dertoza and Leiola: brother-and-sister villains who have since become recurring characters in the Ninja High School series.

The story also features UltraBaby.

UltraBaby's origin is a parody of the first Superman movie.

UltraBaby is a cute, "super-deformed" take off of the iconic Japanese superhero Ultraman.

A 3-issue Zetraman miniseries followed shortly after NHS #27 was published.

In "Venus Needs Men," female invaders from Venus have their sights set on Zetraman's Zetra-powered genetic material.

But when the boys discover that repopulating a planet is not the fun-filled adventure they thought it would be, they fight for their freedom the Zetra Way: with lots of martial arts, and giant robot action.

The first miniseries introduced two Zetra Women:

ALEKA (aka Zetra Green):
Green-haired, former Venusian officer, brilliant strategist,
"the fish out of water"; powers unspecified

TERRI (aka Zetra Pink):
Strawberry blonde, former police officer, the most mature
member of the team, "the den mother"; powers unspecified

The miniseries was successful, even though it was by an unknown writer-artist team.

The good news was that we had beat the American debut of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers by almost a year.

The bad news was that our parody came out before most readers would "get" what we were parodying.

(Be that as it may, they liked it anyway: it stood on its own merits.)

(Cover art by Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai.)

Antarctic Press publishes an annual Ninja High School Yearbook, which allows fans and pros to contribute short stories based on Ben Dunn's characters.

The 1994 Yearbook featured a 12-page Zetraman story by Yours Truly entitled "Caspia: The Very Friendly Ghost."

Zetraman: Revival! was the second Zetraman miniseries. It consisted of three issues.

When Professor Steamhead, one of the teachers from the regular Ninja High School series, gave the Zetra people their powers, he mixed the radiation from an ultra-rare element called Zetranite with steam.

After the initial treatment, all it took was a strong gust of steam (usually from their gimmicky Zetra Watches) to trigger the transformation into Zetraman. (Thus, "Steam on!")

When the Zetraman: Revival! miniseries begins, Mikey, Howard, and Phrank had lost their Zetra powers while battling giant monsters in Ninja High School #35.

A new source of Zetranite has been found that could revive the boys' powers, but it's in the possession of rival (and evil) Steamanologist, who plans to create a rival team: Zetra Force.

Zetraman: Revival! also introduces yet another Zetra character:

COLEN (aka Zetra Black):
Purple-haired (dyed brown to "fit in"),
rebel leader from the villain's homeworld,
the best Zetra fighter, "the loner";
aside from enhanced strength,
she doesn't need special powers

The Zetra Women do most of the fighting in the first couple of issues.

The last couple of pages of Zetraman: Revival! have the team watching--and complaining about--Fox TV's bastardized version of their "true" story (the Power Rangers).

Although Ben and I were inspired by the shows that the Power Rangers' producers had licensed from Japan, we remain convinced that they "borrowed" some of our ideas for their Americanized version.

(We were just slightly ahead of our time.)

Zetraman: Revival! was far more ambitious than the first miniseries, with a larger cast and a complex plot.

I would love to see a Special Edition someday, with revised scripts, re-drawn and decompressed art, and modern computer coloring.

Eternity Comics reprinted early, black-and-white issues of Ninja High School in color.

The first Zetraman miniseries is technically outside of regular Ninja High School continuity, but Ben Dunn liked it so much that he incorporated it into the color series' 12-issue run.

Terri/Zetra Pink never actually uses the Zetra Nunchucks in this issue, but I think they're a neat idea!

Around the time that the final color issue issue was published, Ninja High School returned to Antarctic Press, after a long run with Eternity Comics.

In 2006, Ninja High School celebrated its 20th anniversary.

It's one of the longest-running independent comics, and one of the first to incorporate manga and anime style, and Japanese storytelling techniques.

The Cheerleader Commandos were the stars of this reprint collection, but it also contains my "Three Zetramen and a Baby" story (NHS #27).

The Ninja High School Textbooks are fat, phone book-sized tomes that collect all of the early issues.

This one (above) also includes my Zetraman story from #27.

Once again, NHS #27 is reprinted; this time in an inexpensive, pocket-sized format.

(And it's still in print!)

This beautiful example of early CGI was by Zetraman: Revival! artist Danny Fahs. It was supposed to be the cover for the third issue, but somebody got their wires crossed.

(A running joke is that the Zetra Robo always gets demolished at the end of every adventure, so they're constantly getting a new, improved model; not unlike the Starship Enterprise from the "Star Trek" films, or Kenny from "South Park.")

Finally, for your coloring pleasure:

(Ben Dunn's original black-and-white cover artwork from Ninja High School in Color #09)

Over the last few years, Zetraman--as a team, and the individual members-- have made Zetra-cameos in various Antarctic Press comics, but they haven't enjoyed a "big" adventure since Zetraman: Revival!

Will they "Steam On!" again?

That's up to Ben Dunn, and the readers.

I admit that I'm biased, but I think Zetraman deserves a second look...

And, perhaps, a second REVIVAL!

----------------------------------------

Thanks to Ben Dunn and Antarctic Press for giving me carte blanche to reproduce their covers and artwork.

Ninja High School and related titles and characters are Copyright and Trademark Ben Dunn.

The artwork on the covers of Zetraman #01-#03 was by Greg Espinoza; the cover to Ninja High School Yearbook '94 was by Stan "Usagi Yojimbo" Sakai.

The Zetra Robo was rendered by Danny Fahs.

All other artwork was by Ben Dunn.

The sentai and Ultraman stuff are Copyright and TM their respective owners.

Mangazine, Sentai, and the Ninja High School Yearbooks

My work appeared in several Antarctic Press publications during the late '80s and through the '90s.

I've covered my major works, like Zetraman and Chesty Sanchez, elsewhere in this blog. However, there are some short stories and one-shots that also deserve mention:

(Cover art by Paul Roche)

Mangazine started out as a showcase for new talent.

My Crimzon story appeared in the second issue of Mangazine Volume 2 (above).

In those days, neither Japanese-style comics, nor the word manga, were as commonly seen or used as they are today. The definition of manga was open to interpretation, as was Mangazine's submissions policy. Not all of the stories in Mangazine borrowed from the Japanese style, but most did have Japanese-inspired elements, like giant robots and monsters.

(Art by Shon Howell)

Mangazine eventually evolved into a fanzine: half of the pages were devoted to manga and anime news; the comic stories were relegated to the back half of each issue.

It was there that my T.R.A.S.H.Team story made its debut.

(I never did decide what T.R.A.S.H. was supposed to stand for; someday I should have a contest.)

(Art by Scott Michaud)

T.R.A.S.H.Team's art and designs were by Chesty Sanchez artist Scott Michaud.

T.R.A.S.H.Team was a two-part intro that established the premise for an ongoing series.

It starred three heroes with garbage-inspired code-names:

Scrap (the skinny guy with the goggles; inventor and weapons expert),

Waste (the woman in the padded jumpsuit; martial artist and team leader), and

Junk (the enormous female cyborg).

The T.R.A.S.H.Team story:
In the near future, corporate warfare isn't just a business expression: company mascots actually battle each other, and civilians get caught in the crossfire!

(Art by Scott Michaud)

T.R.A.S.H.Team started out as the public face of a third-rate salvage company, but their combat skills proved to be so good that they quickly eliminated the competition--literally.

Their sponsors became one of the most visible--and wealthiest--conglomerates on the planet.

(Art by Scott Michaud)

T.R.A.S.H.Team was an action-packed, satirical, comedic story that was a lot of fun. The early artwork by Scott Michaud showed a great deal of potential.

After we finished the first two installments of T.R.A.S.H.Team, Scott and I were given the opportunity to work on a larger project with a much higher profile, which also had similar story elements: that project was Chesty Sanchez.

(Cover by Ben Dunn)

I also contributed a story to the Ninja High School Yearbook for 1989.

Ben Dunn invited fans and semi-pros to submit Ninja High School stories to be published in an annual collection. The first one was published in '89; the tradition has gone on for nearly 20 years.

My story was called Ninja Grammar School.

Ninja Grammar School is noteworthy because it's one of the first stories in an American comic book to attempt the cutesy, super-deformed/small-bodied/chibi style that's popular in Japanese humor comics. I also managed to jam-pack the five pages with jokes about and references to Project A-KO, Lone Wolf & Cub, Sukeban Deka, Kinnikuman, Kamen Rider, and Johnny Sokko.

It's the only published story in which I was both author and artist. I am not a trained artist, so...I'm not going to reprint my own artwork here.

The pages I have chosen (below) are much better, and there's an interesting story to go with them.

(Pencils by Fred Perry; inks and lettering by Lyndal Ferguson)

The Yearbook for 1989 is an ultra-rare collector's item; I've seen it sell for as much as $25.

I doubt that the first Ninja High School Yearbook's collectability is because of my Ninja Grammar School story; it's most likely because it also contains the first published artwork by Gold Digger creator Fred Perry.

Gold Digger is now one of Antarctic Press' bestselling titles, and Fred Perry is considered a favorite among fans.

However, before Fred had really proven himself as an artist and a storyteller, the editors at Antarctic had considered assigning him to draw the first Zetraman miniseries.

Fred's inking was still a little "scratchy" in those days. Since I was a huge fan of Lyndal Ferguson's unusual style, I asked him to apply for the inking job. Lyndal inked a couple of Fred Perry's pages from the Ninja High School Yearbook.

(Pencils by Fred Perry; inks by Lyndal Ferguson)

Personally, I like the results, but the Zetraman job ultimately went to Ben Dunn and Carlos Tron.

I'm very happy with the way the Zetraman miniseries turned out, and Fred Perry eventually drew his own Zetraman story, which featured villains I created.

(Cover art by Ben Dunn)

Moving on to the Ninja High School Yearbook for 1991, it contained Ramen Rider vs. the Burgermeister: I wrote the story, the art was by Debbie David.

(Ninja High School's Ramen Rider is a parody of the classic Japanese superhero Kamen Rider, briefly shown on American TV as Masked Rider.)

Debbie was a fellow Devo fan. The first few pages of our story were a "sequel"/tribute to Devo's "Worried Man" video.

She could also mix styles: her Ramen Rider artwork was a brilliant cross between old school Japanese manga and the style of original Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko.

It was such a pleasure to work with Debbie David that she was commissioned to draw the third issue of Zetraman: Revival!

(Cover art by Paul Roche)

As much as I love Japanese animation, I love their live action TV shows and movies even more.

Antarctic Press publisher Ben Dunn was was such a big fan of the "tokusatsu" genre that he created a companion to Mangazine--Antarctic Press' manga and anime fanzine--and called it Sentai, after the five-man teams that appear on American TV as the Power Rangers.

I did some uncredited editorial work on the first couple of issues: I asked my friends--and experts--John Ingram, John Marshall, and David Crowe to contribute articles about Ultraman, Space Giants, and the Power Rangers.

Sentai #1 ran one of my comic stories, with art by Hector Diaz, Bill Holloway, and Ray Fuster. It was used to fill pages, since Ben didn't have enough text articles for the first issue.

My story, entitled Damnation, was an extreme, way over-the-top satire of "adults only" comics that were published at that time. The artwork looked very "American," but Damnation also had a few elements that tended to appear frequently in Japanese live action shows: in some ways, Damnation was intended to be a cross between Kamen Rider and the Guyver.

The satire and the Japanese references were lost on most of Sentai's readers. There was no second installment for Damnation.

For the second issue, Sentai immediately adopted a more kid-friendly format, especially since the top story was going to be about a hot new kid's show called Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

(Art by Jay)

I helped supervise the Jim Lee-style cover art for Sentai #2. Ben Dunn colored it.

The Power Rangers' overnight success took everyone by surprise (well, everyone except us). There weren't many tie-in items available when the Power Rangers started to take off in America. Sentai #2 was one of the first English-language publications to feature them on the cover, and it was the best-selling issue in the series.

Also, while most of the American media downplayed the Power Rangers' Japanese origins, David Crowe contributed a hilarious episode-by-episode comparison between the American show and Zyuranger, the original sentai series.

I put David in touch with Steve Wang, who had directed two live action Guyver movies, and at that time was going to direct the first Power Rangers movie. David's interview with Steve was a highlight of the issue.

Eventually, longer-format stories occupied most of my time, and I was no longer able to contribute to fanzines like Mangazine and Sentai.

CRIMZON

CRIMZON was one of my first comic book projects.

(Art by Lyndal Ferguson)

It was originally inspired by Japanese live action TV shows for children, especially the Metal Hero genre and the Space Sheriff series.

Years after the first chapter of CRIMZON was published in Mangazine #02, four Japanese Metal Hero shows were combined, re-edited, dubbed into English, and ran for two seasons on American TV. The American version was called V.R. Troopers.

CRIMZON quickly outgrew its kiddie show roots as my story and the characters developed.

(Cover art by G-Fan artist Paul Roche)

The CRIMZON story has gone through several changes, and artists with very different styles have provided the visuals.

English artist Ken Short was the first to design the main characters, but no other artist was able to replicate Ken's otherworldly, wildly imaginative costumes.

Steve Carter drew the first installment of CRIMZON, which was published in Mangazine #2.

(CRIMZON: Design by Furrlough artist Steve Carter,
pencils by Milk & Cheese creator Evan Dorkin,
inks by Ninja High School creator Ben Dunn)

The early issues of Mangazine were anthologies. They were among the first comics to feature stories by American artists who drew in the Japanese manga comics style.

Steve Carter's unique, cartoonish style does not have the "look" that most Americans associate with Japanese comics (large, saucer-shaped eyes, for example), and Steve's design for the hero's armor (above) looks more like America's own Iron Man than a Japanese superhero.

Steve Carter's art didn't really fit Mangazine's format, but he is a master at drawing facial expressions and gestures; he really captured and humanized the humor that I had written into my CRIMZON scripts.

Before Steve could finish the four-part CRIMZON story, he was hired by a major independent publisher to draw a high-profile miniseries. He went on to be a regular contributor to Furrlough, a long-running anthology of anthropomorphic military tales (i.e. stories about human-like animals in uniforms).

After I re-wrote and expanded the script, Lyndal Ferguson answered ad I had placed in Comics Buyers Guide that said I was looking for an artist.

(All of the pictures below are examples of Lyndal Ferguson's work.)

(Art by Lyndal Ferguson)

Again I was working with an artist whose work did not "look Japanese."

Lyndal Ferguson was influenced by grindhouse and B-movies, rock 'n' roll, skateboard art, and underground comics.

At times, Lyndal's art looks like a psychedelic, glam rock cousin to the work of legendary American comic book artist Jack Kirby.

CRIMZON is the story of a video store clerk who dreams of making low budget sci fi films.

(CRIMZON was written before Quentin Tarantino's similar life story became the stuff of Hollywood legends.)

Suddenly, large, spark plug-like structures materialize in remote locations around the world: deserts, plains, flatlands, etc.

One of the giant alien spark plugs appears in an abandoned lot near L.A.'s Melrose Avenue, right near our hero's video store.

Unconcerned with details--like how the odd-looking object came to be there, or what purpose it might serve--Crimzon grabs his camera and follows in Roger Corman's footsteps by exploiting what's available to him.

(When he's not wearing his flashy red armor, Crimzon usually wears a black two piece suit and a red tie.)

And so, the neglected property becomes a location set for an alien world.

The guerrilla production is written by, directed by, and stars Crimzon. It's filmed by his long-suffering female sidekick.

A cheesy fight scene with a guy in a rubber monster suit is interrupted by two Men in Black.

(CRIMZON was also written long before the first MiB movie came out.)

Then a real fight breaks out with the sudden appearance of actual alien henchmen!

(One of the alien henchmen,
designed by Lyndal Ferguson)

And herein lies the rub:

Crimzon's sci fi B-movie is actually autobiographical, based on real events that happened on his home planet.

The rulers of Crimzon's world thought they had erased his mind before they banished him to Earth, but a blow to his head during the fight with the alien henchmen restores his memories.

He remembers the evil space queen Magera (above) attacking his peaceful home planet.

His people had no idea how to fight; they had no defense against Magera's spaceships, monsters, and henchmen.

When they tried to transmit a distress signal from their homeworld, Crimzon and Zara received TV signals from Earth.

They had never seen such acts of violence! They learned to fight by watching action movies and Japanese kid's shows.

Using exuberance, the element of surprise, and superior technology, Crimzon and Zara repelled Magera's forces, and saved their planet from subjugation.

However, Crimzon and Zara did not receive heroes' rewards: their own people were appalled by the violence that they had committed while defending them.

Fearing that Crimzon and Zara's newly-learned aggression might taint the entire population, the planet's rulers had their memories erased. The saviors were then banished to the world that had inspired their anti-social behavior: Earth.

Magera tracked her enemies to Earth. The mysterious, oversized, alien spark plugs started to appear.

When activated, they will shock the people of Earth into submission!

Once Crimzon and Zara remember their true identities, the battle resumes; this time, to protect Earth!

Above is a prime example of Lyndal's fantastic artwork.

Several publishers were interested in CRIMZON.

Lyndal and I went with an offer from Ray Zone, whose incredible skill at creating three-dimensional artwork had revived 3-D comics.

While Lyndal produced the artwork (and detailed artwork like his doesn't happen quickly), the comic book industry want through a major upheaval.

CRIMZON was without a publisher, Lyndal was forced to seek out work that actually paid, and I was eager to start writing Zetraman.

CRIMZON was one of my first creations, and still remains a favorite.

I'd love to see Crimzon and Zara fight again, using their Japanese superhero moves against B-movie threats from outer space.