''He's here, yet he's not here. I don't know where to stab!''
Introduced in the Pacific Comics' Captain Victory series, Steve Ditko presented us with The Missing Man. Mark Evanier provided dialogue to go with Ditko's script and artwork. From there, The Missing Man went on to show up in Pacific Presents, alongside Dave Stevens' immortal, The Rocketeer!
The Missing Man is actually Syd Mane's, a young troubleshooter (synonymous with "technical support") for Highe Industries. One of Mane's bespectacled coworkers describes him as "the best troubleshooter around." Mane's possesses a special pair of glasses that, when worn, enable him to become mostly invisible. His facial features are obscured except for his hair, ears, mouth, and the glasses, while his arms and legs are partially visible. As the Missing Man, Manes--whose identity seemed to be secret even from his friends--works with Ma's Detective Agency, which consists of Ma herself, her cat Ajax, a woman named Todi who dresses in 1960s fashions, and a man referred to only as "Old Timer."
Promo for Steve Ditko's The Missing Man.
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #6
"The Khill Brothers"
Ditko revised this story this story in Steve Ditko's 80 Page Package.
Pacific Presents #1
"Missing Man Meets the Queen Bee"
Missing Man and his surreal encounter with the Queen Bee.
Reprinted in Steve Ditko's 80 Page Package #2.
Pacific Presents #2
"Missing Man Meets the Payne Family"
Missing Man crosses paths with the intense Payne Family.
Also reprinted in Steve Ditko's 80 Page Package #2.
Pacific Presents #3
"Am I Maro, Roma or Raem?"
Also reprinted in Steve Ditko's 80 Page Package #2.
Reprints the above noted stories along with...
"The Barbarian"
"M...M...Meets the V...L..."
Missing Man character profile.
Missing Man cast illustration from Vanguard Illustrated #4.
Missing Man was a fun book, with one of Ditko's most distinctively designed heroes.
I'll be taking off Friday, so I'll be posting one more Ditko gem along with another Classics Illustrated adaptation and a good surprise, probably tomorrow (another great comic cut down too soon.)
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| A nice penciled piece of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Noman from Ditko I wanted to pass along! Sweet! |
Thank You!
Missing Man was interesting visually but never really worked for me as the body parts you can see make it clear where the rest of his body is so "I can't hit him" never made any sense. Another odd Ditko character. I prefer Static, Mr. A, Shag, etc.
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