The Men in Black (comics)

The Men in Black is a comic book created and written by Lowell Cunningham, illustrated by Sandy Carruthers, and originally published by Aircel Comics. Aircel would later be bought out by Malibu Comics, which itself was bought out by Marvel Comics. Three issues were published in 1990, with another three the following year. It was adapted into the film Men in Black, which was a critical and commercial success, leading to two sequels and various spin-offs, as well as a number of tie-in one-shot comics from Marvel. Cunningham had the idea for the comic once a friend of his introduced him to the concept of government "Men in Black" upon seeing a black van riding the streets.^[1]

Publication history

The first series consisted of three issues and was published in 1990 by Aircel Comics, cover-dated January to March 1990.^[2] After Aircel was acquired by Malibu Comics, a second series appeared, The Men in Black Book II #1-3 (May–July 1991)^[3]

Malibu was purchased by Marvel Comics in 1994, and when the feature film Men in Black was released, Marvel published a number of one-shots in 1997, including a prequel,^[4] a sequel,^[5] a movie adaptation,^[6] and a reprint of the first issue of the original Aircel miniseries.^[7]

The first series was collected into a trade paperback (June 1990, ISBN 0944735606).^[8]

Plot

The Men in Black is an international espionage organization which monitors and investigates both good and evil paranormal activity on Earth. Their remit includes alien life, demons, mutants, zombies, werewolves, legendary creatures and other paranormal beings. In order to keep their investigations secret, much of the global population are unaware of their activities, and are liable to be neuralyzed to blank their memory of any interaction with the agents.

Notable members include Zed, Jay, Kay and Ecks. Ecks later became a rogue agent after learning the truth behind the MiB: That they seek to manipulate and reshape the world in their own image by keeping the supernatural hidden.

An agent may use any means necessary, including death and destruction, to accomplish a mission. Agents sever all ties with their former lives, and (thanks to the neuralyzer) as far as the world is concerned, they do not exist.

Adaptations

Beginning with the release of the 1997 film Men in Black, the series has been adapted across a wide variety of media, spawning an entire franchise. Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the film proved a huge box office success for Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, resulting in two sequels: Men in Black II and Men in Black 3. The popularity of the films has subsequently lead to many tie-ins and spin-offs, including a cartoon titled Men in Black: The Series, novelizations, soundtracks of each film, video games and an amusement park ride.

Despite sharing the same basic premise, the various adaptations differ greatly from the original comic series. Some of these differences include: The secret organization exclusively policing extraterrestrial activity on Earth while omitting the other paranormal elements, using memory erasure rather than killing witnesses, and the agency's main goal being to maintain order on Earth rather than to direct it. The tone of the series was lightened, exchanging the comics' dark and bleak approach for comedy.

References

External links

• 'Men in Black' at the Comic Book DB
• 'Men in Black II' at the Comic Book DB
• The Men in Black at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016.