''Faust'' is the lead
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
character and title of a collective series of
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s by
Tim Vigil (art) and playwright
David Quinn (stories), released by American publishers Northstar Comics,
Avatar Press, and principally by Vigil and Quinn's own Rebel Studios.
Alongside contemporaries ''
Watchmen'', ''
The Crow
The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'', and ''
The Dark Knight Returns
''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...
'', Faust was credited with popularizing the "deconstructed superheroes" genre and the notion that "comics aren't just for kids." One of the bestselling independent comics of the era, ''Faust'' issue 1 sold over 100,000 copies with later issues averaging 50,000 sales per issue, most of which sold through several printings and editions.
The series features strong graphic violence and sexual situations. The main series is known as ''Faust: Love Of The Damned'' and debuted in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, with new issues published irregularly, roughly once a year, or sometimes every two years. David Quinn completed a script in 1996 (when writing the proposal to sell the film). The gap between issues grew wider with time. Issue 13 was published in 2005. It then took seven years for the authors to deliver the two last issues, 14 and 15, which concluded the story 25 years after the first episode.
In 2000,
Lionsgate Films released the
Brian Yuzna produced feature film adaptation ''
Faust: Love of the Damned'' and in July 2021, it was announced
Sony Pictures Television would adapt the comic as an animated series.
Plot summary
In New York City, Beef and Hapi, two hitmen who work for a mysterious
Mephistophelian crime boss known as "M", kill a drug dealer and his girlfriend. This violence is detailed in the newspaper articles of Ron Balfour, a journalist who meets Doctor Jade DeCamp in a cafe. Jade has been fired from
Bellevue Hospital and is furious over the accidental death of her patient and secret lover, John Jaspers. After Jade leaves the cafe, she and Balfour are assaulted by a gang of street punks. A horn-masked figure, Faust, then appears, laughing and singing while he slaughters the street punks with a pair of retractable forearm
talons
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...
. Jade realizes in horror that Faust is John Jaspers.
Jaspers later wonders if he has spilled too much blood, or not enough. He, apparently hallucinating, sees demons everywhere. One night from his
Brooklyn Heights mansion, M calls a radio station and requests to play the song "
Are You Lonesome Tonight?" repeatedly, saying it should be dedicated "From M to the new kid in town", Faust. Later, it is shown that M played a role in Jaspers' Bellevue treatment. M's criminal colleagues want him to unleash his secret "Project Assassin", to eliminate Faust, unaware that Faust is M's prized killer. Jaspers then regains his lost memories of being an assassin for M, as well as the rebellion that led to his supposed "death".
Publications
*''
Faust: Love of the Damned'' (#1—6 published by Northstar Publishing/Productions in 1989—1990, then reprinted by
Rebel Studios
A rebel is a participant in a rebellion.
Rebel or rebels may also refer to:
People
* Rebel (given name)
* Rebel (surname)
* Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution
* American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...
; #7—15 published by Rebel Studios in 1991—2012; collected in volumes titled ''Faust: Communion'')
*''
Faust/777: The Wrath'' (aka ''Darkness in Collision'') (#0, 1—4 published by
Avatar Press in 1998—1999,
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
with Quinn & Vigil's ''
777: The Wrath'')
*''
Faust: Book of M'' (#1—3 published by
Avatar Press in 1999)
*''
Faust: Singha's Talons'' (#½, 1—4 published by Avatar Press in 2000)
*''Faust: Claire's Lust'' (
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
published by Avatar Press in 2000)
Anthology appearances
*''
Raw Media Mags
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry data ...
'' #1 (published by Rebel Studios in 1991; includes "2020: Giant Step", a then-futuristic Faust tale)
*''
Threshold
Threshold may refer to:
Architecture
* Threshold (door), the sill of a door
Media
* ''Threshold'' (1981 film)
* ''Threshold'' (TV series), an American science fiction drama series produced during 2005-2006
* "Threshold" (''Stargate SG-1''), ...
'' #7 (published by Avatar Press in 1998; includes ''Faust/777: The Wrath'' prelude)
*''Threshold'' #24 (published by Avatar Press ; includes ''Faust: Singha's Talons'' prelude)
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Faust navbox
Fictional demons and devils
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional artists
Fictional assassins in comics
Avatar Press titles
American comics adapted into films
Comics characters introduced in 1987
Vigilante characters in comics