I've been having a lot of fun this week reading fanzine heroes in collections from Hamster Press. A number of the heroes I've been revisiting have been featured here before (The Eye, Dr.Weird, Xal-Kor the Human Cat) but not The Eclipse.
The Eclipse was created by Drury Moroz and Ronn Foss. Foss is probably the greatest of the fan artists, by all accounts a fun-loving and agreeable fellow. The photos of him I've seen suggest nothing less. The Eclipse was supposed to have been a revival of the DC hero Dr.Mid-Nite, at the time in absentia like most all of DC's Golden Age heroes. But DC editor Julius Schwartz nixed the idea, and so was born the arguably more interesting character The Eclipse.
Like Dr.Mid-Nite, Dr.Craig Pierce is blind hero. But in an origin story that reminded me for all the world of Darkman, he survives an explosion in his lab and is not only blinded but affected by a disease that makes him sensitive to sunlight. Unexpectedly though the chemicals in the lab (The Flash) have given him powers to compensate, and he can now see in the dark and in shadow can even move through solid objects. Arming himself with a costume that changes into street clothes (The Creeper) and a raygun that shoots beams of blackness he charges out to capture the villains who killed his assistant and left him for dead. He succeeds of course. The origin story ends with the arrival of Teresa Aster, a nurse who is dedicated to helping the stricken doctor much to his chagrin.
It's a great rousing origin story, and it appeared in Alter Ego #5 under a fantastic cover that shows the lithe form of the Eclipse and the deft hand of Foss. I've read two more Eclipse adventures, one that ran in Alter Ego #8 and involves the hero and his "assistant" in a haunted castle and some old-fashioned thieves. A third story appeared many years later in Comics Crusader Storybook, and has The Eclipse battling high-tech villains who have injured Teresa during a robbery. This Eclipse as written by Marty Griem seems a bit more hard-bitten and the artwork on this story was by Ron Fortier with inking by Foss.
I really like this character. He's a sleek and intersting hero with a neat blend of abilities and limits. He's got a most handsome outfit, and the best part is the great Kubert-inspired artwork by Foss, who shows a completely confident hand rendering these adventures. Great stuff.
I read these adventures on in their original, but in reprint form in Fandom's Finest Comics Vols. 1 & 2 and Alter Ego The Best of Legendary Comics Fanzine from Hamster Press.
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