Back in the creator-centric period of the 1980s, the comic book industry was awash in cool concepts from adventurous writers and artists. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg, Matt Wagner's Grendel, Doug Moench's Aztec Ace, Bill Willingham's The Elementals, Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus, and Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer were among the new series introduced in that era. Publishers like Pacific Comics, Comico The Comic Company, First Comics, and Eclipse seemed to raise the bar on each other at regular intervals.

And then there was Dean Motter's Mister X, published by Vortex.

Initially illustrated by Los Bros. Hernandez, Mister X was an amazing amalgam of Motter's experienced design sensabilities, early German cinema, the art deco movement, and the concept of "retro futurism" (what people in the past thought their future or our present would look like). Before Motter visited Terminal City (DC/Vertigo) or Electopolis (Image), he first dwelled in Radiant City with Mister X.

It was not without some serious trepidation that we started into the first issue of this new Mister X four-issue mini-series from Dark Horse. A lot of great creators have attempted to revisit those halcyon days of creativity with less-than-stellar results. The first page told us our concerns were for naught; this was the real deal. The rest of the issue lived up to that promise and we were ready for the next issue immediately.

Radiant City, here we come!