TITLE: Mantra vol. 1, Issue 1
YEAR: July 1993
COMPANY: Ultraverse/Malibu Comics
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Penciller: Terry Dodson
Inker: Al Vey
Letterer: Tim Eldred
Editor: Chris Ulm
“Mantra”, one of the most interesting series from Ultraverse.
While the series would know doubt be the comic book version of titillating click-bait, or in this case, sexy woman – “buy me!”.
When you read the series, what you see in the front cover, is not what it all appears to be once you start reading the comic book.
For the first issue, we are introduced to what appears to be a mercenary named Lukasz, but in essence is an eternal warrior who works for Archimage and has been in war with the evil sorcerer’s led by Boneyard and has lived in many different bodies.
This battle between Archimage and Boneyard has been going on for centuries.
Lukasz is more or less a d*ckhead. His focus is on the battle against Boneyard and the enemy, but the story begins with Lukasz in a body of a Bill Cooper, man who likes to drink and he suddenly gets visited by what appears to be a lawyer and his wife and son. His wife wants him back and back in the life of his son but instead, he tells her that she’ll be taken care of financially and tells them to get out.
We then see the people that follow Boneyard, an evil sorcerer named Notch (because he puts a notch on the knife of all the people he has killed and cuts out their heart). In the battle, Notch gets the better of Cooper but Archimage team are the victors and so Boneyard’s men hire, the Ultra known as Warstrike.
Thanks to Archimage, he is put in the body of a man named Carl, who has gotten back together in a relationship with Marla and about to visit their friend Eden (a single mother of two) and her boyfriend for dinner.
And as Carl and Marla are about to Eden, Lukasz takes over Carl’s body not knowing (nor does he care) about who’s body he has taken over and immediately tells Marla that he has to go and leaves a distraught Marla with Eden. Eden gives Carl a piece of her mind, knowing how much Marla did to get back together with arl.
As Lukasz returns with his new body to meetup with his fellow eternal warriors and Archimage, Archimage suddenly announces that while they have fought Boneyard for over a millenium and a half together, one of their own has betrayed him. And suddenly we see Boneyard and his men arrive and Boneyard utters Archimage’s true power which then Archimage suddenly is captured by Boneyard and disappears.
As the fight continues, between both sides, Boneyard’s men has an edge, they hired the Ultra known as Warstrike to kill Lukasz in Carl’s body but Archimage’s power allows for Lukasz to transfer into another body, the body of the woman named Eden.
The first issue is an interesting twist to the usual comic book featuring a female character, for the purpose is that it’s a man, an eternal warrior trapped in Eden’s body.
And the issue would focus on Lukasz trying to live as a woman but also having to parent two children while playing a prominent role in the Ultraverse.
The first issue introduces us to Archimage and numerous antagonists such as Boneyard and Notch, but also introducing readers to Warstrike (almost like a combination of Tony Stark and Cable).
But what is interesting is while the comics feature Mantra on the cover, I’ve often wondered how many people bought the comic because they saw a sexy drawn female character, to find out that it’s a story about a man trapped in a woman’s body? Hmm…