Quarter Bin #6 "Sparx"

Let’s start this new phase of the Quarter Bin off a little differently, by listing the comics that led to the topic we’ll be looking at this week:

BLOODBATH #1-2 (DC)
From December 1993.

SHOWCASE ’94 #6 & 12 (DC)
From June and December 1994.

BLOOD PACK #1-4 (DC)
From March to June 1995.

SUPERBOY #65 (DC)
From August 1999.

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #32 (DC)
From February 2007.

Okay, so the subject, in case you were wondering, is Donna Carol Force, otherwise known as Sparx. Debuting in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN ANNUAL #5 (which was part of Quarter Bin #2), Sparx was a part of the BLOODLINES initiative, a 1995 effort that ran throughout that year’s annuals intended to create a whole new generation of heroes (Hitman ended up being the most enduring, but because he belonged to Garth Ennis, he lived and died almost exclusively in his own series) based on an alien invasion that activated the meta genes of random victims. As you can tell, given that you yourself no doubt have a very tenuous awareness of any of this, it was a general failure, as has been pretty much every other effort from the past twenty years to create genuinely new superheroes within both DC and Marvel with enduring, mass appeal. Sparx, though, was a favorite of mine, thanks to her continuing adventures alongside Superboy, notably in SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS, a hugely unappreciated comic I hope to fully explore later on in this blog, an issue-by-issue affair that will be legendary.

But for now, I thought it would be fun to revisit Sparx a little more singularly. In the beginning, she was just another of the BLOODLINES creations, and the first comics listed at the top of this column are the concluding mini-series for that event (for most of the Nineties, it was customary for DC to link their annuals through some kind of event or gimmick, back when annuals were something the company made an effort to produce for most of its line, if indeed at all, and not just to conclude or explain some major event from the regular series). That was 1993 Sparx.

In 1994, the company began making an effort to grant these new heroes more exposure. Gunfire, who would eventually sink into a deep obscurity, was probably the first one to receive an ongoing series commitment. Sparx and others began exploring the potential of being featured in SHOWCASE, a traditional DC title that had at that point become a series of twelve-issue annual anthology projects. While SHOWCASE #12 is a glorified cameo appearance hyping BLOOD PACK, #6 is a return to her true potential, revisiting the Force family intrigue originally apparent in AOSA #5. But it was BLOOD PACK awaiting her immediate future. A mini-series that revisited many of the BLOODLINES creations (notable exceptions included Gunfire, Hitman, Argus, and Loose-cannon, the latter two being my other favorites, whom you’ll no doubt hear more about in the future, but probably Argus first), it was also an attempt to cash in on the then-fledgling reality show craze (THE REAL WORLD was just getting started). Reading a lot like recent efforts such as FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: DANCE (featuring Super Young Team) or INFINITY, INC., it wouldn’t be entirely out of place with a new collection (though the audience would probably still be…just me). That was 1995 Sparx.

And aside from SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS, that was pretty much Sparx, period. SUPERBOY #65 is another random appearance that doesn’t really amount to much. SUPERMAN/BATMAN #32 is kind of a funny story, since it’s the wrong issue, but based on another random appearance. It’s a shame, too, because Sparx is a wonderful character whose potential is so much greater than her association with Superboy. As Donna Carol (D.C.) Force, there are so many more possibilities than are typically associated with not just the creations of BLOODLINES, but most superheroes. The Force family is known for its meta genes. The only reason why Donna didn’t already have powers was because hers hadn’t activated yet. Otherwise, she’s already part of a rich tradition, even if very few creators really seemed all that interested in exploring it. Ignoring Sparx is like saying there’s nothing interesting about mutants. While that was an argument readers apparently wanted to make in the Sixties, you’d look like a fool trying to assert such a sentiment today. And that’s basically what’s happened with Sparx. I would not hesitate to term her absence in comics today to be foolish.

That’s a little of what it’s like to combine past experience with the potential of back issues and quarter bins, the ability to rescue treasure from the scrap heap. While her backlog is small (excluding …RAVERS, which again I will come back to at some point), Sparx has a potentially huge future ahead of her. She may seem like just another failed effort now, almost as completely forgotten as Gunfire, but with the right kind of effort, she can become, well, a whole new force in comics. Having a whole family of superheroes is nothing to sneeze at. Ever heard of the Fantastic Four? Or the Incredibles? Well, this is a whole bloodline that’s been living with the meta gene for years, and they don’t have the benefit of the public eye to contend with, or benefit from. I guess, then, that it’s only natural, that Sparx has faded into the background, since that’s where her family has always been. But Donna Force has already demonstrated once the ability to transcend that.

And she can do it again.