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Jon Sable
Jon Sable Freelance is an American comic book series, one of the first series created for the fledgling publisher First Comics in 1983. It was written and drawn by Mike Grell and was a fully creator-owned title. The comic was one of the first of the independent and dark superhero stories of the 1980s and "helped usher in the grim and gritty sensibility that came to define the genre." Beginning in November 2007, it was published as an online comic series by ComicMix.
At a convention in the late 1980s, Grell stated that his idea for Sable was heavily influenced by Ian Fleming's James Bond novels as well as drawing on pulp fiction crime stories saying "something like a cross between James Bond and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer". Also, many of the stories of Sable's hunting exploits in Africa were influenced by Peter Hathaway Capstick's novels, while Grell also drew on his own military experience.
Jon Sable Freelance lasted 56 issues from June 1983 to February 1988 before being cancelled. While Grell wrote and drew all the covers, his last issue of interior art was #43. Late in this run Grell announced in the comic's own text pages that Tony DeZuniga would soon join him as the new artist. Just what happened to these plans is unclear, and soon the series was suspended.
Several months after the series was cancelled, Marv Wolfman began writing and Bill Jaaska drawing a new series called Sable, with Grell having no part. This series lasted 27 issues before cancellation. The cover to issue #21 featured early work from Steve Epting. Marv Wolfman abruptly left Sable after issue #23. Comic book fan Steve Kaye took over the writing chores for issues #24-27; fan favorite artist Tim Vigil provided covers for issues #23-27.
A third First Comics series, Mike Grell's Sable, reprinted the first ten issues of the original Jon Sable Freelance series. There was also a tie-in miniseries featuring one of the semi-recurring characters, a thief called Maggie The Cat, at Image Comics in 1996. Only two issues were released and the series was never completed. In 1997, Grell announced he would be writing and drawing the character in a new black-and-white Jon Sable Freelance from Caliber Comics, debuting in October, but the series never materialized.
After the title's cancellation (and First ceasing operations), the character made cameo appearances in some of Grell's other titles over the years. He would not receive his own series again until March 2005, when IDW Publishing released the first issue of a new six-issue mini-series titled Jon Sable Freelance: Bloodtrail (originally announced as Jon Sable, Freelance: Conspiracy) written and drawn by Grell. IDW has also been reprinting the entire original run in a series of trade paperbacks.
A new series, Jon Sable: Ashes of Eden, began publication as an online series in November 2007, and was published as a 5-issue mini-series beginning in 2009 and ending in 2010.
Ashes of Eden ended with a tease for another adventure titled Jon Sable: Rules of the Hunt, although only the title was revealed at that time. In 2019, Mike Grell revealed some inked artwork and a brief description of the project on his official website: "...the untold story of Sable’s first case… and nearly his last. An African hunter in the concrete jungle sets out after the deadliest prey." Rules of the Hunt was later released as a Kickstarter-exclusive bonus book alongside a reprinting of the incomplete Maggie the Cat mini-series.
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Jon Sable
Jon Sable Freelance is an American comic book series, one of the first series created for the fledgling publisher First Comics in 1983. It was written and drawn by Mike Grell and was a fully creator-owned title. The comic was one of the first of the independent and dark superhero stories of the 1980s and "helped usher in the grim and gritty sensibility that came to define the genre." Beginning in November 2007, it was published as an online comic series by ComicMix.
At a convention in the late 1980s, Grell stated that his idea for Sable was heavily influenced by Ian Fleming's James Bond novels as well as drawing on pulp fiction crime stories saying "something like a cross between James Bond and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer". Also, many of the stories of Sable's hunting exploits in Africa were influenced by Peter Hathaway Capstick's novels, while Grell also drew on his own military experience.
Jon Sable Freelance lasted 56 issues from June 1983 to February 1988 before being cancelled. While Grell wrote and drew all the covers, his last issue of interior art was #43. Late in this run Grell announced in the comic's own text pages that Tony DeZuniga would soon join him as the new artist. Just what happened to these plans is unclear, and soon the series was suspended.
Several months after the series was cancelled, Marv Wolfman began writing and Bill Jaaska drawing a new series called Sable, with Grell having no part. This series lasted 27 issues before cancellation. The cover to issue #21 featured early work from Steve Epting. Marv Wolfman abruptly left Sable after issue #23. Comic book fan Steve Kaye took over the writing chores for issues #24-27; fan favorite artist Tim Vigil provided covers for issues #23-27.
A third First Comics series, Mike Grell's Sable, reprinted the first ten issues of the original Jon Sable Freelance series. There was also a tie-in miniseries featuring one of the semi-recurring characters, a thief called Maggie The Cat, at Image Comics in 1996. Only two issues were released and the series was never completed. In 1997, Grell announced he would be writing and drawing the character in a new black-and-white Jon Sable Freelance from Caliber Comics, debuting in October, but the series never materialized.
After the title's cancellation (and First ceasing operations), the character made cameo appearances in some of Grell's other titles over the years. He would not receive his own series again until March 2005, when IDW Publishing released the first issue of a new six-issue mini-series titled Jon Sable Freelance: Bloodtrail (originally announced as Jon Sable, Freelance: Conspiracy) written and drawn by Grell. IDW has also been reprinting the entire original run in a series of trade paperbacks.
A new series, Jon Sable: Ashes of Eden, began publication as an online series in November 2007, and was published as a 5-issue mini-series beginning in 2009 and ending in 2010.
Ashes of Eden ended with a tease for another adventure titled Jon Sable: Rules of the Hunt, although only the title was revealed at that time. In 2019, Mike Grell revealed some inked artwork and a brief description of the project on his official website: "...the untold story of Sable’s first case… and nearly his last. An African hunter in the concrete jungle sets out after the deadliest prey." Rules of the Hunt was later released as a Kickstarter-exclusive bonus book alongside a reprinting of the incomplete Maggie the Cat mini-series.