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Mister X was a series of comic books first published in 1983-84 by Toronto-based Vortex Comics. Written and created by album and book cover designer Dean Motter, it is notable for early artwork by artists who would later emerge as important alternative cartoonists, including Paul Rivoche, Jaime Hernandez, Ty Templeton, Dave McKean and Seth. It is often cited along with Watchmen, Love & Rockets, Maus and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns as a watershed of ’80s comics.
misterx
Series background
Set in Radiant City, a dystopian municipality inspired by the Bauhaus and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, the series concerned a mysterious figure who purported to be its architect. His radical theories of ‘psychetecture’ were causing the citizenry to go mad, just as he did, and he took on the mission to repair his creation. In order to accomplish this Sisyphean goal he would remain awake 24 hours a day by means of his addiction to ‘insomnalin’, all the while coping with a Dick Tracy-like rogues gallery and supporting cast including his long-suffering girlfriend, Mercedes. Under Motter’s art direction the series become known for its distinctive blend of Art Deco, German Expressionism and film noir motifs as well as the new wave graphic design also popularized at the time by Art Spiegleman’s Raw and The Face magazine. Mister X's influence can be seen and was acknowledged in films like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Tim Burton’s Batman and Alex Proyas' Dark City.
Publication history
After the first volume of the Motter-based series ended in 1985, a second 12 issue black and white series concluding the saga of Mister X was written by Jeffrey Morgan. Mister X reappeared in Dean Motter’s Electropolis mini-series from Image Comics in 2001-03. Motter’s Vortex issues, along with the covers by Michael Kaluta, Bill Sienkiewicz, Howard Chaykin, Dave McKean and others were reprinted in Mister X: The Definitive Collection (Volumes One and Two) from ibooks in 2005. The introduction to Volume Two was written by Morgan.
