ORPHEUS, we hardly knew ye. If you're looking at this character and wondering who he is, you're not alone. In 2001, DC published a 5-issue limited series entitled BATMAN: ORPHEUS RISING which introduced Gotham City's first African-American superhero, Orpheus. Created by writer Robert Simmons and artist Dwayne Turner, the character debuted with great promise and potential to be one of Batman's crimefighting family members. Instead, a few years later he wound up dead --killed at the hands of the Black Mask and virtually never seen or heard of again.
Too bad. Orpheus could've been an interesting and compelling if someone had taken the time to develop him.
Instead he gets his throat slit in some crossover of the Batman titles, and he's so dead and forgotten that he didn't even show up during BLACKEST NIGHT, where most of DC's dead heroes came back from the dead (albeit temporarily). Now that DC is rebooting their universe, maybe Orpheus will stage a comeback. Maybe -- but I seriously doubt it.
The art here was gorgeously rendered by JOHN HEEBINK in his first (but not last) commission for me. Even though I only paid him for penciling, John was kind enough to ink it for me as well, a nice surprise. John's varied career included a stint on Marvel's QUASAR title in the 80s which is where I discovered him. John was a pleasure to deal with, incredibly affordable, and he delivered the goods. Makes him a keeper in my book.
You can contact John at his website:
http://heebink.com/
