Another Fan Question

Hello Mr. DFG,

My name is Jimmy and I am eight years old. I would like to know about the history of the relationship between Captain Nepto & The Spy-Master. Have they always been friends or do they fight as well?

Sincerely,

Jimmy [age 8]

P.S. Can you send me an autograph?

Dear Jimmy:

Always nice to hear from our younger fans. The Spymaster and Captain Nepto began teaming up in early issues of the original Captain Nepto series, way back in the early 1980's! They were fast friends and original members of the first Invincibles team. They even took turns being the chairman (Redman also took a turn). If you can get your mom or dad to take you to any fine comic store, you can probably buy back issues of those classic stories, if you save up your allowance. You might also try to track down Captain Nepto Annual #1 that tells the origin of the Spymaster/Nepto team (in which they first learn each others' secret identities!). I should note that that story will be retold in this month's Spy Classics (#4) due to be released soon! In recent years their relationship has deteriorated and now the Spymaster (who is retired from costumed crime fighting), in his civilian identity as Julius Smithers leads the "official" Invincibles team, while Captain Nepto is leading a "renegade" version of the team. Watch for Spy Comics Presents the Invincibles #5, due out in early December for the final chapter of The Battle of the Invincibles!

And of course you can have an autograph... In fact, we are sending you an autographed copy of Todd Abbot's How to Draw Comix, And Make Money! Maybe one day you will be working for DFG! Thanks for writing, Jimmy.

Sincerely,

Frank Daniels

The DFG Answer Man.

Whatever Happened to the Wig?

Dear DFG Comics:

I have a couple of questions for you. First, why on earth does Captain Nepto have so many different costumes? Does he wear them at different times of year, or what? Are some thermal and others air conditioned? Secondly, whatever happened to his wig? And for goodness sake, who came up with the crazy idea of wearing a wig over a cowl anyway?

On another note, does Cap have any living relatives now that his half-brother Randy is dead?

Sincerely,
Joe Macrel
St. John's, Newfoundland

Dear Joe:

First, let me thank you for being such a long-time DFG devotee. I remember you being one of the very first subscribers to our comic and wish to thank you for your continued support. As such, I want to offer you the very best response to your questions. Your first question about the number of costumes is well-taken with the sheer amount of evidence that exists that Nepto isn't defined by one-look. An in-depth analysis of this phenomenon is discussed in my Nepto&ME posting at http://www.darrylandrews.com/. I invite you to visit "Darryl's catch-all" page and check that out. The short answer about which type of costumes does Nepto employ is simply that there is a costume for EVERY occasion.

The wig has been with Nepto from the very beginning [and in some cases still exists today] but, was really only a device used to add 'more detail' to the crude drawings I was doing at the start of the Feature. Observing the amount of head space that existed in every panel that I could not fill out with word balloons; I needed to come up with a solution. The wig was the solution. Secondly, it made Nepto unique...something else that is examined in greater detail in the above mentioned blog.

Your last question about living relatives of Nepto's can only be answered with; "The DFG Universe is large and vast and is filled with many wonderful surprises". Keep Reading!!
-Darryl

Whatever Happened to the Crusher?

Dear DFG:

Since way back in the first Captain Nepto series the Crusher has always been one of my favourite villains. I know that he died in a fire but someone told me that he was brought back to life. Can we expect to see him again?

Sincerely,
Montague Muckle,
Louisville, KY

Dear Monty:

The Crusher first appeared in Captain Nepto #6, way back in 1984. He fought Cap and the Warrior in that issue. As it turned out, the Crusher had killed the Warrior's parents. He wasn't exactly killed in a fire (You may be thinking about The Mummy, in issue #4). Warrior did give him a blast of fire from his gauntlet and subsquently shot him, but not before the Crusher could strike a fatal blow to the Warrior. List left both the Crusher and the Warrior apparently dead. However, the Crusher later returned to battle Cap and the Spymaster (in a now lost, unpublished story), but was hit by a bus. Spy Classics #1 (Spring 1996) retells these stories and tells how the Crusher was resurrected by an unnamed mad scientist. His current wherabouts are unknown.

Prof. Schoedel
DFG official historian