The North Coast times-eagle., July 21, 1989, Page 4, Image 4

Comic-book hero alien,
but he ’s surely no wimp
AUBURN, Maine (AP) — As the
creator of the comic book “ Zen,
lntergalactic Ninja” sees it, most of
today’s space aliens are either bad
guys or wimps.
Enter Zen, a short, muscular,
blue-skinned space warrior; a no-
nonsense sort of extraterrestrial.
“ Sort of the Dirty Harry o f aliens,”
said his creator, Steve Stem.
Rather than spattering small-time
villains with a big revolver like the
Clint Eastwood film character, how­
ever, Zen addresses the big questions.
His latest mission is to save Earth
from ecological destruction at the
hands of a planet-devouring madman
named Notan the Magnificent. Zen
works through his mental link with
Jeremy, the offspring of an alien
queen and a mortal human.
Stem and aiibmsh artist Dan Cote
publish the bimonthly comic as a
sideline from their jobs. Stem heads a
small advertising business; Cote is a
commercial artist in Lewiston.
Until now, writers and film pro­
ducers have treated most space aliens
as evil, said Stem, citing a tradition
that extends from the H.G. Wells
novel “ War of the Worlds” to the hit
movie “ Alien.”
The exceptions, he said, are
creatures like E.T., whom he charac­
terized as wimpy and ineffectual, and
Alf, the fuzzy but obnoxious star of a
children's TV show.
“ The comic book-buying public
responded to Zen because he repre­
sents a true alien hero,” Stem said. In
recent years, “ there have been very
few, if any, alien heroes who come to
mind.”
THE EARLIER GENERATION
o f otherwordly superheros, such as
Superman, don’t count, because they
looked like earthlings rather than
aliens, Stem said.
To underscore his scorn for nerds
from outer space, Stem has printed
hundreds of stickers that show an
E.T.-like character in a red circle with
a slash through it, with the phrase,
“ No Wimpy Aliens.”
Stem said he used Zen because he
believes the branch o f Buddhism
offers a valuable guide to day-to-day
living. Zen imparts that philosophy to
Jeremy, who develops confidence and
assurance as the story unfolds.
Cote draws the comic book with a
painstakingly slow airbrush technique
that gives it a realistic, three-
dimensional look. It is produced in
black and white with a multi-color
cover.
From an initial printing o f 4,000
copies for the first issue in November
1987, circulation has climbed to
20,000, Stem said. He hopes soon to
get a break that would turn Zen into a
national phenomenon.
“ The explosion of comic books
into the mass media is at a fever pitch
right now,” he said, citing box office
records set by the movie “ Batman.”
STERN ALSO SEES as a pro­
mising sign a heightened awareness of
environmental problems.
Organizers of Earth Day 1990 have
contacted Stem about a possible role
for Zen in that observance. Stem and
Cote also have established the Zen
Save the Earth Foundation, which will
divert a portion of the profits from
licensing agreements to organizations
dedicated to environmental protection.
Zen’s creator hopes to follow in the
path of “ Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles,” an independently produced
comic that became a major success,
spawning a popular animated televi­
sion series and sets of toy action
figures.
A line of Zen pencils and
notebooks is already on the market;
Stem hopes a latex mask of Zen can
be in stores by Halloween 1990.
As a boy growing up on New
York’s Long Island, Stem eagerly
awaited each new issue of “ Batman,”
“ Superman” and the “ The Fantastic
Four.”
Following graduation from the
University of Miami as an English
major, he returned to New York to
write horror and science fiction
comics. The pay was low, and he
drifted into advertising to make ends
meet.
Stem thought up Zen in 1970, but
stashed a one-page synopsis in a
suitcase. Four years ago, after moving
to Auburn, 30 miles north of Portland,
with his wife, he met Cote.
A couple o f days earlier, Stem had
opened his old suitcase and the sheet
o f paper with the idea for Zen flew
out. He felt it was an omen and
moved ahead with the project.
Times Eagle
Continued from Page 2
“ POETRY IS THE most
subjective and personal of the arts,”
he explains. “ Poetry to me is the one
that sings to society.”
McCusker doesn’t restrict the
promulgation of his point of view to
the printed page. On any given
evening he might be found looking
for an argument while imbibing with
others so inclined.
“ He shows a great pretense
towards literacy,” quipped Astoria
businessman and Republican Dave
Heick, who finds himself at odds with
McCusker on most issues.
“ He doesn’t have an imagination,
he has a memory,” Heick continued.
“ Sometimes he feels the school of
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Page 14 PANACHEI, Astoria. Oregon, Friday, July 21, 1989
hard knocks has graduated him cum
laude.”
“ We keep each other sharp,”
McCusker says o f Heick and his other
verbal challengers.
McCusker has his own advice for
Heick and others of his ilk adrift in
the materialistic 1980s.
“ Don't buy a Porsche,” he says.
“ Don’t be beguiled by the trinkets
and the baubles. ’ ’