The Defenseless Dead

    (Adventure, 1991)
™ and ©1991 Larry Niven

Adventure Comics introduces Hugo and Nebula Award winner Larry Niven to the world of comics. With Bill Spangler on scripts and Terry Tidwell and Steven Stiles manning the art, the imprint ships the acclaimed novella “The Defenseless Dead” as a three-issue, monthly mini-series.

The time is 2124 A.D. and Amalgamated Regional Militia (A.R.M.) agent Gil Hamilton is entangled in the case to end all cases. Revolving around the world of cryogenically frozen humans and the illegal trade of body parts on the black market, Hamilton must solve a kidnapping BEFORE it happens and uncover why a dead man is trying to murder him. All in a day’s work for this futuristic detective.

What the black and white title lacks in stylized artwork it makes up for in top-notch storytelling. Working from Niven’s source material, Spangler does an excellent job at breaking down this complex story, panel by panel. But the lack of action makes one wonder whether the confining pages of a comic book are the proper canvases for a story of this magnitude.
Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist
#1

February, 1991
Cover Price: $2.50
1 copy available for $1.75 		Bill Spangler, Larry NivenTerry Tidwell
#3

April, 1991
Cover Price: $2.50
1 copy available for $7.98 		Bill Spangler, Larry NivenTerry Tidwell