Ms. Mystic

Ms. Mystic
Ms. Mystic sketch by Michael Netzer.
Publication information
Publisher	Pacific Comics, Continuity Comics
First appearance	Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #3 (March 1982)
Created by	Neal Adams
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown
Team affiliations	Urth 4
Abilities	Spellcasting, flight, ability to summon mystical sword of light, elemental powers

Ms. Mystic is a fictional comic book superheroine created by popular illustrator Neal Adams. The comic published nine issues between 1982-1994. Her first full appearance was in Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #3 (March 1982), published by Pacific Comics. After Pacific published two issues, the character was published by Neal's own company Continuity Comics.

Fictional character biography

Ms. Mystic is a genuine witch who was burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials (1692-1695). Her soul transferred to another plane, and returned to Earth in the modern world. She is strongly concerned with environmental issues. Mystic has long white hair down to her ankles, wears a set of golden spirals in her hair which resemble the insect-antenna of faeries, and her costume is basically a black spandex catsuit created with Zip-A-Tone.

Powers and abilities

Ms. Mystic is a magician; her ability to wield magic also gives her the power of flight, the ability to summon a sword of light, and undefined "Elemental powers."

She can also call upon Mother Nature for assistance. Ms. Mystic once called upon Mother Nature for help, and she responded by creating the superhero team Urth 4. Urth 4 are strongly influenced by the Fantastic Four: a group of four superheroes based on the four classical Greek elements.

Controversy over co-creation

In 1993 comics artist Michael Netzer sued Neal Adams for credit and misappropriation of a jointly created property, claiming that he initially conceived the character of Ms. Mystic at the behest of DC Comics' art director Vince Colletta in 1977, and went on to co-create the character with Adams.^[1] The suit was subsequently dismissed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on grounds of the Statute of Limitations.^[2][3] Netzer later publicly apologized for the grief caused Adams by the litigation and acknowledged Adams' sole ownership of the character, while maintaining his claim to initial co-authorship.^[4][5]

Notes

1. ^ Newswatch: "Adams Sued for $20 Million in Libel/Trademark Suit," The Comics Journal #162 (Oct. 1993), pp. 7-11
2. ^ Netzer v. Continuity Graphic Associates, Inc., 963 F.Supp. 1308, 1323 (S.D.N.Y. 1997)
3. ^ Stump, Greg. "News Watch: Mike Netzer's Lawsuit against Neal Adams Dismissed," The Comics Journal #201 (January 1998), p. 18.
4. ^ Netzer's open letter of apology to Neal Adams for the lawsuit.
5. ^ Blood which Flows from the Heart is an essay by Michael Netzer in which he states that he and Neal Adams jointly created Ms. Mystic before Netzer left the American comics scene and Adams continued to develop the character alone.

References

• Ms. Mystic page includes cover images and short descriptions of every Ms. Mystic appearance.
• Ms. Mystic page at internationalhero.co.uk provides an image and brief overview of the character.
• Ms. Mystic bibliography at Continuity Comics