Target and the Targeteers

Infobox comics character
character_name = The Target


caption =
publisher = Novelty Press
debut = "Target Comics" #10 (November, 1940)
creators = Dick Hamilton
alter_ego = Niles Reed
full_name =
species =
homeworld =
alliances =
partners = The Targeteers
supports =
aliases =
powers = Bond with teammates (see below); espionage skills, scientific knowledge; wears a bulletproof costume.

The Target and the Targeteers are fictional characters, a trio of superheroes who first appeared in 1940, in "Target Comics" (after which the characters were named) from Novelty Press.

History

"Target Comics" debuted in February, 1940, but it wasn’t until the 10th issue (November, 1940) that The Target first appeared, and The Targeteers showed up in issue #11. The three of them were created by
Dick Briefer, using the pen name of "Dick Hamilton." (Briefer was the man behind the Prize Comics version of Frankenstein. [http://www.toonopedia.com/target.htm Target & the Targeteers] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia] ) The Targeteers appeared in "Target Comics" until issue #95 ("Target" itself ended with issue #105).

In 1999, The Target appeared without his partners in issue #24 of the AC Comics title "Men of Mystery Comics". [comicbookdb|type=issue|id=70315|title=Men of Mystery Comics #24]

In 2008, The Target and the Targeteers were among the many public domain characters to appear in "Project Superpowers", a miniseries from Dynamite Entertainment. [comicbookdb|type=team|id=1317|title=Superpowers (team)] The heroes were given new powers in this series (see below). Also in 2008, issue #2 of the Age of Adventure comic "Legendary Heroes" featured reprints of Golden Age stories of the Target and Targeteers. [comicbookdb|type=issue|id=138083|title=Legendary Heroes #2]

Fictional biography

"Target Comics"

Metallurgist and U.S. spy Niles Reed created the identity of The Target, using a bulletproof costume with a bullseye on the chest, to save the life of his brother Bill, who had been wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to be executed. Bill was killed during the jailbreak, and Niles avenged himself on the gangsters responsible for Bill’s conviction, after which he continued to fight evil as The Target. [comicbookdb|character|18874|The Target]

Later, Niles’ business associates Dave Brown and Tom Foster, who had both been orphaned by criminals, became his wisecracking sidekicks The Targeteers. The three of them wore indestructible costumes that were identical except for the colors; one was mostly yellow, one red, one blue (who wore which wasn’t always consistent, although The Target usually wore yellow). [comicbookdb|character|18875|Targeteer (Dave)] [comicbookdb|character|18876|Targeteer (Tommy)]

"Project Superpowers"

A few years after World War II, The Target and the Targeteers were trapped and imprisoned in the Urn of Pandora by the misguided Fighting Yank; decades later, the Urn was broken and they were freed. Imprisonment in the mystical Urn, however, had transformed them; they were now somehow bonded together and given superpowers (the exact nature of which has yet to be made clear). [ [http://www.wizarduniverse.com/051908superpowers.html WizardUniverse.com:] The Power Players of "Project Superpowers"]

Notes

Sources

* Reid, Britt. [http://atocom.blogspot.com/2008/04/target-hero-who-wants-you-to-shoot-at.html "The Target; the hero who WANTS you to shoot at him!" Atomic Kommie Comics (Apr. 18, 2008).]