My Rating
“Saxon’s Story”
On a quiet farmstead near Cambridge, Ohio, three teenagers have just accomplished the impossible. Using a Satanic ritual, they summon the mysterious man known as Saxon back to Earth from another plane of existence. Exactly how their arcane ceremony managed to retrieve him is something even Saxon doesn’t understand.
Not that he particularly cares.
Only one thing occupies Saxon’s mind: revenge. He intends to kill the Challengers of the Unknown and everyone who has encountered the mysterious light. Whatever happened to Saxon during his time away has only strengthened his obsession, and now he’s back to finish what he started.
Three weeks later in Chicago, Illinois, Saxon receives an unexpected visitor. A sniveling corporate type approaches him on behalf of a secret society known as the Eye of the Dark Flame. They know about Saxon’s hatred for the Challengers, and apparently they share a few enemies in common.
The organization makes him an offer.
The Eye of the Dark Flame will provide Saxon with the resources he needs to destroy the Challengers of the Unknown once and for all. In return, they require only one thing—his oath to the Aristos!
Saxon may have finally found allies powerful enough to satisfy his thirst for revenge, but secret societies rarely offer something without expecting payment in return. There are forces operating behind the scenes, and the Challengers may have only scratched the surface of a much larger conspiracy.
Will Saxon join forces with the Eye of the Dark Flame to destroy the Challengers for good? Does the Dark Flame hold the secret behind the origins of Saxon’s strange abilities? Who—or what—are the Aristos? Is a blood sister powerful enough to put an end to Saxon’s madness? And will we ever learn the complete truth behind those mysterious lights? Collect the series to find out!
Review
Well, folks, this is it. Challengers of the Unknown #18 marks the final issue of the 1997–1998 series, and unfortunately, there are still plenty of stories left to tell.
Like the other titles from DC’s “Weirdoverse” line, low sales brought the series to an early end. Steven Grant addresses the cancellation in the letters page, thanking the readers who supported the book and reassuring them that DC would hopefully find another opportunity to bring the Challengers back. Reading his comments today makes the cancellation sting a little more because this issue certainly doesn’t feel like Grant had run out of ideas.
In fact, “Saxon’s Story” does exactly the opposite. Grant introduces the Eye of the Dark Flame, the Aristos, digs further into Saxon’s mysterious existence, and leaves us with a solid jumping-off point for another storyline. Rather than wrapping everything up in a neat little bow, the issue feels like the beginning of the next chapter. Unfortunately, that chapter never arrived within this series.
Disappointment?
That’s probably my biggest disappointment with the finale. After eighteen issues, I still wanted a definitive explanation for the mysterious lights that kept appearing throughout the run. Grant teased those damn things over and over again! They appeared around unexplained phenomena, disappearances, strange encounters, and Saxon’s story. Every time I thought we were getting close to an answer, the mystery grew a little larger. Now the series is over, and I’m still staring into the light looking for answers.
Looking back at DC’s four interconnected “Weirdoverse” titles—The Book of Fate, Scare Tactics, Night Force, and Challengers of the Unknown—I think Challengers offered the strongest combination of writing and variety. I loved Scare Tactics, but Challengers had that little bit extra. Steven Grant could move from ghosts and UFOs to Irish mythology, Lovecraftian elder gods, time anomalies, secret government conspiracies, alternate dimensions, and hard science without completely losing the identity of the series.
That variety became my favorite part of the book. You never really knew what kind of mystery the Challengers would investigate next. One month they might encounter a haunted city, and the next they’re dealing with a mountain-sized earthen giant or black helicopters abducting militia members. Grant wasn’t afraid to get weird, but he usually gave the Challengers a scientific or investigative angle from which to approach the impossible.
Artwork…
The artwork deserves recognition as well. John Paul Leon’s work took a little time to grow on me, but by the end of the series I couldn’t imagine this version of the Challengers without that dark, heavily shaded visual style. The artwork helped give the series its own identity and fit especially well whenever the stories wandered into horror territory.
It’s a shame Challengers of the Unknown ended after only eighteen issues. There were clearly more mysteries to investigate and more history to uncover. Most importantly, Steven Grant left the door wide open for the team to return.
If you enjoy horror comics mixed with science fiction, paranormal investigations, conspiracy theories, mythology, and plenty of good old-fashioned comic-book weirdness, I definitely recommend giving this run of Challengers of the Unknown a try.
The Challengers may be gone, but the Unknown is still out there.